Boy Scouts insurers set to appeal bankruptcy settlement approval

A statue of a Boy Scout stands at the entrance to the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Tim Sharp

(Reuters) – A group of Boy Scouts of America insurers is likely to appeal the youth group’s $2.3 billion sexual abuse settlement after it is approved by the bankruptcy court, their lawyers said on Thursday.

The insurers, including AIG and Liberty Mutual, had opposed the settlement, saying scouts colluded with men who claimed they were abused by troop leaders as children to blame insurers. Lawyers for the insurers said at a hearing Thursday in Delaware bankruptcy court that they continue to oppose despite U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein’s partial approval of the deal and recent revisions. by the Boy Scouts.

The Boy Scouts will seek court approval next month for its revised version bankruptcy plan, which would provide at least $2.3 billion to compensate more than 80,000 men who have made abuse claims. The biggest change in the amended plan was the removal of a $250 million settlement payment from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which Silverstein refused to approve.

Silverstein approved many parts of the plan in a July 29 notice, and the Boy Scouts’ latest revisions were intended to address the parts that Silverstein did not approve.

Silverstein is expected to approve the modified plan at a September 1 hearing.

Silverstein’s July 29 opinion downplayed some of the Scouts’ proposals related to insurance coverage for sexual abuse. Lawyers for the insurers did not discuss in court which parts of the opinion they intend to appeal.

Two of the Boy Scouts’ main insurers, affiliated with Hartford Financial Services Group and Chubb Ltd, support the settlement and are not part of the group considering the appeal.

The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 after being hit by a flood of sex abuse lawsuits when several US states passed laws allowing accusers to pursue allegations dating back decades.

The amount of money individual abuse survivors can earn from the bankruptcy plan ranges from $3,500 to $2.7 million.

The case is In re Boy Scouts of America, US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No. 20-10343.

For the Boy Scouts: Jessica Lauria, Mike Andolina, Matt Linder and Laura Baccash of White & Case; and Derek Abbott and Andrew Remming of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell

For opposing insurers: James Hallowell of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and David Christian of David Christian Attorneys.

Read more:

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