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Chapter 11 announced - Part 11 - Judge's Opinion


Eagle1993

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1 hour ago, SiouxRanger said:

he TCC, among all the players in this drama, having NO apparent financial interest, should be last on the list for opprobrium.

You do understand what it means for the TCC and it’s counsel to have a fiduciary duty to 84,000 claimants, correct? And you are aware of how it cut a deal with BSA in exchange for inclusion in the exculpation section of the Plan? No financial interest? Hardly. 

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3 hours ago, fred8033 said:

IMHO, the press repeating "fully funded" would be a continuation of the press loosely and sloppily using words to make interesting a relatively boring story about small steps in a long-running court case.  We've seen that repeatedly in this case (and really most news events).   I always fear press interpretations and prefer using it to get the facts.  The story is the potential settlement took a small step forward, but also faced a few objections that need resolution.

In this case, I see no reason why insurers would contribute if they can't get protection from future settlements / demands.  Saying it's fully funded in a way to protect insurers seems very important.  

As I mentioned in my post, this is more a feeling than legal talk.  I filed a claim after an internal struggle, as I was concerned about opening old wounds.  I had no idea how I had buried my abuse and how it likely contributed to so much struggle in my life.

 

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20 hours ago, Muttsy said:

So where is the late great his highness Doug Kennedy or the TCC? Hunkering down in their usual bunkers?

I'm as frustrated as the next Survivor at the pace and lack of information but this seems unfair.  What are they supposed to do, complain about how much time it took for the judge to issue her opinion, and just pi$$ her off?  What purpose does that serve?  Have a Town Hall to discuss issues they're trying to settle where they agree and disagree with the BSA?  Uh, mediation confidentiality is still in play AND regardless, doing so would feed into the hands of the "certain insurers" and other objectors by allowing them to point out where disagreement is present even within the plan proponents.  I'd expect more to be said after the 9/1 Confirmation hearing and Judge's published decision.  Then, when there's something concrete, and her opinion was NOT, I'd expect them to be in a position to say "Okay, here's what happens next."  Until then, this grinds on and I'd guess a lot of sausage is being made behind the scenes leading up to the confirmation hearing.

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13 hours ago, Muttsy said:

You do understand what it means for the TCC and it’s counsel to have a fiduciary duty to 84,000 claimants, correct? And you are aware of how it cut a deal with BSA in exchange for inclusion in the exculpation section of the Plan? No financial interest? Hardly. 

That's really inaccurate.  You make it sound like the TCC, a group of nine Survivors acting as volunteers, is acting in its own financial interest.  Or, their Counsel is manipulating them.  That doesn't look like a group that would fall for that.  The exculpatory agreement IS a normal part of bankruptcy proceedings for ALL professionals representing parties so that when it's over it's over for them.  It became an issue in this case because of the email that was sent out in error.  This was a mistake that resulted in PSZJ paying something like a million to the BSA's attorneys to reimburse the fees to address it and another million to the Trust and to aid youth protection; and remember that this is in addition to the 10% the firm is contributing to the Trust.  That's something the BSA's own attorneys ARE NOT doing.  Did PSZJ work to be included with other professionals to be a part of the exculpation?  Of course.  Did the nine on the TCC let this happen because of some sort of "financial interest?"  That's an unfair accusation and if it were the case PSZJ wouldn't have paid the fine it did.  I hate defending the people who have made money off of this bankruptcy when my "award" still seems like a pipe dream.  I get the frustration out there.  But so too will I defend the Survivors who have spent 2+ years trying to help. 

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Apologies if someone already shared this, and excuse my home tongue.  But, this is an important article to read in order to understand the next possible "spanner thrown in the works."  https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-exposes-court-split-on-liability-releases

Everyone cross their fingers that this isn't headed for the Supreme Court.  You think the process to this point has taken time....  Sorry. 

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On 8/19/2022 at 8:23 AM, RememberSchiff said:

Cases and thoughts on whether a bankruptcy court has authority to approve nonconsensual liability releases.

Silverstein’s 281-page opinion ...concluded that abuse victims can lose, without consent, their right to sue third parties that contribute to a mass settlement fund to pay them. The bankruptcy code “does not explicitly authorize releases, neither does it prohibit” such liability releases. 

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-exposes-court-split-on-liability-releases

 

7 hours ago, MYCVAStory said:

Apologies if someone already shared this, and excuse my home tongue.  But, this is an important article to read in order to understand the next possible "spanner thrown in the works."  https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-exposes-court-split-on-liability-releases

Everyone cross their fingers that this isn't headed for the Supreme Court.  You think the process to this point has taken time....  Sorry. 

IMHO, not so much thrown in the works, as this legal issue was known from day one; it just could no longer be pushed aside.

My $0.01

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On 8/22/2022 at 11:11 AM, ThenNow said:

Question for our faithful and vigilant fee checker: What be the current damages from professional fees billed to the Estate? As always, I am grateful.

/s/ Iman Arithmaticfailure

$198,046,270.81

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3 hours ago, Wyobkr said:

$198,046,270.81

Based on end of June, I see:

Approved to date for bankruptcy:

Professional Fees : $240M

US Trustee Fees: $2.5M

Other Reorg Expenses: $125M

Total Bankruptcy Expenses: $368M (OUCH) ... you can almost buy a nice camp for that

Further Breakdown:

Debtor Professionals - $148M

Committees & Mediators - $84M

79443f84-dbaa-4574-838d-8d9810da69d8_10142.pdf (omniagentsolutions.com)

 

Edited by Eagle1993
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Note that as of end of June, BSA had $32M in cash in the bank.  They started with $117M and $55M (endowment) so burned through $140M of cash since Feb 2020 (through June 2022).  Assuming plan is approved Sept 1 (or shortly thereafter) and confirmed ... they are looking at $400-$500M of debt and $30M in the bank.  I expect their debt to asset ratio to be 1:1 at best, I believe they have Sumit worth $300M+.  BSA will need a huge injection of cash plus look at fee increases.  They need to get off the edge of Ch 7 fast.

I know no one is happy, but if BSA went over that Ch 7 cliff (which it was probably to) then all of the insurance settlements and councils would abandon the plan.  There would be very little payouts to anyone and claimants would have been stuck with suing individual councils and COs.  I expect some claimants would have fared a bit better, but the vast majority would likely end up with little to nothing.  

 

Graphs.pdf

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Wow. I suspect that this case will be studied for years to come in business and law schools, perhaps around the world.

In speaking to persons directly working on the settlement, a common theme is the need for tort reform in our nation.  

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35 minutes ago, 1980Scouter said:

What do you think it costs to operate National for a month? 5 million? Under normal conditions not bankruptcy. 

I think it is really tough to say.

If you look at the few years prior to bankruptcy, BSA lost:

$22M in 2019

$58M in 2018

$41M in 2017

However, these were not cash statements.  In addition, BSA has changed a lot since 2019. 

I expect they will exit bankruptcy with <$20M in the bank (as bills are still coming in).   Who knows the backlog of work they have and what payments they face on their debt as they exit bankruptcy.  I don't envy BSA leadership, they have a tough slog ahead.

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