Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Representation of the creditors’ committee in the chapter 11 case of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). The debtor filed for bankruptcy in the face of mounting claims of sexual abuse by its priests and other archdiocese employees. The archdiocese includes 210 parishes, 109 Catholic elementary schools, 13 Catholic high schools, 5 Catholic colleges and universities, and 9 Catholic hospitals in a large area of the southeastern Great Lakes area. In August 2015, the Archdiocese announced a $21 million settlement with the abuse survivors-five times more than the Archdiocese offered in its original reorganization plan. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision in the case, holding that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not shield church assets from recovery by creditors’ committees.