An Erie County jury has awarded $25 million to a 62-year-old retiree who was sexually abused as a boy by his Boy Scout leader, in what may be the first jury verdict in the state for a Child Victims Act lawsuit, the Buffalo News reported. The jury of three men and three women decided Wednesday that Robert L. Eberhardt, a twice-convicted former Scout leader who lives in Arcade, Wyoming County, should pay $15 million for pain and suffering to the plaintiff and $10 million in punitive damages. Eberhardt, 80, did not appear in court to defend himself. He was found liable for the abuse in 2021 in a default judgment by State Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti, who presided at the jury trial for damages. The plaintiff, an Erie County husband and father of three identified in court papers and in the courtroom as LG 40 Doe, wiped tears from his eyes and shifted uncomfortably in his seat while recounting details of the abuse that began when he was a 10-year-old Scout in a Cheektowaga troop where Eberhardt was the Scout leader. The plaintiff’s attorney, Amy Keller, had asked the jury to consider a $15 million award, with $10 million for pain and suffering and $5 million in punitive damages. The jury deliberated for less than 40 minutes before delivering its unanimous decision.
