MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune
By Tom Olsen Today at 7:52 p.m.
Facing a nearly $5 million verdict, six lawsuits and a dozen additional claims stemming from child sexual abuse cases, the Diocese of Duluth on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Chapter 11 filing comes a month after a St. Paul jury handed down a landmark $8.1 million verdict against the diocese and a Catholic religious order in the first case to go to trial under the Minnesota Child Victims Act.
The Rev. James Bissonette, vicar general of the diocese, said bankruptcy was the only option in wake of a sizeable verdict and uncertainty over the number of lawsuits the diocese will face.
“Because of the size of the award and our limited resources, when we looked at it we needed to do this today in order to assure some measure of justice for all the victims and to make sure that the day-to-day operations of the diocese continue,” Bissonette told the News Tribune.
Bissonette noted that the diocese has been ordered to pay approximately $4.9 million in damages from the recent trial, while the organization’s annual budget is only about $3.3 million.
The diocese is the 15th in the nation to file for bankruptcy over sexual abuse claims, according to victims’ advocates.
Mike Finnegan, an attorney for St. Paul-based Jeff Anderson and Associates, the leading law firm representing abuse victims, said he’s confident that his clients will see a fair resolution to their cases.
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