Outside trustee formally sought for New Orleans church bankruptcy as costs soar

Media reports showed volunteer in charge of bankruptcy expenses admitted to a stunning lack of qualifications

A group of attorneys representing clergy abuse claimants involved in the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans' bankruptcy case - which has cost the church about $40m but remains unresolved - has formally requested the removal of the volunteer tasked by the organization to manage the four-and-a-half-year-old case's expenses after he testified to a stunning lack of qualifications for the role.

The abuse survivors' lawyers also requested the appointment of an outside trustee to substitute the volunteer in question, Lee Eagan, in a motion filed late on Thursday.