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Roman Catholic Bishop of Louisville v. Burden12/10/2004
TO BE PUBLISHED
OPINION AND ORDER
DISMISSING
In 2002, Kyle Burden filed suit against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Louisville (hereinafter "the Archdiocese") seeking damages for its actions, or lack of action, concerning sexual abuse by Father Daniel Clark, a priest who worked for the Archdiocese in the early 1980s. The Archdiocese has appealed from the Jefferson Circuit Court's November 13, 2003, Opinion and Order denying its motion for summary judgment and from the December 6, 2003, order denying its motion to alter, amend or vacate the previous ruling. Because we have determined that this appeal was taken from a non-final, non-appealable order, we are constrained to dismiss the appeal.
In 1982, Burden claims to have been sexually molested by Father Clark after being injured in a church-sponsored softball game. Years later, Burden learned that the Archdiocese had failed to report Father Clark's abuse of various children or to inform students and parents, and otherwise concealed the sexual abuse. Burden filed suit against the Archdiocese in 2002, alleging negligence or gross negligence in the hiring of Father Clark as a priest/administrator at St. Rita's and in failing to take any disciplinary action against him, to inform the students and parents, and to report the incidents to state authorities. As a result of the Archdiocese's conduct, Burden claims to have suffered serious mental distress as well as physical and mental pain and suffering, and will incur expenses for psychological care and treatment. He requested both compensatory and punitive damages. The Archdiocese filed an answer, in which it raised several affirmative defenses.
Prior to filing its answer, the Archdiocese filed a motion to seal the record, citing KRS 413.249(3) and attaching the affidavit of Senator Tom Buford, who introduced the Senate Bill that was the predecessor to KRS 413.249. The Courier-Journal moved to intervene in order to oppose the motion to seal, arguing that KRS 413.249 was unconstitutional on its face and that it did not apply to this type of case. By this time, many similar cases arising from the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse by priests or employees of the Archdiocese had been filed in Jefferson Circuit Court, which cases were assigned to several different divisions. The Jefferson Circuit Court created a Master File in Division 2, and consolidated all pending and subsequently filed suits in Division 2 for purposes of adjudicating the constitutionality of KRS 413.249 and of overseeing general discovery. Also in the Master File, the Courier-Journal's motion to intervene was granted, a briefing schedule was instituted, and oral arguments were scheduled. The record in Burden's suit, which was assigned to Division 10, contains all of the relevant motions, responses and orders. On July 11, 2002, Division 2 issued an Opinion and Order denying the motions to seal that had been filed in the various lawsuits. The Opinion and Order provided, in relevant part, as follows:
I. APPLICABILITY OF KRS 413.249
It is the position of the Plaintiffs, Intervening Plaintiff and the Office of the Attorney General that the statute is inapplicable to the Archdiocese. They contend that the language of the Kentucky statute differentiates it from other states['] statutes, in that it specifically refers to "the. . .defendant," and sets forth the crimes for which such a perpetrator may be prosecuted. They argue that the Church, as a body, cannot commit any of these acts and be deemed a perpetrator.
While the Defendant argues that Illinois, Connecticut and Vermont have similar statutes that have been applied to third parties, the Plaintiffs and Inter
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