Clergy sex abuse survivors reach $323 million settlement with Diocese of Rockville Centre

After a four-year court battle, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached an agreement with hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse that calls for the church to pay a total of just over $323 million, officials said in federal bankruptcy court Thursday.

While some steps remain to finalize the deal, the lead attorney for the diocese indicated that an agreement had been reached.

"After nearly four years ... we do have a global resolution," Corrine Ball told U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan.

The agreement would benefit more than 500 people who have filed lawsuits against the diocese contending they were sexually abused by clergy when they were children.

The Rockville Centre diocese is home to 1.2 million Catholics, and is the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to declare bankruptcy.

The diocese in a statement Thursday said it was "grateful that preliminary terms have been agreed upon for the settlement of our bankruptcy case. For the sake of survivors and the Church's mission on Long Island, we pray that the plan is approved and completed as quickly as possible."

"The Diocese's goal has always been the equitable compensation of survivors of abuse while allowing the Church to continue her essential mission," the statement said. "We believe that this plan will achieve those goals."

Paul Mones, a Los Angeles-based attorney representing some of the survivors, said that while the deal is not everything the survivors had hoped for, "After four long years, the victims finally will have resolution."

"Nothing will ever compensate these men and women for what they were forced to go through because of the deliberate indifference of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, who let these victims sway in the wind for years," he said.

Richard Tollner, who heads the committee of survivors in the bankruptcy proceedings, said he generally supported the agreement after years of hard work to make it happen.

The long court battle "has been harsh on victims and their families," he said. "We look forward to full cooperation by the Diocese and all its representatives in reaching the finish line."

The diocese said the total payout would be just over $323 million. The diocese, parishes and other related entities will contribute $234.8 million, with some of the money raised from sales of diocesan property. Insurance companies will contribute just over $85 million. Counsel for the Creditor's Committee, a legal firm that represents the interests of the survivors,will contribute $3 million.

"All participated in order to help offer equitable compensation to survivors and move this difficult ordeal towards a conclusion," the statement said.

The diocese had offered the survivors a total of $200 million, an offer the survivors overwhelmingly rejected in April. Lawyers for the survivors had proposed a $450 million settlement — a figure the diocese says would leave it in financial ruin and unable to carry out its work.

Attorneys for the diocese and the survivors said it could be weeks more before the plan is finalized and carried out. It must be voted on and approved by most of the survivors.

Ball said she hopes they will give it overwhelming backing.

Toward the end of the hearing, Glenn said he partly felt like doing "cartwheels" out of the courtroom, though he cautioned "we still have a ways to go here."

The diocese declared bankruptcy on Oct. 1, 2020, citing potential payouts from the New York State Child Victims Act. The law opened a one-year window allowing childhood victims of sex abuse to file lawsuits regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred. The window was extended to two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cases were later transferred to bankruptcy court. Some of the alleged abuse dates back decades. 

Another attorney representing survivors said he was satisfied with the agreement.

"We are pleased that many of these child sex abuse survivors can get some form of closure to begin the healing process," said Jordan Merson, a Manhattan-based attorney.

The lead attorneys on both sides had told Glenn two weeks ago they had largely reached a deal, with only one issue with an insurance company holding it up. Glenn ordered executives of the insurance company to appear in New York within a week to resolve the issue.

James Stang, the main attorney representing the survivors, said last week the issue had been resolved.

As part of the settlement plan, the diocese said Thursday that all parishes will enter into "an abbreviated Chapter 11 with the approval of the court and the parties to the case in order to secure a release from liability for the parishes. It is expected that parish Chapter 11's will be resolved within 48 hours of filing and will not interfere with parish work and ministries. No parishes are closing as a result of this process."