The Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Wash., has accused its own lawyers of mishandling its historic bankruptcy, which exposed decades of clergy sex abuse and cost parishioners and insurers $50 million, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review reported on Wednesday. A malpractice lawsuit filed this week by the diocese seeks more than $12 million from Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke and Miller. The claim is the latest bombshell in a bankruptcy that staggered along from December 2004 until May. The diocese settled with 180 people who claimed they were sexually abused by priests and other Catholic clergy. The lawsuit also accuses the attorneys of a conflict of interest due to shielding former Bishop William Skylstad from testifying in the first civil trial alleging sex abuse by filing for bankruptcy on the eve of that suit. The accusation echoes concerns voiced during the bankruptcy by some lawyers and wealthy Catholics who opposed that strategy.
