Mohegan Tribe wins auction for CT school as part of Norwich diocese bankruptcy
The Mohegan Tribe has won an auction for the 113-acre campus of St. Bernard School in Montville, which comes up for approval by a federal bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday.
The winning bid was $6.55 million, according to Mohegan spokeswoman Cathy Soper. The minimum bid was $6.5 million.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich held the auction as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings following 142 claims of sexual abuse against the diocese. The first lawsuits were brought by families of students at Mount St. John’s Academy in Deep River. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in July 2021.
“The Mohegan Tribe is very excited to have submitted a successful bid in today’s auction,” said tribal chairman James Gessner Jr. in a statement issued Monday. “We also understand that this process is still subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and out of deference to that process we will avoid commenting in detail at this time.”
Gessner’s statement continued, “For now, what we can say is that our bid today was centered on ensuring uninterrupted educational opportunities for Saint Bernard students while also preserving land that has extremely important cultural and historical significance to the Mohegan Tribe. The plan we have put forward will safeguard both the future of the school and our ancestral homelands, and we are hopeful and optimistic about moving forward toward those goals.”
St. Bernard’s is in the Uncasville section of Montville, where the Mohegan Tribe has its headquarters and where the Mohegan Sun casino is located.
Patrick Birney, an attorney with Robinson & Cole who represents the diocese, had said earlier that there were at least three bidders for the property, but the tribe was not one of them at the time.
On June 1, the Mohegans announced they were submitting a bid for the property.
“Our bid is competitive, our interest is genuine, and we believe that we are the ideal choice given our longstanding partnerships with the State of Connecticut and this local community,” Gessner said in a statement issued with the announcement.
In a release, the Mohegans said, “The Tribe foresees cultural and educational events on the Property in a manner that does not disrupt or conflict with School uses. This approach aligns with the Tribe’s long-standing values of responsible land management and respect for the environment.”
The diocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which includes the sexual abuse survivors and other creditors, each have submitted plans for reorganization to the bankruptcy court. A compromise plan will be presented to the court for approval, possibly this month.
Under the diocese’s plan, a $29 million trust would be set up to compensate the victims of sexual abuse. The committee’s plan proposes a fund of $30.8 million plus unknown amounts from “causes of action” and “insurance interests.”
Diocesan spokesman Wayne Gignac could not immediately be reached for comment. The Diocese of Norwich includes 51 parishes in Middlesex, New London, Windham and Tolland counties and Fishers Island, New York.
Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.