Boy Scouts submit bankruptcy reorganization plan

DOVER, Del. — The Boy Scouts of America submitted a bankruptcy reorganization plan Monday that envisions continued operations of its local troops and national adventure camps but leaves many unanswered questions about how it will resolve tens of thousands of sexual abuse claims by former Boy Scouts

The plan was filed Monday in Delaware bankruptcy court, even though the BSA remains in intense negotiations with insurers who face substantial exposure for sexual abuse claims, and with the official committee representing abuse victims.

The plan calls for a $300 million contribution from the Boy Scouts’ 250-odd local councils into a trust for abuse victims, although the form and timing of those contributions remain up in the air. The Boy Scouts also say any unrestricted cash above the $75 million the organization claims it will need for operations when it emerges from bankruptcy will go into the trust fund. The BSA also has agreed to contribute its collection of Norman Rockwell paintings to the fund, and to sell a warehouse facility in North Carolina, a Scouting University facility in Texas, and rights to oil and gas interests on properties in 17 states.

Paul Mones, an attorney representing hundreds of former Scouts, called the plan “woefully and tragically inadequate.”

“The problem is that the Boy Scouts are not willing to dig deep enough for the deep pain they caused,” he said.

The Boy Scouts of America, based in Irving, Texas, sought bankruptcy protection last February in an effort to halt hundreds of individual lawsuits and create a compensation fund for men who were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders.