ThenNow

I have only begun to study this in the last couple days, though I have familiarity with the craziness in Cook County, IL. I know how I think/feel going into it, but we shall see. Per a Reuters article, I will read Prof. Chamblee Burch’s Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation. If inclined, you can check out the site link below, which has a link to a study, and one dated essay. I often like to read older stuff then track it forward. I’m interested in the other attorney’s thoughts, as well as anyone else. I know what we have on out hands doesn’t seem so dandy... https://www.atra.org/2021/12/07/nations-worst-judicial-hellholes-expand-liability-allow-frivolous-lawsuits/ Haven’t started this yet and there are many others. The link doesn’t seem to work, but you can see the title.

By far my favorite excerpt from any pleading in a very long time. It can be found at page 3, paragraph 4 and footnote 3. I can’t make this stuff up, but man I love my job as a beat writer. (Not beat poet, for the record, though I can do that, as well. Soul patch is long gone, but I chase rabbits.) Check this out and be prepared to laugh: “If clients request an e-ballot, AVA refers them to Einseberg Rothschild.” (If only I could vote a laugh on my own post. Would someone see to that, please?)

I can’t get to the OmniAgent docket at the moment. Take it up with the little money-shoveling man, er, person.

I think the docket entries are on the 20th monthly billing cycle from the professionals who submit their invoices for approval. So, yes, the dollars are going out. I’m sure someone else has a handle on this. I just tried to get on the Omni site and the little construction worker is still shoveling money out of the virtual street. I think it’s cleanup after the most recent bags of money were hauled out of the vault.

As Eagle1993 noted, in fairness, we need to recall the layers of complexity as we’re not dealing with a single monolithic entity, regardless how large. The 250+ LCs, 1000’s of COs and their major affiliated entities, time frame, innumerable properties, desire for non-party releases, 50 states + territories, pages and pages of insurance policies, and claim valuation variables make this a simultaneous code brown in a nursery of 500 babies with only two diapers and one nanny. Also, the way the article bundled the discussion, it appeared the contingent fees were being rolled up into the estate fees conversation. That was not clear and I think it bears clarifying. I won’t be the one to do it, however. My abacus is done busted. Anyone want to help a brother out? I’m tired...

Mysterious, right? And that is no shadow of darkness on any claimant committee’s counsel. This where the web is tightly woven. So, across the spectrum of legal counsel in this case (not including in-house and out-house counsel for the insurers), including those billing the Debtors’ estate, we have at a minimum: 1) Contingent fee state court plaintiff’s counsel who headed the charge in open and window states pre-filing; 2) Debtor’s bankruptcy counsel, and there are several iterations - billed to the estate, at a max hourly of $1700 per; 3) PSZJ, lead counsel for the TCC - billed to the estate with 10% to the Settlement Trust; 4) Pasich, TCC insurance counsel - billed to the estate; 5) All the contingent fee claimant’s counsel that came post-filing; 6) Coalition and AIS counsel - I lost track of how many layers - and, as noted, the Coalition wants their attorneys’ fees paid by the estate. Yes. The contingent fee attorneys have attorneys who also have attorneys and the groups they formed have attorneys or something like that. Seriously, I want a flow chart. When this became apparent to me, I knew (for sure) the wheels had come off and/or I have multiple screws loose. Probably all of the above. I have not included all of the other asset assessment, accounting and analysis firms billing the estate. Also, in case I wasn’t clear, multiple of the AIS and Coalition attorneys have their own counsel who have been and will be pretty busy for a spell. I’m sure I missed things, but I can’t think about this any more...

Link to the hearing? Omni’s site is “Under Construction.” A graphic of a little man with a shovel is on the homepage and he seems to be working on piling up a YUGE number of $100 bills. It’s odd. Never mind. I just overheard a brief debrief that indicated the hearing about which I heard, and asked, was brief and concluded.

Little Charlie Dickens would be proud, if not aghast, at his fortunetelling abilities. (Nod to Bleak House.)

They actually used, “anonymous,” which was a flat out lie and they (should) know that.

Yup and the article even mentioned it.

To say this has become obscene strains the word’s ability to convey its meaning. From the Latin it is, effectively, “abominable.” The theory is our word comes from the combination of “in front of” and “filth.” To top it off, it turns out my attorney read the article, too. He just emailed me. Wants to up the baseline hourly to $8 and demands I agree to lift the cap. I can’t win. There was an e-signature button, but I was afraid to press it for fear if I did my already-cast ballot would turn to a “Yes” vote. Life is goofy. And scary. And expensive.

Glad I read this article before eating breakfast...

Coalition. Events. 11.30 Update @ 34:00. https://scoutingabusesurvivors.com/events/

Ruh Roh, Raggy...

I have several contexts to compare. Three are decades dated, and two within the last 15 years. I’m also not sure if all or any are currently relevant. I’ll stick with our sons’ and my experiences. I had multiple groups and activities that were coed and many that were not. Scouts stands out as the most “male-centric” and sequestered of all, including sports and being an altar boy (server). In the coed situations, all the elements of boy/girl tensions and attractions dramatically changed the dynamics, even in theater, band and choir. It was hormonal and culturally unavoidable. If the sports had cheerleaders, again the same tensions. In Scouts, putting the abuse and perversions of our Troop leaders aside, we had none of that, unless there were family visits or fully public events. I can’t even imagine the “sc-outing” experience if it had been coed. As to my sons, the same holds. Most notable, our youngest went to an all boys boarding school with a “sister school” located not too far away. If you camera-isolated the boys in the coed group and separately, you could almost always see the difference. Granted, some boys were oblivious, consistent and so focused on their tasks/performance you’d never know. The boys only environment It made for a very intense, productive and security-nurturing experience for him. He would not be who he is today without it. My nickel’s worth. As to the mature guys coming to the fore, I think that can certainly be true. I couldn’t have cared less and only would’ve been more inclined to push my way in to impress. I supposed that’s a different type of behavior alteration. As a dad of both boys and girls, the physical and cognitive developmental differences - in terms of onset and maturation - were stark. I also factor in the impact on shy, reserved and introverted boys. The presence of girls can cause what look like trauma responses in them, mostly freight or freeze, occasionally flight. This stands (stood?) as a barrier to some boys ever being “able” or ready to make the inch or leap toward leadership. Dunno. More nickels, I guess...

I suppose it’s a matter of checking and rechecking to see when they land, out in the open and flapping in the wind, as it were?

https://people.com/crime/boy-scouts-sex-abuse-settlement-vote/?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&utm_content=new&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=61b1ffb54c9fd40001e2efd0

It’s my understanding (from reviewing org charts and talking with random people who have various measures of knowledge and information) that he reported to Steve McGowan. Having any and all research and recommendations fed directly to legal, especially a Scouter of great note and political influence, leads me to question who is to “blame” for any failings. He was also fired/RIFd in the midst of a whirlwind into which he probably has more insight than most who remain. That seems to speak to how his boss(es) perceived what he was doing, reporting and recommending. Still curious how and why that went down. It could also speak to incompetence, but I prefer the conspiracy theory myself.

I’m not sure if this is widely known. Thoughts? https://13wham.com/news/local/transgender-teen-kicked-out-of-boy-scout-troop

Right. I get it. There are systems of incident/harm reporting, with elevated levels of urgency, review and scrutiny, that feed into root cause analyses and searchable data segmentation. I’m really just looking for the raw, redacted data to understand means, opportunity, breaks in the protocols and the like. Without data assessment at multiple levels, it’s difficult to make solid decisions about what’s working, what’s not, what needs to be done better/differently and how to accordingly “arm” those in the field trying to prevent repeat scenarios. I’m also extrapolating from other industries, admitted regulated and highly scrutinized. I guess I don’t know that BSA is doing that, even at the highest levels, much less letting it filter down through some dissemination. I could be wrong. Dunno. Just a blindfolded man throwing darts and a board. Everyone behind the bar. Quick like!

Same. So we don’t go to far into swapping names and addresses, maybe a mechanism to keep it on the downlow, too.

This is one of the several black holes that exist in my ongoing review of YP and YPT. BSA won’t cough up the data or metrics specific to the history of child sexual abuse in Scouting and the full context of all abuse since the implementation and improvements. For example, I’d like to know the full story on the shower camera predator from all sides of the equation. It would help a ton in understanding his vetting, access, supervision or lack thereof, recorded dicey history, anyone ever suspect or notice odd behavior, and etc. It seems like common sense for these things to be made available to LCs, Units, COs and parents. No?

So I’m told. Greedy bugger.

Random and macro-level observation that you all know: This is bloody complicated. Executing something relatively straightforward, built around a few core principles, is now a veritable maze. I don’t mean YPT, because I think it’s critical and requires improvement in key notable areas. The lack of transparency and connection to the straightforward design and application of the core principles by National has become a a magnifying glass on the ant running the maze. I think I now better understand why the org chart needs to be flattened on top, as well as flipped on its head.

At this pace, current projected timeframe and scale of the Settlement Trust, I’m estimating my attorney will make between $6 and, if lucky, $20 per hour on this case. (Multiple factors play into the potential for a “greater” upside.) For historical context, I think he made $7 per hour (with OT) loading UPS trucks his first year of university. That was 1979.