Commonwealth Court OKs fraud charge appeal against diocese to proceed

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
At least one element of the lawsuits filed on behalf of the parishioners of two former area churches is being allowed to move forward.
A panel of Commonwealth Court judges has overturned the dismissal of a fraud charge against the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Bishop David Zubik, opening the door for the possibility of that count moving forward for a hearing.
“This is the first case we’ve seen where an appeal court has allowed allegations of fraud to move past the pleading phase,” said attorney Joseph R. Dalfonso with Dodaro, Matta & Cambest, PC, the firm handling the case on behalf of the former parishioners of St. Anthony and St. Agnes churches in Monongahela and Richeyville.
The three-judge Commonwealth panel upheld the dismissal of three other allegations which had been made against the diocese in connection with the merger/closure of the churches. The charges of conversion (improper solicitation of money), unjust enrichment and breaching fiduciary duties to the congregations had been dismissed when Washington County Common Pleas Judge Katherine B. Emery granted the diocese preliminary objections. Emery had also dismissed the fraud allegation, but the higher court overturned that ruling in the cases filed by the members of the two former churches.

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