Creditors' Meeting Notice (1/21/11)

As is customary in every chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, anyone who received payment in any form (stipend, reimbursement, etc.) from the archdiocese should have received a notice regarding a "§ 341(a)" meeting, which is also known as the "First Meeting of Creditors."   This meeting is planned for February 11, 2011.

The archdiocese, like any other firm seeking to reorganize its finances, must file a list of all of its creditors.  Because the archdiocese has wide-ranging obligations, it was required to include the names of all who received checks on the list of creditors.  Many people automatically received the "§ 341(a)" notice because the debtor is required to notify all such persons of the meeting. An agency that specializes in this notification process has been engaged.

The First Meeting of Creditors -- frequently referred to as the "Section 341 meeting" because it is required under § 341 of the Bankruptcy Code -- is a required meeting which usually occurs within 40 days of the filing of any bankruptcy case.  The local representative of the bankruptcy court in Milwaukee convenes and presides over the meeting, conducts an examination of the debtor's representative, and, in the case of the archdiocese, John Marek, chief financial officer, to see if the debtor's financial schedules are complete, and offers any creditors and their representatives, including their attorneys, an opportunity to appear and ask questions about the financial schedules and statement of financial affairs.  The proceedings are recorded.

There is no requirement that any creditor or other party attend a § 341 meeting and no rights are lost if one is a creditor and does not attend.  Attendance is purely optional.  The court official usually limits the creditors' questions to matters in the schedules and the debtor’s statement of financial affairs.

As this process unfolds, the archdiocese will continue to provide information about its progress in the reorganization.