Attorney: Long Island clergy sex abuse suits back in NY court a win for survivors

Some 100 Catholic clergy sex abuse cases on Long Island have been removed from federal bankruptcy proceedings and sent back to state court. An attorney for survivors called the rulings by federal judges a victory Thursday, while the Diocese of Rockville Centre described them as “disappointing.” 

U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown on Aug. 10 ordered 42 cases returned to New York State court because, he indicated, little progress had been made with the federal bankruptcy proceedings. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack sent another 58 back. 

“This is a big step,” said Jordan Merson, a Manhattan-based attorney representing some survivors. “The diocese’s strategy of fighting survivors instead of working with them is failing right before our eyes.”

Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the diocese, said Thursday the rulings were “disappointing” and a mistake, coming as they did amid diocese attempts to reach a consensus on settling 600 cases, nearly three years into bankruptcy proceedings.

“The Diocese continues to believe that a single, unified, federal forum will provide all parties the best opportunity to efficiently resolve claims for the benefit of all survivors," Dolan said in a statement, "and the Diocese will continue to work towards that goal."

The goal also includes preserving the diocese's ability to run parishes, schools and stay involved in other works, the diocese has said.

Rockville Centre “is working towards a consensual settlement on or before October 31,” a deadline set by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn, Dolan said.

“This would provide compensation for survivors quicker than other dioceses, even with the added size and complexity of the Diocese of Rockville Centre case.”

The recent rulings siding with survivors and sending 100 cases back to state court leave 124 yet to be decided. The other 400 cases remain in federal bankruptcy court.

In his decision, Brown referred to “unimaginable delays and costs that can arise from excessive litigative wrangling. Such waits can range from the intolerable to the unconscionable. The matters discussed herein fall squarely into the latter category.”

There appears to be a “serious, sustained effort by the State” to move the sex abuse cases forward, the judge wrote, “which stands in stark contrast to the years wasted by the Diocese during the pendency of the bankruptcy proceedings."

Azrack, in her four-paragraph decision on Thursday, wrote that she found Brown’s decision “persuasive.”

Dolan said the diocese disagrees with Brown’s description of its actions.

The bankruptcy proceedings have racked up about $100 million so far in legal fees — money the attorneys say could have gone to survivors.

Brown’s decision was “really the first judicial indication that realizes that the diocese is just delaying and has just fought with survivors instead of trying to come to an agreement," on the 600 cases, Merson said.

The lawsuits were filed in state court as part of the 2019 New York State Child Victims Act, which allowed survivors to file civil cases regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse happened.

In October 2020, the diocese filed for bankruptcy, asserting that the potential payout to survivors under the law could leave it in financial ruin. As part of that process, the cases were transferred from state court to the federal bankruptcy court.

Attorneys for survivors contend the diocese has used the bankruptcy as a stalling tactic. Dolan on Thursday denied that, and said two other dioceses noted by Brown who have reached settlements — Syracuse and Rochester — filed for bankruptcy before Rockville Centre “and only recently announced their global settlements.”

Syracuse agreed to pay survivors there $100 million, while Rochester said it would pay $50.75 million, not including funds paid by insurance companies.