Boy Scouts of America yesterday made its final case for preliminary approval of a deal to resolve sex abuse claims, urging the judge overseeing its chapter 11 case to reject insurers’ efforts to thwart the settlement, Reuters reported. During a virtual hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein in Wilmington, Delaware, Boy Scouts attorney Jessica Lauria argued that the $850 million settlement, was the organization’s best chance of distributing compensation to survivors and keeping the organization’s mission intact. The deal is supported by groups representing 70,000 sex abuse claimants and 250 local councils. The organization has apologized and said that it is committed to fulfilling its "social and moral responsibility to equitably compensate survivors." It said when it filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 that it knew "nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered" and believed the bankruptcy process was the best way to address the claims. If the judge approves the deal, the Boy Scouts will be able to move forward with a proposed reorganization plan that would allow it to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year.
