The money would come from the organization’s approximately 250 local councils, plus insurance policy funds and sales of works of art, including paintings by Norman Rockwell and other assets, say the documents filed on Monday in the United States Bankruptcy Court. in Delaware. The document does not specify how much compensation the victims would receive.
Lawyer Michael Pfau represents about 1,000 men, whose allegations of abuse date back to the 1940s.
He called the proposal “woefully inadequate” and “stupid change” for the victims.
“These lawsuits in certain states are potentially worth … millions upon millions of dollars to survivors,” he told CNN.
In the February 2020 bankruptcy filing, BSA reported assets estimated to be between $ 1 billion and $ 10 billion and liabilities between $ 100 million and $ 500 million.
“When the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy, they created a big and complicated mess,” said Pfau. “And by trying to escape bankruptcy so quickly and delivering so little, they are creating a mess for other people to clean up, and that just isn’t fair.”
The BSA said it expects to leave Chapter 11 by the fall.
“The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to fulfill two main imperatives: equitably compensate survivors who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to fulfill Scouting’s mission for years to come,” the organization said in an announcement.
“This week, we presented an amended Reorganization Plan with the Court, a critical step towards our exit from bankruptcy. The Plan demonstrates that considerable progress has been made as we continue to work with all parties to achieve our strategy of providing equitable compensation. for victims and resolve our other financial obligations so that we can continue to serve young people for years to come. “
The BSA was facing at least 92,700 reports of sexual abuse by former scouts, one of the top lawyers, Andrew Van Arsdale, told CNN in November after the deadline to file a lawsuit against the organization.