On February 24, 2022, Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Chair Joseph L. Schwartz was quoted in Law360’s “Judge Eyes Tweaks For NJ Diocese's Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures,” regarding a bankruptcy court hearing on February 23 in connection with the Second Amended Disclosure Statement filed by the Diocese of Camden, the debtor in the matter. Riker Danzig represents insurers Granite State Insurance Company and Lexington Insurance Company in connection with the matter, in which various insurers negotiated a $30 million insurance settlement with the Diocese of Camden, to which the tort committee of abuse claimants is objecting.
The Diocese of Camden, which filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2020, filed its Second Amended Disclosure Statement, describing a reorganization plan that is structured around a $90 million trust fund for the abuse victims, the primary claimants in the matter.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerrold Poslusny took the matter under advisement, indicating that he will approve the Second Amended Disclosure Statement, while simultaneously requiring the Diocese to make certain modifications to the document. A formal ruling is expected in the near future.
Demonstrating support for the Diocese’s Second Amended Disclosure Statement, Joe said in the article that the disclosure statement includes "robust" information about the proposed settlement, including risks and rights, and suggested that the committee was “clearly trying to wrest control of this case from the debtor.”
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