New Hampshire Landmark Legal Settlements
NH priest sex abuse settlement
In 2003, the Diocese of Manchester agreed to pay a total of $15.5 million to settle 176 civil claims brought by alleged victims of sexual abuse by clergy members.
The incidents of abuse covered by the settlement occurred between 1956 and 1985. Individual settlement amounts varied with the severity of the molestation suffered by the victim.
NH church receives more than $1.1 million over unconstitutional zoning restrictions
In 2010, the town of Richmond reached a $1.15 million settlement with Saint Benedict Center over the town’s allegedly unconstitutional zoning restrictions. The center sued the town, alleging that town officials singled it out for discrimination after certain officials expressed their view that the church’s moral positions on matters such as abortion and homosexual behavior were abhorrent.
The settlement payment marks one of the largest settlements in U.S. history involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that protects churches from unequal treatment in land use disputes with local governments.
Tyco employee class action nets $72.5M settlement
Some 50,000 former and current employees of Tyco International who held the company’s stock in their 401(k) plans will get a total of $50 million, part of a $72.5 million settlement approved in 2009 by the U.S. District Court in Concord.
Tyco, formerly based in Exeter, New Hampshire, paid the bulk of the settlement. Former chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski will chip in $100,000 and former CFO Mark Swartz agreed to pay $225,000. Both executives, convicted in 2005 of looting the company of $400 million, are currently serving prison terms.
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