DULUTH (WI)
Forum News Service via West Central Tribune
October 18, 2019
By Tom Olson
A judge on Monday will be asked to sign off on the plan, which has received overwhelming support from abuse survivors.
Nearly four years after filing for bankruptcy, the Diocese of Duluth will go before a judge Monday, Oct. 21, for final confirmation of a reorganization plan that would provide approximately $40 million in compensation to victims of child sexual abuse.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel will review the proposed settlement at an 11 a.m. hearing at the federal courthouse in Duluth. If he signs off, up to 125 survivors who filed claims could soon begin receiving payments and the diocese would finally emerge from bankruptcy protection.
The diocese voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2015 in the wake of a $4.9 million jury verdict. That award came in the first lawsuit in the state to go to trial under the Minnesota Child Victims Act, which opened a three-year window for victims of decades-old abuse cases to file suit. An onslaught of claims followed in the bankruptcy process.
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