US lawyer who alerted school to priest’s sexual misconduct seeks damages

Richard Trahant, fined $400,000 for alerting high school about priest, accuses law firm of trying to harm his reputation

An American attorney fined $400,000 for alerting a Roman Catholic high school that a priest stationed there admitted fondling and kissing a teenage girl during a previous assignment is seeking damages from church lawyers as he fights the penalty.

The lawsuit filed last week by the Louisiana-based attorney Richard Trahant accuses a law firm representing New Orleans's archdiocese in a bankruptcy protection case - and administrators of the proceeding - of trying to harm his reputation by widely but improperly publicizing the judicial order behind the fine.