Sexual Abuse Survivor Advocacy

No other firm has successfully resolved more childhood sexual abuse bankruptcy cases or represented more official committees in childhood sexual abuse bankruptcy cases. PSZJ works directly with committee members and their individual counsel so that survivors can make informed choices that lead to concrete results. PSZJ has also always been at the forefront of innovating new ways of advocating for survivors and gained important precedent that has paved the way for other cases.

Recent accomplishments include:

• Archdiocese of San Francisco: PSZJ won unprecedented disclosure of independent review board minutes and aggregated claims data.
• Archdiocese of San Francisco: PSZJ, on behalf of the committee of child sexual abuse survivors, was the first firm to file a response to the debtor’s one-sided declaration regarding its history and reason for filing for bankruptcy.
• Diocese of Rockville Centre: PSZJ won a two-day trial on behalf of the unsecured creditors committee against the debtor’s attempt to stay litigation against affiliated nondebtor entities over the committee’s objection. The debtor then proceeded to remove the nondebtor litigation in federal court, Judge Gary Brown of the Eastern District of New York was the first of over a dozen federal judges to remand the cases back to state court, state that “Critics of the law have long decried unimaginable delays and costs that can arise from excessive litigative wrangling. Such waits can range from the intolerable to the unconscionable. The matters discussed herein fall squarely into the latter category.” In the spring of 2024, the debtor attempted to bypass the committee and propose a plan that inadequately marshalled its available assets to compensate survivors. The Committee worked with survivors to resoundingly reject the debtor’s plan.