A holiday text message between cousins has led to a legal battle reaching the US Supreme Court.
Attorney Richard Trahant, who represents survivors of clergy abuse, is asking the high court to overturn over $400,000 in judicial sanctions imposed after he warned a school about a priest with a history of sexual misconduct.
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The case stems from the assignment of Father Paul Hart to Brother Martin High School in New Orleans in 2017.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans placed Hart at the all-boys school despite knowing he had admitted to inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old girl in the 1990s, faced a rape allegation in 1993, and was rumored to have harassed a young female teacher.
Trahant discovered Hart's presence through bankruptcy court documents and alerted the school's principal, his cousin Ryan Gallagher.
School officials confronted Archbishop Gregory Aymond, leading to Hart's forced retirement in January 2022.
However, Federal Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill ruled that Trahant violated a protective confidentiality order by disclosing the information.
She imposed a massive fine and sealed nearly the entire sanction record.
Thousands of pages from the sealed case file were later obtained through a public records request with New Orleans state prosecutors.
The documents reveal internal friction and show how Hart and his defenders resented their treatment before the priest died of brain cancer in October 2022.
Confidentiality Clash
Deposition transcripts expose a stark contrast between how the archdiocese handled Hart internally and how it defended him legally.
In May 2022, Hart maintained his innocence under oath, saying, "I'm a victim."
Church lawyers sought to minimize the severity of the priest's past actions, framing them as non-criminal and consensual encounters.
Attorney Dirk Wegmann stated, "Father Hart is a respected member of [the] school," adding that he had heard "nothing but great things about him."
Trahant has remained mostly silent about the legal battle, letting his filings speak.
In the petition to the Supreme Court, his team argued that the penalty caused "severe damage to [his] good name, reputation, honor and integrity."
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Representatives for the archdiocese and Brother Martin High School declined to comment on the pending litigation.
New Year's Eve Warning
The crisis began on New Year's Eve 2021 when Trahant texted his cousin asking if Hart was still chaplain.
Gallagher replied, "Shit. That's … ominous … coming from you."
Days later, Trahant disclosed that a credible allegation involving a minor existed in Hart's past, though a protective order prevented sharing specifics.
School leaders met with Archbishop Aymond, who disclosed details of a confidential 2012 complaint against Hart.
Multiple school officials testified that had they known about the history, they never would have accepted Hart as a chaplain.
Hart was forced into retirement, which he said was done "to save their reputation." He later lied, claiming his retirement was due to cancer treatments.
Church leadership was furious about the leak. Archbishop Aymond vented frustration, declaring the breaches had to stop.
Judge Grabill investigated the leak and questioned Trahant's motives, suggesting a "more cynical person" might have leaked information for legal leverage.
An archdiocese bankruptcy attorney suggested Trahant should pay for the investigation's costs. Trahant was excluded from those proceedings, a key point in his due process appeal.
Investigators concluded Trahant violated the protective order by contacting the school principal and a journalist.
Although they recommended a hearing before disciplinary action, Judge Grabill acted within one business day, removing four of Trahant's clients from a key committee and fining him $400,000.
Trahant's appeals to federal district court and the US Fifth Circuit failed. With interest, the fine has grown to approximately $460,000.
In his Supreme Court petition, Trahant argues that Archbishop Aymond waived confidentiality by discussing Hart's file with school administrators.
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The Archdiocese of New Orleans continues to navigate a $305 million bankruptcy settlement with roughly 600 abuse survivors, many of whom remain Trahant's clients.
