The state Supreme Court denied a motion filed by the Diocese of Scranton that asked it to take jurisdiction over five lawsuits filed by men who claim they were sexually abused by a priest.
In separate, one-sentence orders issued Friday, the high court denied motions for extraordinary relief filed by the diocese and retired Bishop James Timlin. The orders do not detail the court’s reasoning or provide details regarding arguments the diocese or attorneys for the plaintiffs made.
The ruling means the cases will remain under the jurisdiction of Lackawanna County Court.
Attorney Kevin Quinn of Kingston filed the lawsuits in August and October, seeking damages for five men who claim the Rev. Michael Pulicare sexually abused them in the mid-1970s, when they were children attending St. Joseph’s Church in the Minooka section of Scranton.
Each suit names as defendants the diocese, Timlin and the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, current bishop of the diocese. Pulicare died in 1999.
The diocese also has pending motions in county court that seek to stay the lawsuits until the state Supreme Court decides whether it will hear an appeal of a Superior Court ruling that extended the statute of limitations for clergy abuse victims to file lawsuits.
In that case, filed by Renee Rice against the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, the Superior Court said that when a case involves accusations the church concealed the abuse, a jury should decide if a victim’s delay in coming forward was reasonable.
The ruling impacts the Lackawanna County cases, all of which would be outside the statute of limitations if not for the Rice ruling.
In motions seeking to stay the cases, the diocese argues Lackawanna County Court should wait until the Supreme Court rules because, if the court takes the case and overturns the Rice decision, the lawsuits could not continue.
A Lackawanna County judge will review the motions and issue a ruling at a later date.
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