Chief Bankruptcy Judge Carl L. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of New York has temporarily blocked three dozen Child Victims Act cases against area Catholic parishes and schools from moving forward in State Supreme Court, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported. The judge put the 36 cases on hold until Oct. 1, saying their advancement now would threaten the Buffalo Diocese’s bankruptcy reorganization effort. “At a time when the vast majority of interested parties are working to find a way for the debtor to reorganize, the distraction of state court litigation for the benefit of a few will endanger the prospects of an outcome for the benefit of everyone,” Judge Bucki said in a written ruling on Wednesday. A chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2020 automatically stopped 260 Child Victims Act lawsuits against the diocese from advancing in state courts. Catholic parishes, schools and other entities that are separate nonprofit corporations did not file for bankruptcy. Judge Bucki last July temporarily protected parishes and schools from lawsuits. Those protections became more permanent when abuse survivors who make up the committee of unsecured creditors struck a deal with the diocese to not press forward with lawsuits against individual parishes. In exchange, the diocese agreed to hand over thousands of pages of confidential internal documents on abuse, clergy records, finances and other matters.
