ROCHESTER ()
Catholic Courier [Diocese of Rochester NY]
July 30, 2025
By Karen M. Franz
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re done. We just need to put a ribbon on it,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul R. Warren said July 29, directly addressing roughly a dozen abuse claimants who had just heard an hour-long discussion of legal issues related to confirmation of the Eighth Amended Joint Plan for Reorganization of the Diocese of Rochester.
The hearing took place six days after the Continental Insurance Company (commonly known as CNA) became the final insurer to settle with the Unsecured Creditors Committee, which represents abuse claimants in the bankruptcy case.
The $120-million settlement with CNA will add to a combined $71.35 million from four diocesan insurers that previously had settled with the committee and $55 million from the diocese, its parishes and other “Participating Parties.” The plan establishes the Rochester Abuse Claim Trust to receive and manage the $246.35 million total, and to disburse funds to survivors according to an allocation protocol designed by the creditors’ committee.
However, the 11th-hour timing of the CNA settlement delayed confirmation of the plan, which was originally expected to take place during the July 29 hearing. The judge explained that the bankruptcy code calls for a notice period before the CNA settlement can be approved.
During the hearing, Warren rejected a series of objections from the U.S. Trustee’s Office that were based on the 2024 Supreme Court decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma. The ruling in that case stipulated that bankruptcy courts cannot grant non-consensual third-party releases to non-debtors.
The UST argued that the plan’s releases and injunctions shielding diocesan parishes and other participating parties from abuse litigation run afoul of the Purdue ruling because the ballots for voting vote on the plan employed an opt-out mechanism rather than an opt-in mechanism for claimants to affirmatively consent to the releases.
The UST’s office noted that Warren had required opt-in mechanisms in other bankruptcy cases he has handled since Purdue.
“I know what consent looks like,” Warren said in response to the objection. “It’s different depending on the facts of each case.”
The judge then reiterated a point he had made in previous hearings: Through co-authorship of the plan by the Unsecured Creditors’ Committee, “the victims did not just have a seat at the table; they had a pen in their hands.”
A review of the voting tabulation — entered into evidence during the hearing — supported that position. According to a declaration from the bankruptcy-administration firm Stretto, which handled the voting process, 466 Class 4 abuse claimants voted to accept the plan, and not a single abuse claimant voted to reject it.
“(T)hat’s 100 percent,” Warren remarked. “I don’t have empirical data, but I would say it’s unprecedented to have 100 percent” voting in favor of a reorganization plan.”