BUFFALO, N.Y. — The case involving allegations of sexual abuse against Reverend Darius Pridgen is moving forward at this point since formal notification of the lawsuit was received by Pridgen and True Bethel Baptist Church where he serves as Bishop and Senior Pastor.
2 On Your Side spoke with Attorney Lisa Coppola for some legal insight on the case and what can happen next.
Now that Reverend Pridgen and True Bethel Baptist Church got notice of the sex abuse lawsuit on Monday, a legal analyst tells us that attorneys Paul Cambria and Joseph Manna have 30 days to answer either with actual counter-claims or a motion before a judge to actually dismiss the suit.
We will see how they proceed but we do know Pridgen has vehemently and repeatedly denied any involvement or any personal contact or knowledge of the woman/accuser in the case.
And of course, it went sideways a bit last Friday with The Buffalo News story that said the woman reportedly told a journalist it never happened and she never spoke with an attorney.
Her reported attorney Antigone Curis in New York City then said her client was dodging calls from the media and quote "made no such representation." We have not heard from her since then.
Attorneys Cambria and Manna told Curis in a letter to in essence drop the case and not file again or face possible legal action. In that letter, they also challenged Curis' verification efforts which we asked Attorney Lisa Coppolla about as a legal analyst.
"Lawyers have a high ethical obligation and I certainly would expect that any attorney would do their due diligence and ascertain what they believe is in good faith the facts before committing the filing of a summons and complaint.".
Coppola added, "We will spend a considerable amount of time with our client and we will ask our client to go through verbally with us - sometimes in writing with us what the facts and the timeline so to speak was. Helping them to put down either in paper or in communications with us as best they can remember step by step what happened."
Coppola emphasized that this case could take "years" to wind through the legal system. And sometimes, especially if insurance legal coverage is involved, that motivates in essence business decisions on both sides on whether or not to settle it or face more legal and court costs.
Of course, that will not be likely at this point with Reverend Pridgen's strong denials. Based on The Buffalo News story it is not clear as to the commitment of his supposed accuser.