Boy Scouts of America 'are finished' says lawyer, as more than 80,000 file abuse lawsuits

Record ID: 1587144

  • Title: Boy Scouts of America 'are finished' says lawyer, as more than 80,000 file abuse lawsuits
  • Date: 17th November 2020
  • Summary: PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWYER FOR SOME CLAIMANTS IN LAWSUITS AGAINST BOY SCOUTS, TIMOTHY KOSNOFF, SAYING: "What will happen is the Boy Scouts bankruptcy will collapse. It'll be converted to a liquidation, a chapter seven. The bankruptcy judge will appoint a trustee who will be tasked with the responsibility of selling the Boy Scouts assets, the assets of the councils, pursuing the insurance companies who have massive exposure here and collecting from them and putting together a pot of money to distribute to the victims. That's the only way this is going to get resolved. That will play out over time. I expect the survivors will get paid in a series of payments."
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2020 20:45
  • Keywords: Boy Scouts of America Timothy Kosnoff bankruptcy child sex abuse lawsuit
  • Location: PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA + IRVING, TEXAS + BETHESDA, MARYLAND + BEAVER, WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
  • City: PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA + IRVING, TEXAS + BETHESDA, MARYLAND + BEAVER, WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA006D4YILON
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The number of people accusing the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) of child sexual abuse could reach up to 100,000 said a lawyer representing thousands of accusers.
    Monday (November 16) was the deadline to come forward with sex abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America. On the eve of the deadline, more than 82,000 people had filed claims of abuse, and more claims were coming in, according to the New York Times.
    Attorney Tim Kosnoff, who has been litigating cases against the Boy Scouts since 1995, represents about 18,000 accusers, he told Reuters.
    "The way I read the tea leaves is, with the news yesterday that there were what I believe will be closer to 100,000, the Boy Scouts of America and its affiliates are finished," Kosnoff said during an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (November 17).
    Founded in 1910, the organization has been overwhelmed by hundreds of claims after several states, including New York, removed legal hurdles that had barred people from suing over old allegations of child sex abuse.
    The Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, has said it is "devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse".
    The organization declined an interview with Reuters.
    In a statement, the BSA said "We are committed to working as expeditiously as possible to provide survivors of abuse with equitable compensation".
    The BSA filed for bankruptcy in February. The bankruptcy, filed in Delaware, will allow the Boy Scouts to bring all of the lawsuits into one court and try to negotiate a settlement, rather than using the organization's funds to fight each case in court, which might leave some victims with nothing.
    A similar bankruptcy strategy to resolve sex abuse lawsuits has been used by more than 20 Catholic dioceses and USA Gymnastics.
    Kosnoff said instead of bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts must be liquidated - all of their assets sold off and the organization shut down permanently.
    "What will happen is the Boy Scouts bankruptcy will collapse," said Kosnoff. "They will be liquidated and rightly so. And and I do believe that that's the best course to maximize the compensation for the victims."
    (Production: Angela Moore)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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