Diocese of Buffalo’s bid procedures for school rejected by court

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., March 14 – The Diocese of Buffalo’s motion seeking approval of the bid procedures for the sale of Archbishop Walsh High School was denied on Friday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York, according to an order.

As previously reported, this is the second time the diocese has requested to sell the school. It first sought authority to sell the property to the Archbishop Walsh Foundation for $150,000 in May 2020. However, the diocese withdrew the first request on July 15, 2020 after the committee filed an objection.

The foundation then offered to serve as stalking horse bidder with a proposed purchase price of $300,000. The minimum bid increment was set at $50,000, and there was a $15,000 breakup fee.

The bid procedures drew an objection from the official committee of unsecured creditors, which said the diocese had not undertaken any effort to market the property in the roughly 17 months between the withdrawal of the first sale motion and the latest motion.

Judge Carl L. Bucki said in an opinion filed Friday that the bid procedures “demonstrate an intent to discourage competitive bidding” for the property.

“If the diocese still wishes to sell the Archbishop Walsh campus, it will need to adopt procedures that promote, rather than dissuade competitive offers,” Bucki said in the opinion.

The diocese filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 28, 2020 under case number 20-10322.

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