The Boy Scouts of America yesterday wrapped up a month-long court hearing over its proposed reorganization plan and $2.7 billion settlement of claims by thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children by troop leaders, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein said at the conclusion of the trial that she would rule on the plan and settlement as soon as possible. Lawyers for the youth organization, which has been hit with more than 82,000 abuse claims, said it hopes the settlement will allow it to exit chapter 11 and continue its Scouting mission. Though the deal has support from 86% of abuse claimants who voted on the plan, hundreds of local councils and the Boy Scouts’ two primary insurers, the process of securing approval and emerging from bankruptcy has been contentious for the Irving, Texas-based organization. The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 to address sex abuse allegations spanning decades. The plan, if approved, will set up a $2.7 billion trust to be used to compensate survivors who filed claims in the bankruptcy — with the amount tied to the severity of the alleged abuse, and where and when it occurred. The federal government's bankruptcy watchdog, the U.S. Trustee, opposed the plan’s non-debtor releases, which protect people and entities related to the debtor that have not filed for bankruptcy themselves against future litigation. U.S. Trustee attorney David Buchbinder argued on Wednesday that the releases are being given to an overly broad group who he said have not made substantial contributions to the settlement in exchange. Buchbinder also accused the organization of relegating survivors “to a years-long administrative process” designed to be “difficult, expensive and confusing.” Boy Scouts’ attorney Jessica Lauria defended the releases, saying that they were necessary to secure financial contributions for the trust and that many other courts have upheld similar releases.
