$7.6M award in Rochester-area clergy abuse case could set precedent holding insurers liable

An Olmsted County jury has awarded a man $7.6 million in a civil suit involving the Diocese of Winona-Rochester over allegations of sexual abuse that took place five decades ago.

The case, brought forward by a man now in his late 60s, alleges that the Rev. Joseph Cashman sexually abused him as a child from 1973 to 1976. At the time, Cashman was principal at Lourdes High School in Rochester.

The case was one of a handful brought this year against the diocese, which reached a $21.5 million settlement agreement with 145 people who were sexually abused by its clergy.

That settlement also included $6.5 million from two insurers, but did not include one of the diocese’s primary insurance companies, U.S. Fire.

Jeff Anderson, the attorney representing the victim, said Monday’s verdict, however, holds U.S. Fire liable and could set a new precedent for holding insurers for other dioceses accountable for abuse allegations.

“To me, this breaks the barrier of the insurance industry — and in this case, U.S. Fire — but they have all stood in lockstep, refusing to pay,” Anderson said. “That is now going to change and give hope to all the survivors across Minnesota, across the Diocese of Winona, and across this country.”

Allegations of sexual abuse against Cashman go back as far as the 1960s, when he was first ordained as a priest. During his time in southeast Minnesota, he was assigned to schools and parishes in Rochester, Mankato and Winona.

Cashman was suspended from active ministry in 1992, but was not permanently removed from ministry until 2015 after the diocese disclosed him as one of 14 clergy members who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with children. He died in 2018 at the age of 84.

Anderson said the victim in this latest case is among at least eight people who have accused Cashman of sexual assault while they were children.

“This victory is a testament to his courage to take it on and be the first to take on the insurance companies — because it required a lot of him,” said Anderson, a St. Paul lawyer with a long history of filing claims against the Catholic church alleging sexual abuse by priests.

Before the trial, the diocese admitted liability for Cashman’s “wrongful actions.” However, because of the 2021 settlement, which stemmed from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing three years earlier, the diocese will not be required to pay for any of the damages awarded by the jury.

The case is among hundreds that have been filed against clergy members in Minnesota since the Child Victims Act of 2013 temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.

“For the past twenty-three years … the Diocese of Winona-Rochester has been committed to ongoing transparency and to providing and maintaining a safe environment for all,” the Rev. William D. Thompson, the diocese vicar general, said in a statement. “We pray for the survivor that was involved in this case, as well as all individuals who have been affected by clergy abuse.”