News

(St. Paul, MN) – A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2016, at 1:00PM before Hon. Robert J. Kressel in United States Bankruptcy Court in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis bankruptcy case. Several issues will be addressed at the hearing and Judge Kressel may decide whether the proposed bankruptcy plans filed by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis and the Creditors’ Committee, will move forward. 

 (Minneapolis, MN) – The Creditors’ Committee in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy case has filed an amended reorganization plan. The plan preserves the rights to over $1 billion in available insurance assets. “Some of the major insurance companies in the Archdiocese bankruptcy case are refusing to pay what they owe, leaving the abuse survivors to suffer,” said Attorney Jeff Anderson. “Travelers, CNA and AIG are asking the court to allow them to pay pennies on the dollar when their insurance contracts require them to pay close…

(St. Cloud, MN) – In a hearing tomorrow in Stearns County District Court, St. John’s Abbey and Father Timothy Backous will ask the court to block attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Bryant from making Backous’ file public. Anderson and Bryant represent Doe 188 and Doe 413…

Judge Denies Consolidation Request in Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Bankruptcy CaseCreditors Committee, Survivors to Appeal DecisionOrder Denying Substantive ConsolidationTimeline – ADSPM Maneuvers Post-CVA(Minneapolis, MN) – In an order issued today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota, Judge Robert J. Kressel denied a motion to consolidate assets in the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis bankruptcy case. On May 23, 2016, the creditors committee moved to consolidate several entities into the bankruptcy estate. Included in this motion was an outline of the complicated and d…

Backous Worked in Prominent Roles at St. John’s and Duluth afterSt. John’s ‘cleared’ him of allegations in 1991 and 2015What:  At a news conference tomorrow in St. Paul, attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Bryant will:  • Announce the filing of two civil lawsuits naming St. John’s Abbey and Father Timothy Backous as defendants. One suit is being brought by Doe 413, a survivor who was sexually abused by Backous at St. John’s Prep School in approximately 1982-1983 when he was 16 years old. The second lawsuit is being brought by Doe 188, a former member of the St. John’s Boys Choir who was…

To Reveal Truth, Abuse Survivor Releases Investigative Report to the Public Investigative Report (New York, NY) – Longtime teacher, coach and athletic director, Louis Tambini, abused girls at a prominent Jesuit, Catholic School in New York City.  The yearlong investigation conducted by lawyers and school officials concluded with a report confirming both the reports of abuse and a lack of response by church and school officials. The Report Findings:Investigation was sparked by a social media post on school Facebook page. Church and School officials protected Tambin…

(New Ulm, MN) – Three sexual abuse survivors have identified three priests from the Diocese of New Ulm as child abusers. The priests, Fr. Bernard Steiner, Fr. Richard Gross and Fr. Edward Ardolf, are being publicly named for the first time. Fr. Bernard Steiner: Steiner was ordained in 1964 in the Diocese of New Ulm and worked in several parishes throughout Southern and West-Central Minnesota during his clerical career, including parishes and schools in Springfield, Sanborn, Dawson…

Diocese of St. Cloud’s Secrecy Practices Cracked By Two Stearns County JudgesJudge Frederick Grunke gives green light to survivor’s public nuisance action against the Diocese of St. Cloud Judge Kris Davick-Halfen orders release of priest files Doe 65 Order 4-1-16Doe 50 Order 3-29-16(St. Cloud, MN) – Judge Frederick Grunke’s order, issued April 1, 2016, says that the Diocese of St. Cloud’s long-standing practices of concealment and protection of sexual abusers created a dangerous condition that threatens public safety. Judge Grunke wrote in his order that the “harboring and …

(Minneapolis, MN) – A lawsuit was filed today on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Erin Nanasi, in Hennepin County District Court naming Children’s Theatre Company as the defendant. Nanasi was sexually abused by Stephen Adamczak in the early 1980s when she was a student at Children’s Theatre Company. Adamczak worked at Children’s Theatre Company as a Sound Technician, Sound Designer, and Instructor.  Attached and included below is a statement from Erin Nanasi.This is the eighth lawsuit filed on behalf of five sexual abuse survivors since early December 2015 naming Children’s Theatre as…

(Crookston, MN) – Tomorrow at 1:30 PM at the Polk County Justice Center, the Diocese of Crookston will ask the Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of a sexual abuse survivor, Doe 19, who was sexually abused as a young boy by Fr. J. Vincent Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald worked as a priest at St. Anne’s in Naytahwaush, MN, where he abused Doe 19. Prior to working at St. Anne’s in the Diocese of Crookston, Fitzgerald also worked at St. Catherine’s parish in Squaw Lake, MN, in the Diocese of Duluth, where he sexually abused another young boy, Bill Weis.