Strict Filing Deadlines Will Be Set by the Federal Bankruptcy Court.
Do Not Miss Your Last Chance for Accountability.
Contact Us Now to Discuss Your Options.
On September 30, 2024, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing nearly three dozen pending child sexual abuse claims. Many of those cases are being handled by Horowitz Law attorneys Adam Horowitz and Jessica Arbour, who were among the first lawyers to file legal actions on behalf of survivors of child sexual abuse under a new Vermont law eliminating the strict time limits on such lawsuits.
The federal court filing comes just as the Diocese was set to go to trial in a child sexual abuse case in a Burlington court. More than a dozen Roman Catholic dioceses across the country and the Boy Scouts of America have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent years due to the rising cost of child sex abuse lawsuits.
The Diocese of Burlington, which lists more than $5,000,000.00 in assets on its website, claims it has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of the abuse cases now pending against it. The Bankruptcy filing now requires all of the abuse claims to be filed and decided in a single forum – the Bankruptcy Court, without the same rules governing the disclosure of information to the survivors and their attorneys.
A claims filing deadline, also called a “bar date,” will soon be established by the Bankruptcy Court. If you were a victim of child sex abuse by a priest or other church employee in the Diocese of Burlington, you should contact an attorney to discuss your options as soon as possible. Once the “bar date” passes, anyone sexually abused in the Diocese of Burlington will be forever barred from filing a claim in the future. This could be your very last chance to seek justice forever.
Horowitz Law has identified nearly 50 clergy and employees accused of abuse in the Diocese of Burlington:
- Fr. Robert J. Baffa
- Fr. Donald Bean
- Fr. James E. Beauregard
- Fr. Conrad Bessette
- Fr. Paul Bresnahan
- Fr. Donald Bruneau
- Fr. James J. Campbell
- Fr. Roger W. Carlin
- Fr. Leo Courcy Jr.
- Fr. Robert Devoy
- Fr. James Dunn
- Fr. Joseph Dussault
- Fr. John F. Eastman
- Fr. James F. Foley
- Fr. Edward Foster
- Fr. William Gallagher
- Fr. Edward Gelineau
- Bishop Louis Gelineau
- Fr. John A. Guischard (a/k/a Fr. John Guichard)
- Fr. John “Jack” Kenney
- Fr. John Lanoue
- Fr. Dennis J. LaRoche
- Fr. Michael K. Madden
- Fr. Charles Many
- Fr. James McShane
- Fr. Brian Mead
- Fr. John Milanese
- Fr. Walter Miller
- Fr. Joseph Maxime Mooney
- Fr. George O. Murtagh
- Fr. Stephen Nichols
- Fr. Edward Paquette
- Fr. George A. Paulin
- Fr. Paul Plouffe
- Fr. Raymond Provost
- Fr. Andrew Quillen (aka Br. Mark L. Quillen)
- Fr. Daniel Roberts
- Fr. Forrest Rouelle
- Fr. Emile W. Savary
- Fr. John Stankiewicz
- Fr. Edward Stapleton (Edmundite)
- Fr. Ronald Soutiere
- Fr. Richard Thompson
- Fr. Charles Towne
- Fr. Aime Trahan (Edmundite)
- Fr. Raymond Walsh
- Fr. Donal Ward
- Fr. Alfred Willis
- Fr. Benjamin Wysolmerski
The attorneys at Horowitz Law have a long history of representing survivors of child sex abuse. If you or someone you know was abused by a priest in the Diocese of Burlington, please contact Horowitz Law today for a free consultation. We can help you understand your legal options and fight for the justice you deserve. Our lawyers have handled cases in Vermont and across the country. Please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected] for a free consultation.