BadChannel70

US court reluctant to blow up Boy Scouts’ $2.46 billion sex abuse settlement | Reuters

There are approximately 300 survivors, and I am one of them, who paid $10k-$20k, to the trust to have our claims settled through the IRO. That's $6,000,000.00 that needs to be refunded back to us if the plan is not confirmed. This doesn't even include the expense of obtaining an Expert Report required for the IRO. Probably a few million dollars more too. Then there is Discovery which isn't free either. The worst part is those of us who have gone through the 6-hour deposition and/or IRO hearing with the un-settled insurance carriers. My depo went almost the full 6 hours, and my attorneys said their other client's depos are taking just as long. I had to sit there and recount in graphic detail describing the sexual abuse, how long it lasted, when was the 1st time, etc. Yes, the insurance carriers are requiring explicit details about the sexual abuse. I suffered panic and anxiety attacks for more than a week after the depo. Day and night. I had to bring back memories that I had since buried and thought I would never have to recount again to another human being. I felt so ashamed and guilty that I called my attorney back after the weekend. The look and the facial expressions on the court reporter said it all. I wanted to apologize to her for having to sit through and listen to my ordeal. That's no walk in the park for any of us. Potentially un-winding this plan to try to add more zeros behind a check isn't going to make what happened any more palatable or bring additional closure. We will live with these awful memories and the fallout for the rest of our lives. I voted "No" on the plan because I didn't like my sponsoring organization getting a free ride on the coattails of the BSA bankruptcy. But after 4 years in this bankruptcy and going through this much re-living of trauma, I want it over. My wife, kids and family want it over too. They have witnessed and experienced 1st hand the toll this taken on me. I dare say the same is true for the other survivors. The American Civil War lasted from 1861 - 1865. We are now exceeding that threshold. How much more blood needs to be spilled? Yes, the blood of those survivors who passed away due to age, health or their own hands.

Lujuan claimants filed today in 3rd circuit court requesting additional briefing on impact of Purdue decision. Arguing BSA plan does not pay in full all claims or that is has been substantially consummated. Like I posted earlier, this is still a very hotly contested plan...

BSA plan is already consummated and is not stayed. Certain insurers have already filed notice with the 3rd circuit court of appeals regarding SCOTUS opinion on Trucker Insurance Exchange. Insurance companies with a financial interest in a bankruptcy plan are a party of interest. They filed on 6/18/24. Still very contentious and BSA plan may wind up in front of SCOTUS. Whether they would agree to hear this case or not, I don't know.

3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has taken case/oral arguments off calendar pending SCOTUS decision on Purdue Pharma:

3rd highest chartered organization with abuse claims getting a "free get out of jail card" in BSA bankruptcy but has contributed $0 dollars to settlement trust fund. They have also petitioned the bankruptcy court to recoup $1,000,000.00 in legal fees for their significant contribution. That million, if approved, will come from the trust fund for survivors. Deam straight I want SCOTUS to shine a light up the arse of "the plan" and non-debtor 3rd party releases. I too submitted my claim info to the trust fund yesterday,

I don't know if this means the Trust has to stop operations, but the current appeal before the 3rd circuit is halted.

23A741 LUJAN CLAIMANTS and DUMAS & VAUGHN CLAIMANTS, Applicants, v. BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, et al., Respondents. | PDF | Boy Scouts Of America | Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution (scribd.com) Justice Alito is not a proponent of the equitable mootness doctrine and is requiring BSA to respond by 2/15/2024. Day before IRO deadline of 2/16/2024. Indication Scouting Settlement Trust will be shutdown pending SCOTUS decision in Purdue case. APP probably attempt to scramble the egg even more. 8-1/7-2 SCOTUS rules non-debtor releases are not authorized by bankruptcy code. We shall soon see....

"This would mean that the two attorneys (representing Guam Survivors and the other various survivors in several States) would need to have their clients compensated at a level so that their Survivors are much better off than other Survivors in this Bankruptcy AND the non-settling insurers who object also drop their objections.. " What about survivors like myself who voted "no" on the plan because we didn't agree with the 3rd party releases. I saw no reason why sponsoring organizations should receive the benefits of a release. And likewise with the local councils. And their actions have more than confirmed my beliefs they only care about the bank account balance sheet. To date, my sponsoring organization has contributed $0 dollars to the trust, but they have the gall to ask the BK court for $1,000,000.00 to recoup their legal fees. My specific local council's contribution amounts to approximately $6,000.00 per survivor. Cut that $6,000.00 by 40% for my attorney fees. And survivors like me are force fed this excrement while being told we would receive value in return. What value? Who is really benefiting here. My hope is SCOTUS adds checks and balances to these 3rd party releases requiring more consent from claimants instead of let's get as many 3rd party releases as possible.

Settlement Trust web site has been updated and revamped: Home (scoutingsettlementtrust.com) Check back regularly for updates.

BSA Settlement Trust (scoutingsettlementtrust.com)

The new BSA Claims Administrator, Randi Roth, who was the Claims Administrator in United States v. Farid Fata (Eastern District of Michigan), March 2016 – 2019, assisted the Department of Justice with the claims review process in that case. You can view an archive of the claim portal/process here: U.S. v. Fata - Home (justice.gov) I suspect rather than re-inventing the wheel, survivors will see a similar claims portal and processes. Now what happens when we all get through "all appeals exhausted" the non-settling insurers decide to file bankruptcy themselves?

You do not need to respond to me but if you were taken across state lines and sexually abused/assaulted, there is no SOL under the Mann Act. The FBI has begun pursuing cases against individuals including corporate/religious entities under the Mann Act.

And I am quite sure the TCJC is aware SCOTUS recently denied a petition filed by numerous California Roman Catholic Archdioceses to overturn California's look back window for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Search - Supreme Court of the United States This strengthens the hand of those mixed-abuse claimants in open states including TCJC survivors. They will face us survivors in mediation, arbitration, litigation, and any other gation you can think of.

Below is a post I made a while back on this forum regarding this issue. You can now include the Roman Catholic Archdiocese since they also withheld information from the police but also sided with "our" abuser which resulted in 1 survivor/scout/classmate getting kicked out of BSA. This is why a judge granted us the ability to seek "punitive damages" and not just compensatory damages. There is a big difference between the too. In my case, my abuse was 200% preventable but BSA, the LC and Archdiocese were too concerned about their prestige and reputation. Posted October 7, 2021 (edited) As a survivor and one of many victims of the same abuser who carried out his deeds across multiple boy scout troops, what gives the BSA, my LC and CO any right to complain about anything. PERIOD! I did go to the police and my case was turned over to a unit that specializes in the exploitation of children. And when law enforcement came knocking at BSA's and my LC's doors, they were told nothing to see here detectives. Guess what...24 years later I learned through this bankruptcy, BSA and my LC banned my abuser from scouting 11 years prior to me reporting him to law enforcement. So my path to justice as well as other victims was purposely obstructed and as a result "our" abuser never faced one day in court or served one day in jail for his crimes. Nor will he since he has departed this life as we know it. It disgusts me to read posts on this forum complaining why aren't abusers being held directly accountable. You can personally shake the hands of BSA and my LC for their purposeful grievous omission which allowed a legitimate pedophile, whose path of destruction was spread far and wide, to escape justice. Isn't it ironic, 24 years later I get to watch BSA, my LC and CO squabble and squawk about not getting a fair deal under this re-organization plan. I keep hearing phrases like, "we're going to run out of money," or "there will be never be enough money," or the line "what about the future of scouting." Yet, aren't these the same sentiments the BSA and my LC used to justify their actions to not share adverse information with law enforcement about my abuser. WAKE UP! As far as I am concerned, BSA, my LC and CO are just as guilty as my abuser. They might not have physically penetrated me but they sure did pierce my soul with their lack of humanity and callousness. And now, they are trying to do it again...

I believe I have watched this trailer at least 30-40 times since I found out about the documentary. I sure wish I could have had the same outcome as the survivor who received confirmation from the police, that his abuser admitted guilt. Instead, I was told by the police detective, "at least he knows someone talked. Maybe he won't do it anymore." I was left speechless and heartbroken as I watched the detective leave my apartment.

Gulf Coast Health Bankruptcy Plan Rejected Because of Releases (bloomberglaw.com) Gulf Coast Health Bankruptcy Plan Rejected Because of Releases The plan improperly provides that third parties would be releasing non-debtors from liquidation claims without those claimants’ consent, Judge Karen B. Owens of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware said at a hearing Wednesday. Owens said she would have otherwise approved the plan. The plan would have allowed creditors to recover more than they would from a Chapter 7 liquidation, passing a key test for court confirmation, she ...

There is a max under the Independent Review/Neutral path: "Notwithstanding the foregoing, any amount of an Accepted Settlement Recommendation or Allowed Claim Amount for an Abuse Claim that proceeds under this Independent Review Option in excess of a multiple of five (5) times the Maximum Matrix Value in the applicable tier set forth in the Claims Matrix... At least that is the way it looks to me, the max award a claimant could receive is $13,500,000.00 (Max tier in TDP $2,700,000.00 x 5). Maybe I am wrong. The way this stuff is written.... There is a time limit for a survivor to pursue the Independent Review/Neutral: "B. Time to Select Independent Review Option. Direct Abuse Claimants, other than Future Abuse Claimants, shall initially have until January 1, 2023, to elect to participate in the Independent Review Option. In addition, in order to participate in the Independent Review Option, the Direct Abuse Claimant must complete and submit the Trust Claim Submission by January 1, 2023 to enable the Settlement Trust to establish reserves." A Claimant has 6 months from after the Effective Date to participate so don't go by that date above. I don't know if this Independent Review/Neutral will survive but it's a lot more comprehensive than the TDP. A survivor must provide an expert report paid on their own dime (this won't be cheap based on the fees charged by the experts now): "Damages must be supported by an expert report (the cost of which shall be paid by the Direct Abuse Claimant); and" I encourage any survivor who is planning or thinking about participating in the Independent Review Option to carefully read through this material. There is a lot more information. You will have to make the determination what is best for you. And make your attorney answer any questions you have, if they are recommending you down this path. But like what I wrote above, I don't know if this this process will see the light of day.

I know this NPR article is a year old regarding the PG&E Ch. 11 BK and Trust Fund set up to compensate 67,000 fire victims but it's probably an idea what survivors/claimants can expect with the BSA BK Trust Fund (likely similar to other mass tort BKs as well). Trust will rack up huge attorney fees with slow payout to victims: PG&E Fire Victim Trust Racks Up $51 Million In Fees As Survivors Wait For Help : NPR It really never ends does it....the greed that is....

I have studied this from almost day 1 because it is my story. My abuser was not only my troop leader but a lay teacher at my catholic elementary school as well as my coach for after school sports. BSA wasn't paying his salary when I was in his class nor was it paying him to umpire local youth baseball games. For me, there is a guide post so to speak, when I was getting abused at school activity vs a BSA scouting activity. In fact, the TDP itself reflects this situation known as a mitigating factor (value of your claim is reduced) because the survivor had a relationship with the abuser outside of BSA scouting. As a survivor I find this mechanism patently offensive, particularly as both my archdiocese and BSA/LC concealed my abuser's prior bad acts, even before I myself was abused. That's really great, turn a blind eye to criminal acts and get rewarded for it. This also explains why my abuser was allowed to sexually abuse several of us young boys before finally getting perma- banned from the BSA . So, to answer your question, I don't believe a survivor will lose the ability to pursue a civil case against the archdiocese, if the abuser had access to you outside of BSA activities and abuse occurred there as well. I have a separate legal action against the archdiocese. I don't believe they would be wasting their resources on my case and other cases similar to mine.

Looking at the updated numbers, it shows 22,004 survivors opted out of granting 3rd party liability releases. That's almost 50% of the total number of survivors who voted. I would think a district court judge and maybe JSS would consider this as not overwhelming support for the plan. At least as it relates to BSA trying to bring their friends Tom, Dick and Harry to the party. And for the indirect abuse claims, the percentage is much higher who rejected the 3rd party liability releases....

TCC made a video going over the 3 settlement options: 1. $3,500 expedited payout 2. TDP (with scaling and mitigating factors) 3. Independent Review (IR) The video is timestamped so you can go right to the section you need but I encourage you to watch it all. My interpretation of the IR is that it will only be made available to survivors in open states that can meet the criteria for the IR; See Timestamp 35:20 for requirements. Burden is shifted to survivors to provide a lot more detailed data than TDP. Another thing that is not mentioned is the IR valuation is subject to approval from the main trustee. I'd hate to go through IR, receive a decent valuation only to have it reduced by the Trustee. I also think 20% of an IR settlement flows back into the Trust. So, if you have an attorney on contingency plus this potential 20%, a survivor is looking at receiving only 40%. But this needs to be verified; I may be wrong here. Trust Distribution and Independent Review Process - YouTube If a survivor wins a favorable valuation from IR, up to $1 million will come from the main trust fund subject to the initial payment percentage that will be established by the Trust (maybe future payments if Trust receives more funds). The proceeds above $1 million will have to come from the non-settling excess insurers and COs. This will hopefully be accomplished via negotiation, settlement and/or litigation. It's taken us 2 years to get this far. I don't relish the idea of waiting another 1-2+ years while the IR and insurer/CO duke it out. But this is all for naught until Justice Silverstein issues her ruling.

United Methodist leaders urge congregations to reject proposed settlement with Boy Scouts United Methodist leaders urge congregations to reject proposed settlement with Boy Scouts – Baptist News Global In one such North Texas meeting, Bishop Michael McKee told leaders of the region’s 80-church Metro District that the rejection was being pushed for two reasons: Insufficient recompense for the survivors of past sexual abuse by BSA leaders. Increased liability for United Methodist congregations that have sponsored Scout troops, past and present.

I already commented on my LC's contribution to the Settlement Trust in a previous post. My abuse occurred in a open state (No SOL). Under my LC's proposed contribution, each survivor would receive just shy of $5k which in my particular case does not include my attorney fees. If the plan was approved as-is, my LC would keep $10 million plus and be released from all liability. I received my paper ballot in the mail last week. I am a client of AIS but ceased being a member of the Coalition a couple months ago. I returned my completed ballot earlier this week. I voted NO on the plan, refused the expedited $3,500 payment and opted out of the liability releases. I believe I received a paper ballot because on my POC, I chose to have communications from the Court sent directly to me instead of AIS. Call it the guiding hand of the universe... At first I thought this may have been a bad idea but not anymore based on the buffoonery with the Coalition. My CO still hasn't contributed anything but sure likes to make arguments about how the BSA is leaving them out in the cold. I read the BK court docket so I know where they stand. Nothing shocking here even though in the past my CO paid out several hundred million dollars to settle hundreds of CSA claims.