No Room For Queers
2022-11-20 11:59:00 UTC
https://apnews.com
Judge approves $2.46 billion Boy Scouts reorganization plan
BY DENISE LAVOIE and RANDALL CHASE
A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a $2.46 billion reorganization
plan proposed by the Boy Scouts of America, which would allow it to
keep operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say
they were sexually abused as children while involved in Scouting.
Though legal hurdles remain, the ruling by Judge Laurie Selber
Silverstein in Delaware marked an important milestone for the BSA,
which sought bankruptcy protection more than two years ago to stave
off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders
and volunteers.
Lawyers for some of the victims said the amount an individual survivor
may receive from the bankruptcy plan depends on multiple factors
relating to the alleged abuse. The plan calls for the BSA and its
local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop
sponsoring organizations, including Catholic institutions and
parishes, to contribute to a fund for survivors. In return, those
groups would be shielded from future lawsuits over Scout-related abuse
allegations.
More than 80,000 men have filed claims saying they were abused as
children by troop leaders around the country.
"Credit to the courageous survivors that this breakthrough in child
and scouting safety has been achieved," said attorney Jeff Anderson,
whose firm represented more than 800 Boy Scout abuse survivors.
Anderson said most of the $2.46 billion is to be paid to survivors,
but some funds would be set aside in a trust to continue litigation
against entities that have not settled, mainly insurance companies.
It will likely take months for any of the abuse claimants to receive
compensation.
Anderson said the settlement has drawn mixed reactions from his
clients. Many are proud they stood up and demanded a cleanup of the
Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts, while others feel like they were
dismissed because the organization "hid behind the statute of
limitations" in some states.
The Boy Scouts of America said it is pleased the court has approved
its reorganization plan.
"We continue to be enormously grateful to the survivor community,
whose bravery, patience, and willingness to share their experiences
has been instrumental in the formation of this Plan," the organization
said in a statement.
The Boy Scouts said the perspectives and priorities of the survivors
"will be ingrained in the BSA's programming moving forward."
The BSA also said that because certain parties have said they plan to
appeal the order, the organization will next begin an appeal process
in order to emerge from Chapter 11, "which will allow survivors to be
equitably compensated and preserve the mission of Scouting for future
generations."
A federal district judge must sign off on Silberstein's ruling.
When it filed for bankruptcy, the BSA faced about 275 filed lawsuits
and was aware of numerous other potential cases. More than 80,000
abuse claims were eventually filed as part of the bankruptcy.
Attorneys for BSA insurers argued early on that the sheer volume of
claims was an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client
solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators. While
some of those insurers later negotiated settlements, other insurers
continued to oppose the plan. They argued that the procedures for
distributing funds from the compensation trust would violate their
contractual rights to contest claims and set a dangerous precedent for
mass litigation.
I didn't hear, "We will ban, prohibit, immediately report toJudge approves $2.46 billion Boy Scouts reorganization plan
BY DENISE LAVOIE and RANDALL CHASE
A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a $2.46 billion reorganization
plan proposed by the Boy Scouts of America, which would allow it to
keep operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say
they were sexually abused as children while involved in Scouting.
Though legal hurdles remain, the ruling by Judge Laurie Selber
Silverstein in Delaware marked an important milestone for the BSA,
which sought bankruptcy protection more than two years ago to stave
off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders
and volunteers.
Lawyers for some of the victims said the amount an individual survivor
may receive from the bankruptcy plan depends on multiple factors
relating to the alleged abuse. The plan calls for the BSA and its
local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop
sponsoring organizations, including Catholic institutions and
parishes, to contribute to a fund for survivors. In return, those
groups would be shielded from future lawsuits over Scout-related abuse
allegations.
More than 80,000 men have filed claims saying they were abused as
children by troop leaders around the country.
"Credit to the courageous survivors that this breakthrough in child
and scouting safety has been achieved," said attorney Jeff Anderson,
whose firm represented more than 800 Boy Scout abuse survivors.
Anderson said most of the $2.46 billion is to be paid to survivors,
but some funds would be set aside in a trust to continue litigation
against entities that have not settled, mainly insurance companies.
It will likely take months for any of the abuse claimants to receive
compensation.
Anderson said the settlement has drawn mixed reactions from his
clients. Many are proud they stood up and demanded a cleanup of the
Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts, while others feel like they were
dismissed because the organization "hid behind the statute of
limitations" in some states.
The Boy Scouts of America said it is pleased the court has approved
its reorganization plan.
"We continue to be enormously grateful to the survivor community,
whose bravery, patience, and willingness to share their experiences
has been instrumental in the formation of this Plan," the organization
said in a statement.
The Boy Scouts said the perspectives and priorities of the survivors
"will be ingrained in the BSA's programming moving forward."
The BSA also said that because certain parties have said they plan to
appeal the order, the organization will next begin an appeal process
in order to emerge from Chapter 11, "which will allow survivors to be
equitably compensated and preserve the mission of Scouting for future
generations."
A federal district judge must sign off on Silberstein's ruling.
When it filed for bankruptcy, the BSA faced about 275 filed lawsuits
and was aware of numerous other potential cases. More than 80,000
abuse claims were eventually filed as part of the bankruptcy.
Attorneys for BSA insurers argued early on that the sheer volume of
claims was an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client
solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators. While
some of those insurers later negotiated settlements, other insurers
continued to oppose the plan. They argued that the procedures for
distributing funds from the compensation trust would violate their
contractual rights to contest claims and set a dangerous precedent for
mass litigation.
police any homosexuals even suspected of molesting boys."
"We will cut their dicks off and turn them into camp fire girls."