The sexual abuse allegations against former St. Thomas faculty member the Rev. Michael Keating will no longer be heard as a lawsuit in the state court because of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ bankruptcy declaration.

The case will transfer from state court to federal bankruptcy court, according to Patrick Wall, an advocate from the law office of Jeff Anderson and Associates. Anderson is representing the woman who accused Keating of sexual misconduct.

“What bankruptcy does is it shuts down all civil actions and removes all the actions to bankruptcy court,” Wall said. “The bankruptcy judge has jurisdiction over all of them.”

For the moment, the judge has ordered a stay on all current lawsuits dealing with clergy sexual abuse of a minor, according to Joe Kueppers, chancellor for civil affairs for the archdiocese.

According to St. Thomas law professor Charles Reid, who is licensed in Canon Law, the two parties will work with a mediator in an attempt to reach a settlement. The bankruptcy judge will have the final say on any decision.

“That’s where you’re going to see the legal dispute play out, before the federal bankruptcy judge in the form of mediation,” Reid said. “We may not be seeing any of this. The mediation may be confidential – it often is.”

Wall said the bankruptcy court process will put the plaintiff in the Keating case in the role of creditor while the archdiocese will take on the role of debtor. The court investigates all evidence brought forth by the prosecution in each case and decides on a financial remedy unique to each plaintiff.

The archdiocese has the option to challenge cases it believes are brought forth without merit, but Wall said it will not do so with this case.

Although Keating is not facing criminal charges in this suit, he may face professional repercussions, according to Wall.

“It’s very unlikely that he’ll ever be able to function as a priest ever again,” Wall said. “It’s yet to be seen whether the archdiocese will prosecute him in Rome to be removed from the priesthood.”

Jeff Anderson and Associates is still waiting for a report showing how much former Archbishop Harry Flynn and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough knew about the circumstances regarding Keating before he was hired at St. Thomas.

“We still have a long ways to go to find out the whole story,” Wall said.

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.