Maine

Man who accused orphanage founder appeals defamation verdict

Associated Press
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FILE - In this July 9, 2015 file photo, Michael Geilenfeld arrives to federal court in Portland, Maine. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled Wednesday, March 30, 2016, to determine where Geilenfeld was living when he sued activist Paul Kendrick over accusations that he'd abused boys. Kendrick's lawyers contend Geilenfeld didn't have jurisdiction to sue in federal court because he was living outside the U.S. In July 2015, a federal jury awarded $7 million to Geilenfeld, founder of St. Joseph Home for Boys in Haiti, and $7.5 million to a North Carolina-based charity, Hearts with Haiti. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this July 9, 2015 file photo, Michael Geilenfeld arrives to federal court in Portland, Maine. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled Wednesday, March 30, 2016, to determine where Geilenfeld was living when he sued activist Paul Kendrick over accusations that he'd abused boys. Kendrick's lawyers contend Geilenfeld didn't have jurisdiction to sue in federal court because he was living outside the U.S. In July 2015, a federal jury awarded $7 million to Geilenfeld, founder of St. Joseph Home for Boys in Haiti, and $7.5 million to a North Carolina-based charity, Hearts with Haiti. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) (The Associated Press)

Lawyers are headed back to court following a jury's $14.5 million defamation verdict against a Maine man who accused an orphanage founder in Haiti of being a serial pedophile.

Attorneys representing Paul Kendrick contend orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld didn't have jurisdiction to sue in federal court because he was living outside the U.S.

A hearing on Wednesday will focus on where he was living when the lawsuit was filed.

In July, a federal jury awarded $7 million to Geilenfeld, founder of St. Joseph Home for Boys in Haiti, and $7.5 million to a North Carolina-based charity, Hearts with Haiti.

More former residents have since come forward with sexual abuse allegations in Haiti, where police padlocked the orphanage and sought to detain Geilenfeld.