Overview
- An Alameda County jury, which delivered its verdict Wednesday, awarded $16 million split as $12 million for past harm and $4 million for future harm.
- The 61-year-old plaintiff said former priest Stephen Kiesle abused him at age 10 in Union City, and the diocese did not dispute the abuse or its lack of oversight.
- Because the Diocese of Oakland is in Chapter 11, the award cannot be collected from the diocese, though insurance policies could pay.
- The test case is expected to guide settlement values for more than 330 similar suits, with another bellwether trial set for June in Oakland.
- Kiesle was convicted of lewd conduct in 1978, defrocked in 1987, later served six years for molestation, and is now imprisoned for a 2022 manslaughter case.