The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., which entered bankruptcy protection after lawsuits alleging sexual abuse at the hands of priests and a group of 58 abuse accusers have been ordered into mediation by the bankruptcy judge presiding over the case. The intention is to avoid similar church bankruptcies involving accusations of sexual abuse which often took years to settle and involved huge legal bills on both sides.

Leading up to the court’s decision, both the church and the alleged victims have been investigating the allegations, taking witness testimony, and assessing church holdings and assets for nearly the past two years. Although the instances of abuse are alleged to have taken place decades ago, the lawsuit was filed in 2013. Lawyers for the abuse victims expressed hope that the mediation will lead to a settlement before the two-year anniversary of the lawsuit’s filing.

The church’s insurance company, Catholic Mutual Group (CMP), however, opposed the mediation, stating that it wants more time to investigate the accusations. CMP accused the church of failing to supply it with records of the accused priests. The adversarial relationship between the diocese and the insurer is unusual, as CMP insures many other dioceses in the country and in fact has Catholic Bishops on its board of trustees.

Regardless of the mediation’s outcome, the lawsuit may spread, as the alleged victims believe other diocese in the area to share blame because they did not warn Gallup about priests being transferred to New Mexico because of prior abuse claims.