Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies

Diocese of Duluth Chapter 11 Settlement

Chapter 11 Settlement

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2015, a month after a 4.9 million dollar jury verdict exposed it to a further wave of clergy sexual abuse claims. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel gave final approval to the settlement on 21 October 2019, closing a bankruptcy process of nearly four years. The two contemporary accounts of the same plan report different totals: MPR News states 39.2 million dollars for 125 claimants, CBS Minnesota states 40 million dollars for 120 claimants; both figures and both claimant counts are recorded here, the variance named, rather than picking one. The diocese, its more than 70 parishes and several Catholic entities in the region contribute about 10 million dollars toward the settlement, with the remainder coming from insurance. As part of the plan the diocese agreed to release its files on 37 priests it classifies as credibly accused and to incorporate further child protection protocols.

Facts
Documented Findings
Victim Estimate
125 1
Reported as 125 claimants by MPR News and 120 claimants by CBS Minnesota, describing the same confirmed plan; the variance is named rather than resolved to one figure.
Key Finding
Duluth's settlement bundled a non-monetary disclosure term into the plan itself: the diocese agreed to release its own list of 37 priests it classifies as credibly accused, going beyond the cash trust that dominates most diocesan bankruptcy coverage, and the two contemporaneous accounts of the settlement's dollar total differ by roughly 800,000 dollars and by five claimants, a small but real variance in even well reported cases. 2
Inquiry Profile
Kind of Record
Settlement 1
Jurisdiction
District of Minnesota, United States (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Judge Robert Kressel) 1
Publication Year
2019 1
Period Covered, From
2015 to 2019 1
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