Mount Cashel orphanage survivors reach settlement worth more than $16.5 million

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Survivors of abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, N.L. have reached a settlement with the Christian Brothers of Ireland worth more than $16.5 million.

The settlement with the Catholic religious order includes cash plus other assets that must still be approved in court.

Lawyer Geoff Budden represents 90 survivors from Newfoundland out of a total of 422 North American claimants.

He says the money will be distributed according to a court-ordered formula.

Budden says the settlement was reached by a committee of creditors that has worked with the Christian Brothers since its companies sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S.

The Christian Brothers operated schools in the U.S. and the orphanage in St. John’s where several former staff were convicted of sex crimes.

The orphanage was shut down in 1990 but several lawsuits are ongoing, including against the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s.

Budden says news of the settlement is the biggest development in a 13-year legal battle.