A Bakersfield judge ordered former Roman Catholic priest Craig Harrison to pay over $200,000 in legal fees as part of his defamation lawsuit.
Harrison could be ordered to pay even more if his other defamation case goes against him later this month.
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The backstory: Harrison was the former priest at Bakersfield’s St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and was suspended in 2019 in the face of allegations accusing him of inappropriate sexual misconduct.
- The ex-priest resigned from the parish in 2021 after a lawsuit against Fresno Diocese Bishop Joseph Brennan and former Diocese spokeswoman Teresa Dominguez the year before. That lawsuit was settled last year.
- In 2019, Roman Catholic activist Steven Brady – who runs the organization Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. – held a press conference that discussed allegations from 15 years prior that accused the ex-priest of sexual misconduct.
The big picture: Harrison filed a defamation lawsuit against Brady, but a Fresno appellate court dismissed the case last year.
- Kern County Superior Court Judge J. Eric Bradshaw ordered Harrison to pay Brady $219,800 in attorneys’ fees.
- Brady had requested the fee rate at $573.50 per hour, but Bradshaw reduced the payout to $297.50 per hour to reflect local rates.
What we’re watching: Harrison also filed a lawsuit against Justin Gilligan, a Benedictine monk who also accused Harrison of misconduct.
- Gilligan won that lawsuit, and the hearing to determine further attorneys’ fees payment is set for later this month.
What they’re saying: Brady told the Bakersfield Californian that he is relieved with the decision that has been a heavy financial burden on his organization.
- Harrison’s attorney Craig Edmonston told the publication that he strongly disagreed with the ruling.
- “In California, the courts keep narrowing the rights of victims of defamation,” Edmonston said. “The effect of this appellate court ruling is that would-be defamers have a license to lie with impunity, meaning no accountability.”
