Boy Scouts $2.7 Billion Settlement Plan at Risk of Failing

U.S.|Boy Scouts $2.7 Billion Settlement Plan astatine Risk of Failing

A $2.7 cardinal program to springiness the Boy Scouts of America a pathway retired of bankruptcy portion compensating tens of thousands of sex-abuse victims was astatine hazard of failing Wednesday, with much than one-quarter of claimants voting to cull the program successful a preliminary tally of votes.

The Boy Scouts person been seeking enactment from 75 percent of victims successful bid to assistance the younker enactment triumph last support from a bankruptcy judge, but the preliminary tally showed 73 percent of victims supporting the agreement. The Boy Scouts said successful a connection Wednesday that it was continuing to prosecute successful discussions to supplement the statement and perchance triumph further support.

“We are encouraged by these preliminary results,” the enactment said. About 54,000 radical formed votes retired of immoderate 82,000 victims who came guardant with sex-abuse claims during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The $2.7 cardinal colony program for victims was the merchandise of months of high-stakes negotiations, with overmuch of the wealth coming from security companies on with much than $800 cardinal contributed by the Boy Scouts and its wide web of section councils. The Boy Scouts are expected to enactment successful cash, spot and different assets, including a prized postulation of Norman Rockwell paintings.

Doug Kennedy, a unfortunate of Boy Scouts maltreatment who is co-chair of the bankruptcy’s authoritative Tort Claimants’ Committee, said successful an interrogation that the ballot made wide that survivors were not comfy with the existing plan.

“We are going to redouble our efforts to enactment with the Boy Scouts, effort and bash what’s champion for survivors and spot if the Scouts and insurers are superior capable astir helping them,” Mr. Kennedy said.

Tim Kosnoff, a lawyer who vehemently opposes the plan, said helium believed the ballot would bring astir the extremity of the organization. He said victims would payment much by making each the Boy Scouts assets disposable to them.

“I deliberation the champion happening is to liquidate this organization,” helium said.

Many lawyers representing victims had endorsed the plan. The Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice, which says it represents astir 18,000 claimants, said the program was the largest sex-abuse colony successful history. The conjugation has argued that the program provided just compensation and the fastest way to a resolution, avoiding years of litigation.

The conjugation said it was besides continuing to negociate successful hopes of expanding the size of the colony plan, which would acceptable up a programme to wage retired claims based connected the types of maltreatment they item and wherever the maltreatment occurred. Many of the claims are from decades past and beyond statutes of limitation, but immoderate states person opened windows successful caller years for victims to prosecute lawsuits connected older sex-abuse claims, making those claims perchance much valuable.

The national bankruptcy codification allows organizations filing for bankruptcy connected their ain to triumph capable enactment to determination guardant with conscionable two-thirds of voting claimants, but the Boy Scouts lawsuit has besides sought to shield section councils and affiliated organizations, specified arsenic churches. Given cases that person gone done the courts and statutory standards for asbestos cases, attorneys person viewed a 75 percent ballot arsenic a captious threshold.

James Stang, a lawyer representing the tort claimants’ committee, said the justice presiding implicit the lawsuit would person the eventual determination and could find that 75 percent is besides insufficient for the case. (The Boy Scouts could besides reason that 73 percent is sufficient.)

Mr. Stang said the committee wanted to spot changes to the program to bring amended compensation, an improved program for younker extortion going guardant and an autarkic governance of the colony trust.

With negotiations continuing, changes to the connection could bring opportunities for claimants to alteration their votes.

The Boy Scouts was founded successful 1910 and grew with a congressionally chartered ngo to heighten the values of patriotism, courageousness and self-reliance. The enactment has said that immoderate 130 cardinal Americans person gone done its programs implicit the years.

But portion the Scouts number immoderate 2.2 cardinal existent members, that is little than fractional the fig the enactment had astatine its peak, successful the 1970s.

The Boy Scouts has apologized for abuses and introduced reforms that it says volition amended support children. In its connection Wednesday, the enactment said it was moving to compensate victims and “continue the ngo of Scouting.”