NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune [New Orleans LA]
September 8, 2025
By Stephanie Riegel
Nearly a dozen attorneys who collectively represent more than 200 clergy sex abuse survivors in the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy have thrown their support behind a proposed settlement plan, signaling the long- running case could come to a close by the end of the year.
In court documents filed Monday, the group of survivors and their attorneys signed on to a revised settlement plan, which already has the support of the official court-appointed committee for all 650 abuse survivors and three of four church insurance companies.
Under the terms of the settlement, the archdiocese would pay $230 million into a trust for survivors, funded, in part, by a guaranteed $50 million from the anticipated sale of Christopher Homes, a group of church-owned apartment complexes for low-income seniors. Earlier versions of the plan included estimated proceeds from the apartment sale but no guaranteed amount.
The plan also would entitle survivors to sue a fourth church insurer, Traveler’s, for additional compensation.
The group of survivors and the 10 attorneys who signed on to the plan had been signaling opposition since it was filed in July and had in the past argued that the bankruptcy should be dismissed.
In a recent filing, they alleged that Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his advisers had mismanaged the case since filing for Chapter 11 reorganization more than five years ago.
In the court documents filed Monday, they agree to withdraw that lawsuit.
Attorneys involved in the negotiations said today’s developments are a significant milestone in the case.
“It’s a huge step forward in finally getting justice for survivors,” said bankruptcy attorney Rick Kuebel, whose firm, Troutman Pepper, is co- counsel for the official survivors committee. “I’m glad we could get the other attorneys on board, supporting the plan.”
The leaders of those other attorneys, Johnny Denenea, Soren Gisleson and Richard Trahan, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a prepared statement, Aymond said he remains “very hopeful and committed to bringing the bankruptcy to a conclusion that benefits the survivors of abuse.”
“I know there remains much work to be done and I continue to hold this work in prayer,” he said. “I pray for the survivors of abuse every day and look forward to the opportunity to meet with them to hear their stories first hand.”
End of the road?
The recent developments come more than five years after Aymond placed the archdiocese under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid a growing number of clergy sex abuse claims. At the time, nearly 40 lawsuits had been filed against the local archdiocese.
In the years since, more than 650 abuse claims have been filed with the bankruptcy court and the case now ranks as one of the longest-running and most expensive of more than 40 church bankruptcies around the U.S.
Attorneys’ fees alone are nearing $50 million.
The development also come as survivors and other creditors in the case are in the process of voting on the proposed reorganization plan, which was jointly negotiated between the archdiocese and the official committee of survivors earlier this summer.
Ballots were mailed to survivors in late August. Two-thirds of survivors must vote to approve the plan.
To be sure, the case still has many hurdles to clear. A group of bondholders who are owed nearly $30 million are fighting the plan because they’re unhappy with its terms.
U.S. District Judge Meredith Grabill also must confirm the plan at a hearing scheduled for late November.
But overcoming the objection of the survivors group and its attorneys is widely considered to be a crucial step toward bringing to a close a case that has rocked the nation’s second-oldest Roman Catholic diocese and its 500,000 faithful.
If approved by a super majority of voters and confirmed by the judge, survivors could begin to receive payments by early 2026.
Guarantees
Documents filed in the case Monday include a third version of the settlement plan, which has been agreed to by the archdiocese and its affiliated parishes and charities, the official survivors committee and the attorneys for the other group of survivors.
The financial terms of the revised plan are not markedly different than the earlier versions, which called for $130 million in cash from the archdiocese and its affiliates, an additional $20 million to be paid over four years and another $30 million from the settling church insurers.
The biggest change in the revised plan is the guaranteed $50 million from Christopher Homes, a portfolio of 15 complexes that are actively being marketed for sale.
Earlier versions of the plan indicated the sale of the apartments could contribute between $36 million and $51 million toward the settlement.
Though no purchase agreement for the properties has been filed, sources familiar with the deal say negotiations between an interested buyer has advanced to the point that the church was comfortable guaranteeing the sale will generate $50 million for the settlement trust.
A question of justice
For survivors, today’s developments are an important step. In recent interviews, survivors have said no amount of money can make up for the innocence they lost when they were sexually abused as children. Still, those who plan to vote for the settlement said it is their only hope of getting justice.
“There is only one option — to take what we can get right now and then go after the insurance company,” said Stephen McEvoy, 61, who said he was raped as a 12-year-old in the mid-1970s by Deacon George Brignac. “I have lived with this for years. Now, it’s my turn.”
The plan’s “non-monetary provisions” also requires the church to implement stricter child protection measures to guard against future sex abuse by priests, and will create a public database with details of past abuse cases and the names of the abusers.
Some survivors said those elements of the plan alone are enough reason to vote for it.
“I feel very passionately about putting the non-monetary settlements in place,” said Ashley Allen, 37, who alleged abuse by Fr. Anthony Serio in the 1990s. “There are children who may be in danger of this and if these measures do not go into effect this could happen again.”