Which diocese you are dealing with changes the case
Clergy abuse claims in New York are often described as though they were one kind of case. They
are not. The dioceses covering the state are in materially different legal positions right now, some reorganised through bankruptcy and finished, one is still in the middle of it, and two never
filed at all.
That is not a technicality. It determines how a claim is made, who decides it, and what the
timetable looks like.
| Diocese | Covers | Bankruptcy status | What that means for a claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archdiocese of New York | Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, and the lower Hudson Valley | Never filed for bankruptcy | Claims here have not been routed through a bankruptcy court, so they follow the ordinary civil path rather than a claims process set by a reorganisation plan. |
| Diocese of Brooklyn | Brooklyn and Queens | Never filed for bankruptcy | One of only two New York dioceses that did not file after the Child Victims Act. That makes a claim here materially different from one against Rockville Centre or Buffalo. |
| Diocese of Rockville Centre | Nassau and Suffolk counties, on Long Island | Bankruptcy plan confirmed | A $323 million settlement covering roughly 600 claimants. At the time it was confirmed, it was the largest diocesan bankruptcy settlement in US history; larger settlements have since been reached elsewhere. The Rockville Centre plan itself is confirmed and final. |
| Diocese of Buffalo | Buffalo and western New York | Bankruptcy still open | A $326 million settlement covering roughly 900 survivors has been proposed but not yet confirmed by the court. Survivors here are dealing with a live case, not a closed one. |
| Diocese of Rochester | Rochester and the Finger Lakes | Bankruptcy settled | The first New York diocese to file for Chapter 11 after the Child Victims Act, in September 2019. Settlement of $246 million. |
| Diocese of Syracuse | Syracuse and central New York | Emerged from bankruptcy | Filed in June 2020 and emerged in February 2026 with a survivors’ trust of more than $176 million. This is the diocese Mr. Giuffra has documented litigation experience against. |
| Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany | Albany and the Capital Region | Bankruptcy ongoing | A $148 million settlement covering roughly 440 survivors was agreed in March 2026, with the bankruptcy case still ongoing. |
| Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg | The North Country, including St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex and Jefferson counties | Bankruptcy ongoing | Filed for Chapter 11 in July 2023. A $45 million settlement was announced in May 2026, covering the diocese, its parishes and affiliated entities, but it is not yet confirmed by the bankruptcy court. |
Diocese figures above are matters of public record. They are the amounts agreed
or proposed in each reorganisation, not a prediction about any individual claim.
All eight New York dioceses are in the table above. Six of the eight went
through Chapter 11 after the Child Victims Act; the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of
Brooklyn did not. If a religious order, a school or a parish outside those structures was
responsible, the position can be different again, and that is worth a conversation rather than a
guess from a table.
Why the case is against the institution
Almost every clergy case we take is really about an organisation that had responsibility for a
child and did not meet it. In practice that failure usually took one of these forms:
- Negligent retention: a complaint was made, and the priest stayed in ministry.
- Negligent supervision: an adult was allowed unsupervised access to children in
circumstances the parish or school should never have permitted. - Transfer without warning: someone was moved to another parish, school or diocese
and the receiving community was not told. - Failure to report: staff who were legally required to report a suspicion did not.
This matters for a practical reason. Institutions keep records, and those records frequently show
that someone knew. Personnel files, correspondence with the diocese, prior complaints and transfer
histories exist whether or not anyone ever went to the police, and in the dioceses that went through
bankruptcy, a great deal of that material has already been produced.
What a lawyer who has litigated against a New York diocese brings
Mr. Giuffra has documented clergy litigation experience against the Diocese of
Syracuse. That matters less as a credential than as a practical fact: the institutional
defence in these cases is well resourced and well practised, and the terms available to a survivor
depend a great deal on whether the other side believes the case will actually be tried.
He is an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (a rank requiring lead
counsel in more than 50 jury trials to verdict, held by 28 lawyers in New York City) and a
Barrister of the Order of Centurions, which requires more than 100 jury trials to
verdict. He also works alongside a psychotherapist, so clients are supported through the process
rather than only represented in it.
Described as professional experience only. Every case is decided on its own facts,
and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Questions people ask about clergy abuse claims
Can I still bring a clergy abuse claim in New York?
It depends on how old you were when the abuse happened, which institution was responsible, and the particular facts, not on a single deadline that applies to everyone. New York’s two lookback windows, which briefly allowed older claims to be revived, have now closed, but that does not mean every older claim is barred. Some routes remain open depending on the circumstances.
This is the one question we would rather you asked than assumed the answer to. It is a free call and it commits you to nothing.
Does it matter whether my diocese went through bankruptcy?
Yes, a great deal, and it is the main reason clergy cases in New York are not interchangeable. Where a diocese reorganised in Chapter 11, claims are handled through a court-supervised process with its own rules and deadlines. Where a diocese never filed, Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of New York, a claim follows the ordinary civil path.
Whether that process is finished, still open, or never began changes what can be done and when. The table above sets out where the dioceses serving our main areas currently stand.
Do I have to confront the priest or the person who abused me?
Almost never. These cases are brought against the institution, the diocese, the parish, the school or the religious order that had a duty of care and failed in it. Most resolve without our client ever being in a room with the person who harmed them, and we explain what to expect long before any of it happens.
What if the priest is dead, or the parish has closed?
Neither ends a claim. Liability usually rests with the institution rather than the individual, and institutions keep records: personnel files, transfer histories, prior complaints and internal correspondence often survive long after the people and the buildings are gone. Those records are frequently what a case turns on.
Do I need to have reported it to the police or the church?
No. A civil claim does not depend on a criminal case, and it does not depend on you having told the diocese at the time or since. Many of the people we represent never reported to anyone. You do not need a conviction, and you do not need anyone else to have come forward first.
Will my name become public?
Not from us, and not automatically. What you tell us is confidential from the first conversation, whether or not you go ahead. If you do bring a claim there are steps that can be taken to protect your identity in the court record, and we will explain them before anything is filed.
What does it cost to talk to you?
Nothing. These cases are handled on a contingency fee, which means the fee is a percentage of any recovery and there is no fee if there is no recovery. The first conversation is free regardless of what you decide afterwards.