The Lamothe Law Firm attended the telephonic hearing regarding the Archdiocese of New Orleans Bankruptcy proceedings held on July 16, 2020. We attended to represent abuse survivors who deserve fair and full compensation for the terrible abuse suffered. This meeting is a step in moving forward to attain that goal.
At the hearing, the Application of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors to employ Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones as co-counsel was granted.
Judge Grabill also granted the Debtor’s Motion for Authority to Approve Compensation and Payments to Insiders, which requests authority to pay the salaries of Bishop Aymond and several other Archdiocese employees.
Judge Grabill heard argument from the various parties in relation to the debtor’s Motion for Entry of an Order Authorizing the Debtor to Employ Professionals in the Ordinary Course of Business, which asked the court to allow the Debtor to continue to employ certain professionals that had been providing services to the debtor prior to the bankruptcy. This list of professionals included Denechaud and Denechaud which is the law firm that has represented the Archdiocese on many child sexual abuse matters. An abuse survivor, JW Doe, objected to the motion and requested that the court allow JW Doe to share confidential documents obtained in discovery in the underlying state court case with the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC). He argued that the Debtor should not be allowed to pay the professionals named in the motion until the confidential documents were released to the public and were thoroughly reviewed. While Judge Grabill acknowledged that she will have to rule on whether the documents will be released to the public at a later date, she ultimately granted the Debtor’s motion to pay the Ordinary Course of Business professionals.
Judge Grabill’s willingness to review the issue of the confidential documents in the future suggests that there may still be a window of opportunity for abuse survivors who would like the see the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ records of child sexual abuse cases made public.
If you or someone you know endured sexual assault or abuse at the hands of a clergy member or other employee of the Archdiocese of New Orleans at any time, PLEASE CONTACT US TODAY so we can help you file your claim.
