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	Spokane Diocese Lawyers, Newspaper Spar over Bankruptcy Info By John K. Wiley The Olympian [Spokane WA] May 10, 2007 http://www.theolympian.com/130/story/102829.html Attorneys for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane and a newspaper are sparring over how much the public will be allowed to see of a recent $48 million bankruptcy reorganization plan. The Spokesman-Review filed motions April 16 arguing the public has a right to know the names of priests accused of sexual abuse, as well as individual damage claim amounts that will be paid to victims. The newspaper has said it will not publish the names of victims, which have been redacted from court documents, but some of which were inadvertently posted online by Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke and Miller, the diocese's law firm. On Wednesday, diocesan lawyers filed a motion arguing the newspaper lacks standing in the federal bankruptcy case and that certain portions of the settlement should be off-limits to the public. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patricia Williams has yet to schedule a hearing on the motions. Unlike most Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases where the names of creditors typically are public record, Williams in this case has ordered extraordinary measures to ensure the names of abuse victims in court documents remain secret. Kate Pflaumer, a former U.S. attorney in Seattle, was appointed to review claims of abuse and determine how to distribute money the diocese, its insurance companies and parishes will pay victims to settle claims. The $48 million settlement, which will pay as many as 177 claimants between $15,000 and $1.5 million each, was unanimously approved by the clergy abuse victims, who are considered bankruptcy "creditors." Allowing the newspaper access to the confidential portions of documents would require modification of the mediated bankruptcy settlement plan, Paine Hamblin lawyer Shaun Cross argued in the diocese motion. In seeking access to court documents, the newspaper said it doesn't want the names of victims, but wants access to those court records which list amounts being paid, as well as those which identify priests accused of sexual abuse. Although the settlement requires Bishop William Skylstad to make public names of "credibly accused" priests, the diocese has released only eight names, including those of three dead priests. The newspaper and victim advocacy groups contend there may be many more abusers, some of whom are still serving in the diocese. The dispute between the law firm and the newspaper heated up Saturday, when the newspaper reported that a technical gaffe in electronic records Paine Hamblen filed to the bankruptcy court allowed the names of more than 50 victim-claimants to be viewed online. The newspaper rejected the law firm's request not to publish the story until the problem could be fixed, saying it has a duty to publish information when it becomes available. The newspaper did not publish information on how to access the names, which were subsequently removed from court documents. The newspaper's editors and lawyers vigorously denied the diocese attorneys' accusations the redacted names had been obtained illegally and in violation of the court's confidentiality orders. In an article published Thursday, Editor Steven A. Smith said the law firm appears to be trying to shift attention from its own error. "These high-priced lawyers, who were responsible for posting records online that easily could be accessed to reveal the names of priest abuse victims, are now trying to cover their mistake by attacking The Spokesman-Review for exposing them," he said.
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