Tuesday, a U.S. judge upheld the $2.46 billion settlement between the Boy Scouts of America and people who said they were sexually abused by the group over many years. The judge turned down appeals from some of the group’s insurers and abuse claimants.
U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled that the Boy Scouts agreement, which would create the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in U.S. history, was a good faith effort to settle claims by more than 80,000 men who say they were abused as children by troop leaders.
In September, a bankruptcy court approved a settlement with the Boy Scouts. It was backed by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts’ two largest insurers.
The Boy Scouts organization said it was “enormously grateful” to the abuse victims who came forward and voted for the settlement.
Boy Scouts of America said in a statement, “We are looking forward to the organization coming out of bankruptcy soon, and we are sure that the mission of Scouting will be kept for future generations.”
The judge didn’t agree with the insurance companies’ claims that the Boy Scouts organization worked with the people who said they were abused to put the blame on the insurance companies.
Some abuse claimants said that the agreement was unfair because it stopped them from suing groups that weren’t part of the bankruptcy. These groups included local Boy Scout councils and the Archbishop of Guam.
The settlement money comes from the Boy Scouts, local councils, insurance companies, and organizations, like churches, that have chartered Scouting units and activities. Andrews’ ruling says that the Boy Scouts also put more insurance rights into the fund, which could be worth more than $4 billion and will be used to pay abuse claims.
Individual abuse survivors could get anywhere from $3,500 to $2.7 million from the bankruptcy plan. This amount depends on how bad the abuse was, where and when it happened, and other factors.
