Federal judge agrees to dismiss bankruptcy case filed by Oakland Catholic Diocese

A federal bankruptcy judge Thursday granted a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland to dismiss its bankruptcy scenario setting the stage for hundreds of sexual assault casualties to take their long-running lawsuits against the church to trial in the coming months and years Related Articles ICE detains prominent British commentator at San Francisco International Airport Santa Rosa Diocese puts churches up for sale as reserves dwindle amid bankruptcy In the City of Souls the living don t fear the dead Bay Area school district discriminated against Jewish students CDE finds California Faculty Association denies blatant antisemitism declares by Jewish orgs Judge William J Lafferty stated his decision would not be official until Nov leaving open the possibility of a last-minute deal between the diocese and about people who filed lawsuits in newest years claiming decades of abuse by local clergy members The ruling comes about a month after diocese leaders requested to end the proceedings suggesting that abuse casualties as well as the church s own congregants deserve better than a costly Chapter bankruptcy fight that appeared to be going nowhere over the last two and a half years Advocates for the casualties hailed the ruling Wednesday as an crucial way for their clients to absolutely have their day in court The ruling gives hope that casualties of abuse will be freed from the constraints of this bankruptcy and these efforts by the Catholic bishop to hide in the bankruptcy system that conceals instead of reveals the painful truth reported Jeff Anderson an attorney for scores of people claiming to have been abused All this diocese is doing is spending money to avoid accountability instead of letting it be revealed in the courtroom Anderson added A message left by this news outlet with a diocese spokesperson was not instantly returned While making his ruling Wednesday the judge reported both sides operated in good faith over the last two-plus years In the process Lafferty struck down a request by the casualties attorneys to prohibit the church from filing for bankruptcy again in the future The decision marked another twist in a legal saga dating to when Gov Gavin Newsom signed decree that opened a new window for people to file lawsuits claiming sexual abuse going back decades before the statute of limitations expired on those cases A torrent of lawsuits followed across the state including about in the East Bay against the Oakland diocese The suggests were haunting including statements that churchgoers were groomed raped and terrorized for decades by Catholic priests across the East Bay One woman claimed to be molested by a priest during a confessional in Pinole while just years old leading her to use drugs to numb the memory of the encounter At a court hearing last year another person noted he stopped at that young age learning how to dream after allegedly being raped by clergy as a child and suffering physical injuries that continue to cause diagnostic issues all these decades later In May the Oakland diocese filed for Chapter bankruptcy protection claiming a need to stabilize its finances In a message at the time Oakland Bishop Michael C Barber commented the move came after careful consideration of the various alternatives for providing just compensation to innocent people who were harmed and that it was the best way to ensure a fair and equitable outcome for survivors Advocates for people claiming to have been abused blasted the move calling it disgraceful shameful and a tactic to thwart and deter casualties One attorney for the casualties Rick Simons blasted the move as part of a national strategy to avoid having to pay these maintains and having to pay these survivors The bankruptcy filing mirrored similar moves by Catholic dioceses across the country facing their own wave of sexual abuse lawsuits Dioceses for San Francisco Santa Rosa Sacramento and Fresno also filed for Chapter bankruptcy protection Others avoided it last year the Archdiocese of Los Angeles managed to reach an million settlement with more than people who sued church leaders in Southern California Negotiations in Oakland often faltered with attorneys for abuse casualties often balking at proposals by the church One plan by church leaders called for creating a trust worth at least million which could grow by tens of millions of dollars with the expected sale price of a Livermore property included in the deal The latest proposal called for paying million over five years to the claimants Attorneys for the casualties repeatedly pushed church leaders to sell more of their properties to fund a higher payout suggesting that the proposal amounted to far less than settlements reached by other dioceses across the state and nation On Wednesday those same attorneys lamented the nearly two-and-a-half years spent fruitlessly negotiating in bankruptcy court particularly given how the average age of the casualties is about Several of them died during that time including two of Simons clients People are rightfully angry frustrated and sad that these very powerful people in the church they grew up in refused to cooperate and move the process along Simons commented It s disappointment it s frustration But it s also encouraging that the courthouse doors are open to us again Jakob Rodgers is a senior developing news reporter Call text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at - - or email him at jrodgers bayareanewsgroup com