The Boy Scouts of America is in big trouble. Despite being a source of fond memories and valuable life lessons for many, the BSA is also accused of sexual abuse by 80,000 men and owes a lot of money for that.
They allege sexual abuse as young boys in the scouts. Now, a judge has green-lighted a bankruptcy plan for BSA amounting to $2.4 billion that would allow insurers and survivors to be paid.
A $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan for the Boy Scouts of America has been upheld by a federal judge, clearing an important hurdle in the legal challenge by certain insurance companies and dissenting sex abuse survivors. https://t.co/6hfZSa6neh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 2, 2023
Going to the Supreme Court?
There’s a chance this case will reach the Supreme Court and there’s no doubt it’s an important and disturbing case.
Under this bankruptcy plan, the BSA will still keep running. Bankruptcy laws would allow a lot of the money paid out to victims to come from its two main insurance companies.
As you can imagine, the insurance companies are not happy about this at all. Century Indemnity and The Hartford are likely to continue appealing to try to lesson their shares of the burden which amount to almost a billion each.
Some Insurers Refusing To Pay
Some smaller insurers are refusing to pay. They say BSA is taking advantage of them and many of the abuse survivors already had too much time go by to succeed in any civil case.
This legal mess that’s going on obscures the important and disturbing core of this case, which is that tens of thousands of boys say they were abused by an organization that was supposed to nurture and raise them up in an honorable way.
A federal judge has upheld the Boy Scouts of America's $2.46 billion settlement with more than 80,000 men who say they were abused as children. https://t.co/edMTEvIs6p
— Axios (@axios) March 28, 2023
The Bottom Line
The BSA undoubtedly provided a quality and valuable experience for many American men.
Though the amount of abuse claims is definitely extreme and shows an organization that went off the rails in terms of keeping leaders under control and hiring only the best people.
When you put people in positions of responsibility over minors, they need to be thoroughly vetted and subject to oversight.
It’s sad that we can no longer trust adults to be normal and healthy role models for young people, but that’s the way the world is. Whatever happens with this BSA case, it’s a sad chapter in American history.
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
