NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal
By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Monday, February 8th, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A consultant last week agreed to review limited financial records provided by an insurer for the Diocese of Gallup and make a “thumbs-up or thumbs-down” decision whether to oversee a trust fund to handle future claims that may be filed by alleged victims of clerical sexual abuse against the diocese.
Settlement talks in the 26-month-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy case stalled last month after Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, a church-owned nonprofit, declined to turn over extensive financial records demanded by the consultant, Michael P. Murphy, the managing director of Michigan-based AlixPartners LLP.
Murphy was hired last year to represent the interests of sexual abuse victims who may file claims in the future.
Murphy on Wednesday told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma of Albuquerque that he would view Catholic Mutual’s financial statement early this week, then decide whether to oversee a future-claims trust fund to distribute money paid by Catholic Mutual. Attorneys say the future-claims trust fund is a vital part of a settlement in the case.
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