NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state Supreme Court says a $68 million lawsuit alleging that the Roman Catholic diocese of Nashville covered up child sex abuse by a former priest can go forward.
The unanimous ruling issued Tuesday overturns lower courts which had said the diocese could not be held responsible for the emotional distress alleged by the plaintiffs.
The high court in its ruling said a defendant can be found guilty of inflicting emotional distress even if its misconduct was not directed at a specific person. The court said its decision broke new legal ground in such cases.
"We are happy to see that the Tennessee Supreme Court decided to put the law in step with common notions of morality," said John Day, lead attorney in the civil case against the church.
Day says the decision holds people accountable for irresponsible behavior, in this case concealing a known pedophile, even if they don't know the victims.
The diocese, in a statement, said it was disappointed in the ruling.
"As we have done from the outset, we maintain that our responses to the facts of this case were proper and appropriate, and will allow the legal process to go forward," said spokesman Rick Musacchio.
The case stems from civil suits filed by two boys against the diocese after former priest Edward McKeown acknowledged molesting numerous boys under the church's watch.
The lawsuit claims the diocese continually failed to warn others of McKeown's problems. McKeown - now in prison - met both the alleged victims in the suit at a mobile home community in the 1990s, where he received a stipend after he was forced out of the priesthood in 1989.
The lawsuit alleges that the church's cover-up included paying McKeown over $50,000 to remain quiet about child abuse after he was relieved of his duties as a priest.
The Supreme Court's decision sends the civil suit back to the lower court.
