New Orleans Catholic clergy abuse survivors in line to collectively be paid $305m

"Roughly 600 survivors of the clergy molestation scandal that drove the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese into bankruptcy have secured the opportunity to collectively be paid $305m after attorneys for the victims and the church's largest insurer struck a deal Monday, according to some of the lawyers. The insurer in question, Travelers, had refused to join a proposal officially approved Monday to pay $230m to the abuse survivors to effectively wrap up a bankruptcy protection case that the US's second-oldest archdiocese filed in May 2020."

"But, after months of negotiations, Travelers agreed on Monday morning in principle to add $75m to the settlement which was already going to be exponentially more costly than church officials initially projected to their superiors. Attorneys Richard Trahant and John Denenea, who represent more than 80 claimants of New Orleans Catholic clergy abuse, confirmed Travelers' agreement in principle. Grabill must approve the Travelers portion of the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese bankruptcy settlement separately from the $230m agreement she ratified Monday, Trahant and Denenea said."

Approximately 600 survivors linked to the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese clergy molestation scandal stand to share $305 million after a deal between victim attorneys and the church's largest insurer. Travelers initially refused to join a $230 million proposal but agreed in principle to contribute an additional $75 million following months of negotiations. Attorneys Richard Trahant and John Denenea confirmed the insurer's in-principle agreement, while Judge Grabill must separately approve the Travelers portion of the plan. The archdiocese is one of over 40 U.S. Catholic institutions that have filed bankruptcy amid decades-long abuse claims, and only Rockville-Centre's $323 million settlement was larger.

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