Apparently the Archdiocese of Boston is looking to bankruptcy as an option when faced with the possible settlement in the case against John J. Geoghan as reported in The Boston Globe story 1, story 2; CNN and others. In the second Boston Globe story, one of the plaintiff attorneys said the move to bankruptcy would be a mistake if it had been undertaken in order to cause the plaintiffs to “lessen their resolve and lower their sights”. While I don’t necessarily believe that’s the reason that the Archdiocese would consider bankruptcy proceedings, the fact that they are willing to do so cannot help but have an impact on the plaintiffs’ state of mind about their case and the possibility of settlement. Should the plaintiffs take into account that their actions could cause the Archdiocese to declare bankruptcy beyond the point at which it would impact on their financial settlement? Do the plaintiffs need to be cognizant of the possibility that their course of action could lead to this bankruptcy? Should they, as a church get special consideration where an individual or corporation would not?
For myself, I certainly don’t think it would weigh heavily on my mind, were I one of the plaintiffs. If it happened to cause the Archdiocese to file for bankruptcy, then those are the breaks.
In the second Boston Globe story, another attorney for a number of the plaintiffs said that they had no intention of forcing the Archdiocese to sell off real estate holdings in order to pay off any settlement they eventually reach.
My question would be: Why not?
