The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is appealing a federal court ruling that denied insurance reimbursement for a $32 million settlement paid to victims of child sexual abuse by church member Michael Jensen in West Virginia. The case involves allegations that church officials failed to protect multiple victims despite prior warnings.
FLOODLIT.org broke the story in March 2025, revealing for the first time that the church paid $32 million to settle the lawsuit and spent more than $27 million in legal fees defending it, bringing the total cost of this single case to nearly $60 million.
https://floodlit.org/59-million/
The church is now asking the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that the multiple incidents should be treated as a single “occurrence” under its insurance policies, potentially shifting the financial burden to its insurers.
The church argues that while the lawsuit alleged sexual abuse of multiple children over a period of several years, there was only one alleged perpetrator (Michael Jensen), so all related costs should count as a single “occurrence.” That way, it can demand that each insurer reimburse all settlement payments above a combined $15 million limit (like a deductible).
The insurance companies say their policies do not work this way, and that each child’s injuries should be treated as a separate “occurrence” as laid out in policy documents. Besides, they say, the church did not provide immediate written notice of the lawsuit as required, keeping it secret for over four years until the jury trial began.
For more details, please see: https://floodlit.org/90-million/
Floodlit will continue to monitor this appeal and provide updates on efforts to hold the church accountable for its handling of sexual abuse cases.
