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Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy 02/18 06:13
(AP) -- Barraged by hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of
America filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in hopes of working out a
potentially mammoth victim compensation plan that will allow the hallowed,
110-year-old organization to carry on.
The Chapter 11 filing in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware,
sets in motion what could be one of the biggest, most complex bankruptcies ever
seen. Scores of lawyers are seeking settlements on behalf of several thousand
men who say they were molested as scouts by scoutmasters or other leaders
decades ago but are only now eligible to sue because of recent changes in their
states' statute-of-limitations laws.
By going to bankruptcy court, the Scouts can put those lawsuits on hold for
now. But ultimately they could be forced to sell off some of their vast
property holdings, including campgrounds and hiking trails, to raise money for
a compensation trust fund that could surpass a billion dollars.
The bankruptcy petition listed the Boy Scouts' assets as between $1 billion
and $10 billion, and its liabilities at $500 million to $1 billion.
"Scouting programs will continue throughout this process and for many years
to come," the Boy Scouts said in a statement. "Local councils are not filing
for bankruptcy because they are legally separate and distinct organizations."
The Boy Scouts are just the latest major American institution to face a
heavy price over sexual abuse. Roman Catholic dioceses across the country and
schools such as Penn State and Michigan State have paid out hundreds of
millions of dollars in recent years.
The bankruptcy represents a painful turn for an organization that has been a
pillar of American civic life for generations and a training ground for future
leaders. Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout has long been a proud accomplishment
that politicians, business leaders, astronauts and others put on their resumes
and in their official biographies.
The Boy Scouts' finances have been strained in recent years by declining
membership and sex-abuse settlements.
The number of youths taking part in scouting has dropped below 2 million,
down from more than 4 million in peak years of the 1970s. The organization has
tried to counter the decline by admitting girls, but its membership rolls took
a big hit Jan. 1 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints --- for
decades a major sponsor of Boy Scout units --- cut ties and withdrew more than
400,000 scouts in favor of programs of its own.
The financial outlook had worsened last year after New York, Arizona, New
Jersey and California passed laws making it easier for victims of long-ago
abuse to file claims. Teams of lawyers across the U.S. have been signing up
clients by the hundreds to sue the Boy Scouts.
Most of the newly surfacing cases date to the 1960s, '70s and '80s; the
organization says there were only five known abuse victims in 2018. The Boy
Scouts credit the change to an array of prevention policies adopted since the
mid-1980s, including mandatory criminal background checks and abuse-prevention
training for all staff and volunteers, and a rule that two or more adult
leaders be present during all activities.
In many ways, the crisis parallels the one facing the Catholic Church in the
U.S. Both institutions boast of major progress over recent decades in combating
abuse. whether by priests or scout leaders, but both face many lawsuits
alleging negligence and cover-ups, mostly decades ago.
"We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage
of our programs to harm innocent children," said Roger Mosby, the BSA's
president and CEO. "While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that
victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process, with the proposed trust
structure, will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining
the BSA's important mission."
The BSA said it is encouraging all victims to come forward to file a claim
in the case. A deadline for filing claims has not yet been set by the
bankruptcy court, but the BSA said that would likely happen later this year.
Among other matters to be addressed in bankruptcy court: the fate of the Boy
Scouts' assets; the extent to which the organization's insurance will help
cover compensation; and whether assets of the Scouts' 261 local councils will
be added to the fund.
"There are a lot of very angry, resentful men out there who will not allow
the Boy Scouts to get away without saying what all their assets are," said
lawyer Paul Mones, who represents numerous clients suing the BSA. "They want no
stone unturned."
Amid the crush of lawsuits, the Scouts recently mortgaged the major
properties owned by the national leadership, including the headquarters in
Irving, Texas, and the 140,000-acre Philmont Ranch in New Mexico, to help
secure a line of credit.
Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts have kept confidential files since the 1920s
listing staff and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse, for the avowed purpose
of keeping predators away from youth. According to a court deposition, the
files as of January listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.
Until last spring, the organization had insisted it never knowingly allowed
a predator to work with youths. But in May, The Associated Press reported that
attorneys for abuse victims had identified multiple cases in which known
predators were allowed to return to leadership posts. The next day, Boy Scouts
chief executive Mike Surbaugh wrote to a congressional committee, acknowledging
the group's previous claim was untrue.
James Kretschmer of Houston, among the many men suing for alleged abuse,
says he was molested by a Scout leader over several months in the mid-1970s in
the Spokane, Washington, area. Regarding the bankruptcy, he said, "It is a
shame because at its core and what it was supposed to be, the Boy Scouts is a
beautiful organization."
"But you know, anything can be corrupted," he added. "And if they're not
going to protect the people that they've entrusted with the children, then shut
it down and move on."
Ahead of the Chapter 11 filing, lawyers said that because of the
organization's 50-state presence, as well as its ties to churches and civic
groups that sponsor scout troops, a bankruptcy by the Boy Scouts would be
unprecedented in its complexity. It would be national in scope, unlike the
various Catholic Church bankruptcy cases, which have unfolded diocese by
diocese.
"A Boy Scout bankruptcy would be bigger in scale than any other child abuse
bankruptcy we've ever seen," said Seattle-based attorney Mike Pfau, whose firm
is representing scores of men nationwide alleging they were abused as Boy
Scouts.
(KR)
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