Boy Scouts propose more than $300 million, Norman Rockwell paintings to settle sex abuse claims

The Boy Scouts of America unveiled its reorganization plan Monday in bankruptcy court as it attempts to deal with tens of thousands of sex abuse claims from former Scouts.

(Associated Press)

 By KIM CHRISTENSENSTAFF WRITER 

MARCH 1, 2021 9:50 PM PT

The Boy Scouts of America, struggling to stay afloat while compensating tens of thousands of survivors of past sexual abuse, on Monday pledged to provide a victims’ trust fund with at least $300 million from its local councils and proceeds from insurance policies and the sale of a collection of Norman Rockwell oil paintings.

The offer was detailed in a reorganization plan submitted by the Scouts, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year amid a wave of new sex abuse lawsuits after several states, including California, New York and New Jersey, expanded legal options for childhood victims to sue.

The 379-page plan, filed late Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, did not place a total on how much the 111-year-old youth organization is willing to pay to settle more than 85,000 sex abuse claims by former scouts.

Details must still be negotiated with plaintiffs’ attorneys, who are not likely to readily settle for what is in the plan, which excludes high-adventure camps and other valuable real estate around the country. At the time of the bankruptcy, the national organization had assets of more than $1 billion, with billions more held by local councils.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-01/boy-scouts-reorganization-plan-sex-abuse-claims