A bankruptcy judge blocked sex-abuse victims’ request to throw out the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s chapter 11 case, granting the diocese until the end of October to file a new reorganization plan to compensate survivors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The official committee representing survivors had asked Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to dismiss the bankruptcy case of the Long Island, N.Y., diocese, arguing that it has made little progress in a reorganization plan to compensate victims and that continuing to operate in chapter 11 is draining estate resources. In an opinion filed Tuesday, Judge Glenn said that some progress has been made recently and that the diocese can have a few more months. Catholic dioceses and the Boy Scouts of America have filed for bankruptcy to address sex-abuse claims rather than litigate hundreds of lawsuits individually in state courts. Allowing Rockville Centre’s bankruptcy case to remain means the diocese can continue to address large groups of plaintiffs to drive a settlement. Six of eight Catholic dioceses in New York state, including the Rockville Centre one, have filed for bankruptcy since the enactment of a law in 2019 that opened a temporary window for victims of childhood sex abuse to file lawsuits that were otherwise barred by the passage of time.
