What mediation means for the archdiocese, insurers and victims | Minnesota Public Radio News

 

The mediation process is private and confidential, unlike a case that goes before a judge.

That promise of privacy invites candor — and encourages the parties involved to consider making concessions they might not otherwise make in open court.

"In mediation, the parties themselves get to say how much they're willing to give up — how much they're willing take, if you would, on either side of the table — and come to some resolution," said Christine Kubes, a construction attorney and mediator.

What about compensating victims?

Generally in a bankruptcy, there's not much dispute about individual abuse claims.

After it's determined how much money is available to compensate victims, a court-appointed adjudicator will decide how that money should be allocated to individual victims, based on the severity of abuse suffered. Settlements also typically include an apology to victims.

Insurers and parishes where sex abuse occurred will likely try to make sure that any settlement with victims doesn't leave the door open to abuse lawsuits against individual parishes.

Insurers and parishes may be on the same page in seeking, through the bankruptcy court, some sort of legal protection against future abuse claims

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Twin Cities archdiocese files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | INFORUM

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14th Catholic bankruptcy

Friday's filing marks the 14th Roman Catholic organization or group to file for bankruptcy protection since 2004. He's been involved in eight of them, he said.

"We will do this in a way that it's never been done before," Anderson said at a press conference in his office Friday. "In a way that can bring healing, it can bring compensation, it can advance change and not fight and get involved in contention and adversary relationships.

Past bankruptcies have varied widely, Anderson said. The average resolution takes about two years. Some have taken longer. The bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, for example, remains unresolved after four years. Anderson said the archdiocese there has contested all victims' claims and has haggled over how much will be paid to claimants.

Compensation for victims has also varied. In the Diocese of Helena, Mont., Anderson said victims received about $42,000 each. In the Diocese of San Diego, victims were awarded almost $1.4 million each.

It's unclear how much money will be made available to the more than 100 claimants here. That could hinge on whether the archdiocese contests validity of claims and on availability of insurance coverage, which is in dispute.

Anderson said for most victims, it's not about the money.

"It's really about making sure that other kids are not hurt, making sure they've done something to prevent it from happening in the future, and holding those responsible accountable in some way," Anderson said. "The filing of this bankruptcy ... doesn't keep us and the survivors with whom we're working from pursuing that objective."

More time to sue

In November, the archdiocese said its operating deficit can be partly attributed to the $4.1 million it has spent to address claims of clergy sexual abuse since May 2013, when the Minnesota Legislature opened a three-year window for victims to file claims against their abusers for abuse that occurred many years ago.

Since the act went into effect, 25 lawsuits have been filed; two have been settled.

Three lawsuits were scheduled to go to trial Jan. 26. Those proceedings are now stayed and their claims, along with any new claims, will be incorporated into the bankruptcy case.

Archdiocese officials said in November that because of the "significant number" of claims they've been told will be filed, the archdiocese could no longer draw from budget reserves.

Total operating revenue for the year ending June 30, 2014, was $25.5 million, compared with $32.7 million in 2013.

That decrease was largely due to a $7.7 million drop when the Catholic Services Appeal was shifted into a separate nonprofit organization at the start of 2014. The move assured donors that their contributions would go directly to specified ministries, instead of flowing through the chancery.

The archdiocese's chief financial officer, Thomas Mertens, wrote in the Nov. 20 issue of the Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the archdiocese, how a reorganization would affect operations:….

 

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Twin Cities archdiocese files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | INFORUM