The United States Court of Appeal has dismissed a lawsuit against the Vatican. On Monday the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a case involving the alleged sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in Oregon in 1965. The dismissal of John V Doe v Holy See on Monday marks the end of litigation which began in 2002. Jeffrey S Lena, counsel for the Holy See, published the documentation held by the Vatican regarding the case in 2011, indicating that the Vatican was only informed of the misconduct a year after the abuse was reported and the priest was then laicised within weeks. Jeffrey S Lena said: "The dismissal – which was not the result of any settlement or other payment by the Holy See – was entered at the voluntary request of the Plaintiff’s own lawyers, who were faced with an impending deadline to reply to the Holy See’s appellate briefing in the case,” and said the lawsuit “never should have been filed in the first place.”