MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune
By Tom Olsen on Aug 5, 2016
Legal fees are continuing to mount for the Diocese of Duluth in wake of a $4.9 million verdict in a child sexual abuse case that led to a bankruptcy filing last year.
On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel approved payments totalling more than $500,000 to five law firms.
The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, and a judge is required to sign off on all operating expenses while it remains under court protection. The payments will compensate the firms for work completed through the end of May.
The vast majority of the funds are going to four law firms retained by the diocese, while approximately $62,000 is going to compensate the attorneys for a creditors’ committee, which represents the interests of 125 people who have filed child sexual abuse claims against the diocese.
The diocese said it was forced to enter bankruptcy protection following the major verdict handed down by a St. Paul jury in November. The case was the first to go to trial under the Minnesota Child Victims Act, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for victims of decades-old abuse cases to file suit.
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