May 25, 2016, Claim Deadline Set in Diocese of Duluth Bankruptcy
(Minneapolis, MN) – At a hearing today, United States Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Kressel set a May 25, 2016 deadline for creditors, including survivors of childhood sexual abuse, to confidentially file claims in the Diocese of Duluth bankruptcy case. The decision requires all information about survivors of sexual abuse to be kept strictly confidential.
“Any survivors out there who are suffering in silence, blaming themselves, can now confidentially get help and take action,” said attorney Mike Finnegan, “But time is running out.”
On December 7, 2015, the Diocese of Duluth filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. The Diocese of Duluth is the fifteenth Catholic Diocese or Religious Order to file for bankruptcy in the United States. Each of the previous bankruptcies filed by Bishops has ended with a settlement with survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
The May 25, 2016 deadline is important for all childhood sexual abuse survivors in Minnesota because it’s the last day to come forward confidentially and bring a claim under the Minnesota Child Victims Act. The legislature passed the Child Victims Act in 2013 eliminating the civil statute of limitations for survivors of sexual abuse in Minnesota and opened a three-year “window” for survivors to file claims against their abusers and the institutions that protected their abusers.