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Minn. Appeals Court Reverses Clergy Abuse Decision

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota man who claims he was abused by a Roman Catholic priest in the early 1980s will get another chance to have his lawsuit heard in court.

A Minnesota Court of Appeals panel has reversed a lower court's decision to dismiss James Keenan's lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona.

Attorneys for Keenan had argued they should be allowed to present expert testimony showing Keenan's memory was repressed. They say the statute of limitations should begin at the time Keenan realized he was abused.

The archdiocese says it will continue to try to resolve the case without a trial.

Keenan says he was abused by the now defrocked Thomas Adamson. A message left at a number believed to be Adamson's was not returned Monday.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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