VIC Deed of release sexual abuse Catholic Church

[Melly]

Hi there

Was just wondering. If you have signed a deed of release and the other party eg. catholic church just say ' lied and mislead survivors' by saying they had no funding when in actual fact they did because they got caught lying about assets etc.
Have they broken their contract with me or other survivors?
Would be good if you can share your thoughts on this.
Hope i made sense.

Cheers

 

[Rod]

You should look at the results of the recent Royal Commission and see what they said about these deeds of release.

I know they covered the releases in their report but don't know the substance of the report.

 

[Melly]

You should look at the results of the recent Royal Commission and see what they said about these deeds of release.

I know they covered the releases in their report but don't know the substance of the report.

Thanks Rod
If it was common sense based approach in regards to church lying, I would think that is a fair enough reason to break mine. They have now changed the laws so that you can sue the church. It's just a shame so many of us were forced to sign before the Royal Commission had finished!
I will look into this.

Thanks

 

[Tim W]

Don't trouble yourself.
I don't see any court upholding an agreement,
the operative effect of which is,
to conceal one or more serious offences.

 

[Linda01]

As part of a settlement following a 'Towards Healing Process' in Victori, I was forced to sign a deed of release in order to obtain the compensation.

During the negotiation process, I stated many times that I was not willing to sign such a deed.

I was informed, after divulging all my personal information including how close I was to financial incapacity (bankruptcy), that the only way the Diocese would pay was if I signed such a deed. I was also informed that I this would make no difference to my ability to revisit the process if the limitation laws changed.

Last year I found out that the statute of limitations had changed in Victoria and approached the Diocese seeking some help. This was refused and I was basically told to go away as I was breaching the deed that I signed.
Do I have an ability to challenge such a deed? If so what firm would be best to speak with?

The refusal of assistance compounded along with other factors and caused me to lose my house due to an inability to pay my mortgage. The settlement that I originally agreed to was predicated on the fact that the statute effectively barred me from suing for damages in court. Do I have any options to revisit?

Hi MartyJ,
I may be able to assist you with this issue, new amendments have been made to legislation regarding this area of historical child abuse. In 2018 I personally prepared over 150 claims for people like yourself.
If you are still on this forum or receiving messages feel free to reply and let me know if you still require assistance.