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	Portland Archdiocese Clears Another Bankruptcy Hurdle Associated Press, carried in KGW [Portland OR] March 29, 2007 http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8O5N9JG0.html A federal judge said the one remaining claim against the Archdiocese of Portland would cost $100,000 to settle, well below the $13.7 million set aside for unsettled claims under a proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan. The finding sets the stage for a bankruptcy judge to approve the reorganization plan next month. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones had to decide if a $13.7 million fund was sufficient to cover possible jury awards for about 20 unsettled claims against the archdiocese, most for child sex abuse by priests. The answer, which would be gathered from a series of mini-trials starting in mid-March, was pivotal for the church's plan to reorganize its finances without having to sell church properties to do it. However, all but one claim ended up being privately settled after the mini-trials started, Jones said in a ruling Wednesday. The remaining case — involving a child and his parents — did not include a claim of sexual abuse. Rather, the family said the child was wrongfully expelled from a Catholic school. Jones agreed the child was damaged in the amount of $100,000. He said the parents deserve no payment. Jones' estimation is nonbinding and made solely to help U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris and parties to the reorganization determine whether the plan is feasible. Jones did not disclose the amounts paid to claimants who settled their cases. The total payments may be divulged in an April 10 hearing after which Perris will decide whether to approve the reorganization plan. In the meantime, all parties are under a gag order. The archdiocese had already paid $53 million to settle claims of sexual misconduct before it declared bankruptcy on the eve of two trials in 2004. Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
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