A judge has ordered the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington to pay more than $112,000 in legal fees for causing a mistrial in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest.Judge Ben Joseph found that diocesan lawyer David Cleary willfully and repeatedly defied a pretrial order not to question the plaintiff, James Turner of Virginia Beach, Va., about an alleged sexual relationship between the priest and Turner's brother.
That led to a mistrial in June, suspending the case in which Turner had alleged that former Rev. Alfred Willis had molested him a motel in Latham, N.Y., in 1976.
The incident allegedly occurred after a church and family celebration of the pending ordination of Turner's brother as a priest.
"In order for pretrial rulings to have meaning, costs must be imposed when a mistrial is caused by a deliberate violation," the judge wrote in an order issued late Friday.
"This trial involved issues of great importance -- whether or not the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont is legally responsible for the sexual abuse of a child who was allegedly molested by one of its priests."
Clearly said he will appeal Joseph's ruling "without question."
He added, "It's no secret that this particular judge and the diocese and its counsel have been at very serious odds over many issues and his approach to justice."
In court papers opposing the request that it pay costs, the diocese argued Joseph wasn't clear that he disapproved of the questioning about Turner's brother, that the questions were legitimate and that calling a mistrial was an extreme step the judge should not have taken.
Jerome O'Neill, the lawyer representing Turner, argued in his court filings that Cleary knew he was violating the judge's order on questioning about Turner's brother and that Turner's responses unfairly made it appear to the jury that he was being evasive.
Only the diocese is a defendant in the case, which is to be tried again starting Nov. 26 before Judge Matthew Katz.
Willis settled separately with Turner last year and is no longer a defendant.
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