Boy Scouts of America wins key support for sex abuse settlement

(Reuters) — The Boy Scouts of America won pivotal support from a committee representing sexual abuse victims for a $2.7 billion settlement of their claims against the youth organization as it seeks to emerge from bankruptcy, according to a court filing Thursday.

Ahead of a Feb. 22 hearing before a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware, the official committee representing victims in the Boy Scouts’ Chapter 11 case agreed to drop its long-standing objections to the settlement in exchange for new terms that include enhanced child-protection measures for scouts.

More than 82,000 abuse claims have been filed against the Boy Scouts, which has called the deal the largest sexual abuse settlement in history. The Boy Scouts, founded in 1910, has apologized for the abuse and committed itself to equitably compensate people who were abused as children.

The Irving, Texas-headquartered nonprofit organization, which had earlier secured separate backing from tens of thousands of abuse victims, still needs U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein to approve the settlement.

“We offer our heartfelt thanks to the (committee) and all supporting parties whose perseverance and significant time commitment to mediation was instrumental in the formation of this agreement,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement.

In a vote tally announced in January, 73.57% of claimants supported the settlement plan, short of the 75% threshold the organization had been seeking. The Boy Scouts organization has been working to bring in more support in recent weeks. The official committee is now urging abuse claimants who voted against the settlement to change their votes to support it.

While the assent of two-thirds of creditors is all that is typically required for a Chapter 11 plan, judges often look for “overwhelming” creditor support in large, complex Chapter 11 cases before signing off on them.

Under the deal, the Boy Scouts would establish a $2.7 billion trust to compensate men who have said they were sexually abused as children by troop leaders. The new settlement terms include enhanced child-protection procedures and greater oversight by the official committee of the victim compensation process.

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