Update on the Chapter 11 Plan

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
February 23, 2016

http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

Mid-February, the attached email was sent to parish representatives by the attorney representing the parish group. I received it via a circuitous route which I will not outline here. My reason for posting it is because it provides the clearest demonstration of the attitude with which the recently announced settlement has been received, as well as an important heads up regarding what to expect as the civil window opened by the Minnesota Child Victims Act expires. See the highlighted text below.sss

   Hello Everyone

I wanted to give you a short update on the current status of the case as well as the attorney fee situation.

RAMSEY COUNTY AGREEMENT: In my last correspondence, I updated you on the Archdiocese’s settlement with the Ramsey County Attorney’s office.

The court approved that settlement but noted in its order that the Settlement Agreement only binds the Archdiocese, and that the parishes are not bound by any terms of the agreement. As a result, the Archdiocese can only request that you implement the terms of the agreement in your parish. You have the right to say no if you like. I am attaching a copy of the Order for your reference.

MEDIATION: There was a three day mediation held the last week of January. I attended all three days this time since we were actually working on things related to the Chapter 11 plan, as well as the insurance matters. There was some progress made in negotiations with insurers and the clergy abuse claimants related to the claims against the parishes. There was also some progress on obtaining funds from the various insurers. Margo will be updating you more fully on that in the next couple of weeks. Suffice it to say that progress is being made, albeit slowly. The mediator has scheduled additional mediation sessions on Feb 25-26; March 22-23 and April 5 -7. In addition, I will be meeting with the attorneys for the Archdiocese and other parish attorneys to work on the Chapter 11 plan language in the next couple of weeks. We are hoping to get a plan filed in the next 30 – 60 days.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS AGAINST PARISHES: During the mediation proceeding, we have been negotiating with Mr. Anderson regarding the upcoming statute of limitations issues. As you all know, the statute of limitations deadline expires in May, 2016, so we are doing everything we can to get a deal put together prior to the deadline so as to avoid the clergy abuse victims from taking action against the parishes. At this time, Jeff Anderson is threatening to sue out all the claims against parishes prior to the deadline so as to preserve his clients’ rights against the parishes.

While we may not be able to totally avoid such lawsuits, we are negotiating with Mr. Anderson to delay filing those lawsuits as long as possible. To the extent that they need to be filed to meet the statute of limitations requirements, we believe we will be able to agree to have them put on hold pending the outcome of this proceeding. I will have more information on these issues in the next couple of weeks; in the meantime, there is no need for you to worry about getting served with a lawsuit at this time. I will let you know as soon as we have a procedure worked out.

ATTORNEYS FEES: As I have done each month, I am attaching a copy of my January, 2016 invoice. These fees have been paid out of the retainer funds. However, my retainer funds are now down to approximately $8000. In light of the work that will be upcoming in the next couple of months, it is necessary for me to ask for additional retainer funds. At this time, I am requesting that each parish send me a check for an additional $500.00.

As in the past, the checks should be made payable to Buckley & Jensen and sent to me at the address listed below. If you have any questions about this request, please feel free to contact me. I appreciate all of your support throughout this proceeding. I know it feels like the process is taking a very long time, but progress is being made. There are many parties and many moving parts but I am hopeful that we will be to bring this case to a successful conclusion. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. God Bless!

Mary Jo Jensen-Carter Buckley & Jensen 1257 Gun Club Road White Bear Lake, MN 55110 Phone: 651-486-7475 Fax: 651-486-7468