Judge orders eight abuse cases against the Diocese of Albany to go to trial

In statement, Diocese says ‘We pray that today’s ruling is in the best interest of the survivors.’

A federal bankruptcy judge announced on March 12 that he is allowing eight child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Diocese of Albany to go to trial.

Frustrated with the pace of mediation between the Diocese of Albany, its insurers and attorneys representing plaintiffs asserting claims under the Child Victims Act, Judge Robert E. Littlefield Jr. lifted the stay on litigation to allow these “test cases” to go forward.

When the lawsuits will go to trial is uncertain, but a major concern for lawyers representing the parishes was addressed in the order: Only verdicts will be decided but no judgments will be entered by the trial judge. If a judgment was allowed to be entered against an individual parish, it may have to consider proactively filing for bankruptcy protection. 

“We pray that (the) ruling is in the best interest of the survivors as they move forward in their healing process,” the Diocese of Albany said in a statement. “Our goal is a fair and equitable resolution for everyone who has been harmed and has filed a claim, rather than a select few. While we disagree that this process will effectively aid in the mediation process to provide the greatest relief to the greatest number of claimants, we respect the court’s decision and will move forward accordingly.”

Since January, attorneys representing the plaintiffs have argued in several hearings before Littlefield that mediation has stalled and a “dual track” of mediation and litigation should be considered. Attorneys for the Diocese, the insurers as well as attorneys for the parishes have countered that the mediation process is working and lifting the stay would have a negative effect on the bankruptcy. For the last two years, attorneys from both sides have been trying to seek a global settlement through mediation without any movement. Before making his decision, Littlefield also met with the mediators as well.

A judge in the Diocese of Buffalo bankruptcy ruled last November that 17 cases could go to trial after the diocese and plaintiffs have been mired in mediation for over five years. Littlefield — who expressed his frustration over a perceived lack of progress in mediation at recent hearings, including saying “time is fleeting, life is fleeting, and all I do is approve fees … What is the alternative? An endless number of days gone by before there is anything accomplished. … that is the frustrating part.” — cited the Buffalo decision as one of the key factors to lift the stay.

Facing over 400 lawsuits related to the Child Victims Act — which went into effect in 2019 and allowed victims of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits on previously time-barred claims — the Diocese of Albany filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection on March 15, 2023. Six of the eight dioceses in New York State — Albany, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rockville Centre and Syracuse — have filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection after being inundated with CVA claims. 

In December 2024, a bankruptcy judge in Rockville Centre, which initially filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2020, signed off on a $323 million settlement that included nearly 500 cases of abuse. That amount includes “insurance contributions, Diocesan assets and sale proceeds from Diocesan property, and contributions from parishes and other related entities,” said the diocese in its statement. “The Diocese, parishes and other related entities contributed a total of $234.8 million. Insurance companies contributed a total of just over $85 million. Counsel for the Creditor’s Committee contributed $3 million. All participated in order to offer equitable compensation to survivors and move this difficult ordeal towards its conclusion.”

In July 2023, the Diocese of Syracuse, which filed for bankruptcy in June 2020, reached an over $100 million settlement which covered nearly 400 claims. That amount was to be raised through a $50 million contribution from the diocese, along with a $45 million total contribution from 119 parishes that are part of the diocesan structure. The remaining $5 million will be contributed by other diocesan entities. 

The Diocese of Ogdensburg (filed in July 2023), the Diocese of Buffalo (filed in June 2020) and the Diocese of Rochester (filed in September 2019) have all yet to reach settlements.

Only the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn have not filed for bankruptcy. To raise funds to settle claims, the archdiocese sold its headquarters — the Terence Cardinal Cooke Building site at 1011 First Ave. in Manhattan — for more than $100 million in January 2024. In October 2024, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese had settled “more than 400 credible cases of abuse not covered by insurance through its Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program — for a reported total of more than $76 million, according to the New York Daily News — and had closed out another 123 cases following New York’s 2019 Child Victims Act.”

However, “about 1,400 cases of alleged abuse, some dating back to World War II” remained, the cardinal added. OSV News contributed to this report.