Sex abuse victims who filed claims in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case are getting conflicting advice on whether to approve the organization’s restructuring plan and accept more than $1.8 billion in settlements, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Boy Scouts, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 to resolve sex abuse litigation, could exit chapter 11 if its restructuring plan is approved. A coalition of law firms representing a majority of victims filed court papers Monday advising all victims to vote in favor of the plan and the settlements it provides, while lawyers for the official committee of abuse victims advised them to reject the plan, saying that the settlements are too small. The Boy Scouts reached settlements totaling more than $1 billion two weeks ago with Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., one of its biggest insurers, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a charter organization that had been a major supporter of Boy Scouts activities. The coalition of law firms, which represents more than 60,000 of the roughly 82,000 victims, negotiated those settlements. Including settlements the coalition of law firms reached with the Boy Scouts and its local councils earlier, the total amount of contributions from parties facing liability from sex abuse lawsuits is more than $1.8 billion. Any settlement must be voted on by sex-abuse victims and approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., which is overseeing the Boy Scouts’ chapter 11 case. “The plan represents the only assured path to recover and pay billions of dollars to survivors of sexual abuse,” the coalition of law firms said in a letter to victims filed in court on Monday. Depending on the severity of abuse suffered and other factors, if the settlements are approved victims can expect to receive payments ranging from $3,500 to $2.7 million, according to the letter.
