On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Chapter 11 process offers the opportunity for BSA to come up with a reorganization plan to meet its obligations to creditors, including Scouting abuse survivors, and to restructure itself so that it can come out of bankruptcy and continue operating.
We think that this bankruptcy case presents an opportunity for exploring a resolution that can achieve that result. It will need to involve all major stakeholders, so that there are sufficient funds to provide fair and adequate compensation to the victims.
The bankruptcy process provides a more flexible forum for resolving the Boy Scout's sex abuse crisis. We know of thousands of survivors and expect that there are many more men who were abused by scout masters and leaders. Our goal is to achieve a measure of justice and fair compensation to the survivors.
We hope that BSA will take the opportunity, in addition to providing compensation to past victims of sex abuse, to take the significant steps that are necessary both to “come clean,” provide all stakeholders and law enforcement all of the information in their files about past and current abusers, and to reform BSA programs to guarantee the safety of all current and future scouts.
It is important for those abused in Scouting—no matter what their age or the state where they live—to come forward now. The bankruptcy court will set a window filing of claims, and this window could be the last chance for abuse victims to seek justice. We can help at abusedinscouting.com.
For more information, call 1.888.99.SCOUT today or email support@ava.law.