Lack of Jurisdiction Sinks Roman Catholic Parish Sex Abuse Suit

The abusive actions of an out-of-state Catholic priest during a business trip do not create personal jurisdiction over his Rhode Island parish under New York law, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Philip Edwardo alleges he was a victim of the late Father Philip Magaldi’s sexual abuse from approximately 1977 to 1984, including during a 1983 trip to New York City when Magaldi had come to discuss a potential donation from the Dutch socialite Claus von Bühlow. Edwardo, then a minor, sued the Roman Catholic parish St. Anthony’s, where Magaldi worked, and others, at the US District Court for ...