Lamothe Law Firm attended Thursday’s federal bankruptcy hearing that covered the Creditors’ Committee’s Motion to Dismiss. The Committee argued that the church is solvent and is just filing bankruptcy to avoid discovery. The Archdiocese said they don’t have to be insolvent to file for bankruptcy. They also argued that is is very common for debtors to file for bankruptcy when there is a lot of litigation ongoing or expected (even when that litigation relates to abuse claims) because it saves a lot of money not to have to re-litigate the facts/issues in multiple different courts. The Debtor also said that they want to avoid “a race to the courthouse” for abuse victims. The Committee pointed out that a race to the courthouse scenario is not a problem where, as here, the Debtor has plenty of money to pay all the victims.
The Judge declined to rule and asked the parties to prepare post-trial briefs by Wednesday of next week. She wants them to clarify for her the burden of proof (e.g. where evidence is missing, is that the Debtor’s problem or the Committee’s problem).
Read more about this hearing in this article, Abuse claimants question legitimacy of church bankruptcy, by Ramon Antonio Vargas of The New Orleans Advocate.
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.
