On July 30, 2020, the Lamothe Law Firm attended a hearing in the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy proceedings in which the Court ruled upon the Archdiocese request that the Court establish a procedure for designating certain documents confidential, including documents containing information about sexual abuse claims. The Creditors Committee, which represents abuse survivors, argued that sexual abuse documents should not be kept confidential because the public needs to know how the Archdiocese is handling abuse allegations, and because the community of sexual abuse survivors wants complete transparency from the Archdiocese regarding sexual abuse claims.
Ultimately, the Court approved a procedure which would allow the Creditor’s Committee to challenge the Archdiocese assertions of confidentiality with respect to particular documents. The Court itself would then rule on the confidentiality of the challenged documents. While the Court did not rule at this time on the confidentiality of the controversial emails between the Archdiocese and the Saints’ public relations team, this ruling set forth the procedure under which the Court will ultimately decide whether those emails will be 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. A tentative deadline of September 29, 2020 has been set by which all claims must be filed.
