Parishioners v. Church

In 1958, a disastrous fire at Chicago's Our Lady of the Angels grammar school took the lives of 92 pupils, injured 76 others, and left scores of parents with clear grounds for suing the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Chicago. Understandably, the parents were loath to go to court against their own hierarchy. But in 1959, on behalf of five injured children, Chicago Lawyer Burton Joseph filed a $1,750,000 damage suit charging that the archdiocese let the school become "a dangerous firetrap." After that, more and more plaintiffs upped the ante to $9,000,000.

Early this summer, when the suits finally headed for trial in Cook County circuit court, lawyers for the archdiocese suggested a pioneering approach.

Each side submitted the names of six judges seasoned in personal-injury cases; from these twelve, Chief Judge John S. Boyle chose three, who sat to gether all summer sifting the pretrial claims of 116 plaintiffs. Early this month, the judges recommended a total settlement offer of $3,000,000. (An other $1,000,000 in medical expenses has already been paid by the church and the city.) Approving the formula, Chicago's new archbishop, John P.

Cody, also pledged payment to par ents who had not sued, even though a two-year statute of limitations has long since run out for such cases.

Last week Lawyer Joseph, 35, proudly announced that the offer is "likely to be accepted," noted that "this is the first time an effort has been made to settle disaster claims en masse by reviewing the damages and having the defendant put up an amount to cover them." As for raising the money, Archbishop Cody says the archdiocese has "a moral obligation" to borrow from banks rather than solicit Chicago parishes.

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