KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former insurance company for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is seeking to avoid paying for priest sexual abuse settlements.

The Chicago Insurance Company is claiming in a federal court filing that it has no obligation to cover a $2.25 million settlement the diocese reached with the parents of Brian Teeman.

The parents contended their 14-year-old son committed suicide because of repeated sexual abuse by a priest

The insurer also is seeking to deny coverage for six claims from a 2008 settlement.

 

Plaintiffs’ attorney Rebecca Randles told the AP that the diocese already paid the plaintiffs who were part of the 2008 settlement. She says the Teeman suit was settled on the assumption that there would be no insurance coverage.