FW: Interesting question: Portland Archdiocese Filing Chapter 11

[Volokh, Eugene]

	An acquaintance of mine writes:


-----Original Message-----

     Ok, here is an interesting one for all of you:

-- Under Employment Division v. Smith applies, does the Archdiocese have
a free exercise defense to, for the example, the appointment of a
trustee or an examiner?

-- Might the Archdiocese have any RFRA defense in a bankruptcy
proceeding, post-Boerne?

-- If this is a voluntary proceeding, does that automatically finish any
free exercise defenses the Archdiocese might otherwise have?

--  Does anyone know what would be included in the property of the
estate?  Religious relics?  Schools?

--  Is the Archdiocese correct in treating this case as a mass
tort-related bankruptcy, or does the unusual nature of the debtor make
this a bad call? 

 
 

 Portland Archdiocese Filing Chapter 11
Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., to File for Chapter 11 Protection Due to
Priest Abuse Cases

The Associated Press


PORTLAND, Ore. July 6, 2004 - The Portland Archdiocese said Tuesday that
it will file for bankruptcy, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese
in the nation to seek bankruptcy court relief in the face of accusations
of sexual abuse. 

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy action, planned for Tuesday afternoon, puts an
immediate halt to a priest abuse case scheduled to begin in Portland on
Tuesday. It involves the Rev. Maurice Grammond, who was accused of
molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s. . . .