Archdiocese Has Exclusive Rights until May to File Plan

By Jessica Trygstad
Catholic Spirit
October 29, 2015

http://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/archdiocese-has-exclusive-rights-until-may-to-file-plan/

At an Oct. 29 hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the judge overseeing the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Reorganization proceedings allowed it to be the sole party to file a plan for Reorganization until May 31, 2016. Before Judge Robert Kressel’s approval, the date was set for next month.

Attorney Richard Anderson of Briggs and Morgan, representing the archdiocese, said that the time of exclusivity allotted to the archdiocese to file a plan is necessary because mediation is ongoing.

“It would be a mistake and harmful for everyone’s interests for the archdiocese to file a plan that hasn’t been fully vetted. The premature filing of a plan would just be a waste of resources and time,” he said following the hearing.

Anderson emphasized that the motion wasn’t asking for an extension of any deadlines and that the archdiocese hasn’t missed any deadlines.

“This isn’t a deadline. This is a right,” he said. “The archdiocese has a right to file a plan with an exclusive period.”

Other parties, including creditors, are able to file a plan after the exclusivity period ends next May.

In a second motion from the archdiocese, Kressel denied the designation of a claims representative for people who might not have been required to file a claim against the archdiocese by the Aug. 3 deadline because of a legal disability, citing that the existing unsecured creditors committee represents all claimants. Anderson said the motion was to clarify who represents those individuals. An order worked out immediately after the hearing resolved the issue.

“We’re happy with the resolution,” Anderson said, adding that it addresses a theoretical and, hopefully remote, contingency. “It will help the ultimate process, which is what their case is all about.”

The archdiocese filed for Reorganization Jan. 15 and began mediation with attorneys representing claimants following the first hearing in January.