Archdiocese’s bankruptcy legal fees climb to $7M | Guam News

A bankruptcy case more than three years old, filed amid clergy sexual assault allegations, has cost the Archdiocese of Agana more than $7 million in legal and other professional fees as of May, but this amount excludes one other law firm’s fees.

More than 270 Guam clergy sexual assault survivors, meanwhile, have yet to receive a penny from the archdiocese.

The joint plan by the archdiocese and its creditors’ committee to get the Catholic Church on Guam out of bankruptcy, including paying survivors $37 million to $107 million, is set for a hearing July 13.

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But it’s already been drawing objections, so it may take a long time for survivors to get any compensation.

Most law firms in the bankruptcy case, however, already had their eighth billings approved.

The archdiocese’s latest financial status report filed with the bankruptcy court shows approved cumulative professional fees of $7.046 million, mostly already paid by the archdiocese.

This amount, however, still excludes $168,442 for the Camacho Calvo Law Group, which was approved by the court about a week after approving other law firms’ billings.

The total amount would have been much higher than $7.2 million were it not for US District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood’s decision to reduce the firms’ proposed billings after a review and hearing.

Hours of research and meetings, the writing of briefs, and even a few minutes of phone calls related to the bankruptcy were billed.

Tydingco-Gatewood, however, reviews the charges and has the final word on whether they are reasonable and not duplicate of others’ billings.

Archdiocese court filings show approved cumulative billings for law firms and other professional services since 2019:

• $3.274 million: Stinson LLP, the Minnesota-based counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, mostly clergy sex abuse claimants.
• $1.602 million: Elsaesser Anderson Chtd., the Idaho-based counsel for the archdiocese.
• $858,435: Patterson Buchanan Fobes & Leitch, special counsel for the archdiocese.
• $308,049: Guam-based attorney John Terlaje, counsel for the archdiocese.
• $285,000: ReMax Diamond Realty.
• $248,259: Blank Rome LLP, archdiocese special insurance counsel.
• $168,442: Camacho Calvo Law Group LLC, special counsel for the archdiocese.
• $159,753: US Trustee.
• $145,141: Keen Summit Capital Partners.
• $95,855: Cornerstone Valuation Guam.
• $52,459: Law Offices of Paul A. Richler, special insurance counsel for the creditors’ committee.
• $9,700: Chief Appraisals.
• $6,780: Hiller Law LLC, special counsel for the creditors committee, specifically in the Delaware bankruptcy case of the Boy Scouts of America.
• $46,294: Others such as accounting firms.