An Athens County judge recently struck down a motion to dismiss a $1 million civil lawsuit filed in January by a Glouster woman following the reported sexual abuse that she experienced as a minor by a since-dismissed priest.
Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Monforton is the sole defendant of the suit, which alleges that he ânegligently failed to investigate and protect⦠to interveneâ in regard to reports of acts of sexual exploitation by his employee, ex-priest Henry Christopher Foxhoven.
The motion to dismiss was filed by the defendant in March.
âThe Court is unpersuaded at this point that the plaintiffâs complaint is one that cannot possibly succeed,â Athens County Common Pleas Court Judge George P. McCarthy in May noted in his decision. âThis is not to say the complaint ultimately will prevail or that the defense has no forceful arguments. Rather, it is a conclusion that the case should not be dismissed at the initial pleading stage.â