More than three years after filing for bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts of America said it has emerged from chapter 11 after an appeals court denied opponents’ request to pause the youth group’s reorganization efforts, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The chapter 11 plan became effective Wednesday, officially ending the Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy case and beginning the process of creating the largest-ever compensation fund for victims of childhood sexual abuse. The bankruptcy plan includes roughly $2.4 billion to resolve more than 82,000 individual claims of sexual abuse, which dogged the Boy Scouts for decades before it filed for chapter 11 protection in 2020. The plan was approved last year by a bankruptcy court, but some non-settling insurers and sex-abuse survivors appealed. On Wednesday, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request for a stay, allowing the plan to take effect. The Boy Scouts say the size of the settlement fund could grow, partly through settlements with the insurers that didn’t reach agreements to cap their exposure on policies they sold the youth group. Those non-settling insurers are expected to continue with their appeal.
