By MICHELE BETTI | b&a opinions

As a mechanism for evading liability, the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition October 18, 2009. Recently, a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved a $77 million settlement for child sexual abuse victims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.

Confirming a reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, the judge approved the $77 million settlement for nearly 150 alleged victims of child sexual abuse. Each victim will receive an average of $530,000 under the settlement. A court order signed Thursday by Judge Christopher Sontchi will release the Diocese from all further litigation related to the sexual abuse scandal.

The lawsuits against the Diocese were filed after a state law created a two-year window for claims of abuse to be brought regardless of whether the statute of limitations had expired.

Delaware is a state that has instituted a no limit on statute of limitations on child sexual abuse. Something that other states like New York and Hawaii have attempted to do, but have been openly opposed by the Catholic Church, and many other secular and non-secular institutions that vehemently oppose open statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Wilmington Delaware is the seventh of eight Roman Catholic Dioceses to file for Chapter 11 protection to deal with lawsuits for sexual abuse.

The case is In re Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, 09-13560, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, (Wilmington).

Copyright 2011, b&a opinions.