NY diocese facing flood of lawsuits files for bankruptcy

NY diocese facing flood of lawsuits files for bankruptcy

ALBANY, New York — The embattled Catholic Diocese of Albany became the latest diocese in New York to seek bankruptcy protection Wednesday as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.

Bishop Edward Scharfenberger announced the Chapter 11 filing after months of negotiations between the upstate New York diocese and lawyers representing plaintiffs over a potential settlement.

The Albany diocese, like others in the state, is dealing with a deluge of lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give victims of childhood abuse the ability to pursue even decades-old allegations against clergy members, teachers, Boy Scout leaders and others.

“The decision to file was not arrived at easily and I know it may cause pain and suffering, but we, as a Church, can get through this and grow stronger together,” Scharfenberger said in a release.

The bishop said that as cases brought under the state’s Child Victims Act were settled, “our limited self-insurance funds which have been paying those settlements, have been depleted.” He said the bankruptcy filing was the best way to ensure that all survivors with pending litigation receive some compensation.

The action halts legal actions against the diocese and will allow

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March 18, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Attorney for alleged abuse victim reacts to bankruptcy filing

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Reactions continue to come in after the Albany Catholic Diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lawyers for some of the alleged sexual abuse victims said they disagree with claims from diocese leaders that they are running out of money.

Attorney Cynthia LaFave told NEWS10 that the diocese controls more than $600 million in assets. She believes the bankruptcy filing is simply meant to delay the hundreds of unsettled cases because legal action against the diocese cannot move forward until the bankruptcy proceedings are resolved.

“Now, we find that the cowardly diocese is putting itself into a bankruptcy because it wants to hide a little more and not pay a little more,” she said.

Attorneys said a committee of alleged victims will negotiate a settlement with the diocese in bankruptcy court. It’s unclear when those proceedings will take place.

The bankruptcy filing also means litigation over the Saint Clare’s Hospital pension has been paused. Mary Hartshorne, a leader for the former hospital employees, said their attorneys are now working with bankruptcy lawyers to discuss how to move foward.

Hundreds of hospital workers lost their pensions in 2018 and have joined a lawsuit from the New York Attorney

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March 17, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Millions Spent on FTX Lawyers and Calls for Staff Bonuses, as SBF Hints He May Want Trial Delayed

Millions Spent on FTX Lawyers and Calls for Staff Bonuses, as SBF Hints He May Want Trial Delayed
Millions Spent on FTX Lawyers and Calls for Staff Bonuses, as SBF Hints He May Want Trial Delayed

Millions Spent on FTX Lawyers and Calls for Staff Bonuses, as SBF Hints He May Want Trial Delayed

Listen to the CoinMarketRecap podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts

Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial might not be due to begin until later this year, but there’s no shortage of daily drama in the courtroom.

New details have emerged about how much money has been spent on legal services following FTX’s dramatic bankruptcy — as well as plans to pay millions of dollars in bonuses to key staff.

And if all that wasn’t enough, SBF’s legal team has indicated that October 2023 may be too soon for the trial to begin in Manhattan if the 30-year-old is to have enough time to prepare.

Let’s go through all of these developments in turn.

READ MORE: Everything We Know About the FTX Saga So Far

Documents filed in bankruptcy court show just how expensive bankruptcy proceedings can be.

Ever since FTX went under in November, law firms have been instructed to go through the exchange’s books with a fine tooth comb — all in the hope of uncovering the missing billions that are owed to customers. Meanwhile, new management has been brought

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March 13, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Alex Jones Wants to Get $520,000 a Year in New Bankruptcy Plan

  • Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy, but he wants to be paid $520,000 per year.
  • His company proposed that it would make $30 million annually from selling dietary supplements.
  • It also said it would keep around $560,000 for “executive incentive” bonuses every year.

Alex Jones’ media company has proposed a bankruptcy plan that would still allow him to be paid $520,000 per year.

This plan would also see the far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster paying less than 4% of what he owes the families of the Sandy Hook victims, over the next five years.

Jones owes around $1.5 billion to the relatives of the Sandy Hook shooting victims. They sued him after he called the 2012 massacre a hoax and said the families of 20 murdered children were crisis actors. 

Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems — which he fully owns — filed for bankruptcy separately in December and July, respectively.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Free Speech Systems filed a reorganization proposal on Tuesday. In the proposal, the company said

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March 12, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Alex Jones would get $520,000 salary in bankruptcy plan after $1.5 billion lawsuit

Alex Jones’ media company has proposed a plan in its bankruptcy case to pay the conspiracy theorist $520,000 a year while leaving $7 million to $10 million annually to pay off creditors, including relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

The Sandy Hook families won nearly $1.5 billion in lawsuits last year against the Infowars host, for his calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, a hoax perpetrated by crisis actors. The families also said they were harassed and threatened by Jones’ followers.

But it remains unclear how much money the Sandy Hook families will actually get from Jones and Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems. Jones is appealing the verdicts and has said on his show that he has $2 million or less to his name.

Free Speech Systems, owned solely by Jones, filed a proposed reorganization plan Tuesday in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in Houston that predicts it will have $7 million to $10 million annually after expenses to pay creditors from 2023 to 2027. The judge in the case, which was filed last year, would determine who gets that money and how much.

A bankruptcy lawyer for Jones did not

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March 11, 2023 by ATTORNEY
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