MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel May 12, 2015
A federal judge has scheduled a Thursday hearing to gauge interest in trying to settle a contentious lawsuit over the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s now $66 million cemetery trust.
The trust is a key element in the archdiocese’s plan to emerge from its 4-year-old bankruptcy in that it would be tapped both to compensate clergy sex abuse victims and fund the church’s ongoing cemetery operations.
“There’s always interest in settling litigation,” said attorney Timothy Nixon, who represents Archbishop Jerome Listecki as the sole trustee of the trust. “However, we are just one part of a much larger picture.”
James Stang, who represents the creditors committee, declined to say how it would view an offer of mediation. But he did say that any talks on the cemetery trust would likely be a de facto mediation in the bankruptcy case overall.
“The cemetery trust is the main moving part at this point,” Stang said. “I can’t imagine the parties going into a room to talk about that and not talk about the entire Chapter 11 case.”
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