#SCOTUS on Monday declined to review a $2.4 billion bankruptcy settlement for the #BoyScoutsOfAmerica, rejecting an appeal from a group of #childhood #SexAbuse survivors who said the deal unlawfully blocked them from suing groups that ran local scouting programs.
#law #rape #pedophilia #BSA
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/politics/boy-scouts-supreme-court-settlement
@Nonilex #SCOTUS aligns with the #GOP on the #BoyScouts of #America settlement over #SexualAbuse. 🤔
Note: G.O.P. now stands for Guardians Of #Pedophiles.
@Nonilex Why am I not surprised by this?
The group of survivors – 75 people out of >82k who filed claims against the #BoyScouts – argued that #SCOTUS should have reopened the settlement in light of its decision last year in a similar legal dispute in involving #PurduePharma, the maker of the #opioid pain mediciation #OxyContin. In that case, a 5-4 majority rejected a bankruptcy agreement that would have shielded the #Sackler family from future lawsuits even though it made its fortune running the company.
In the #BoyScouts case, some of the survivors want to be able to sue independent councils that ran local scouting programs & third-party organizations, such as churches & civic groups, that supported the programs. Those third-party groups contributed billions of dollars to a #settlement trust for survivors &, under the agreement, are #shielded from future #civil #lawsuits.
#SCOTUS #law #rape #ChildSexCrimes #SexAbuse #pedophilia #BSA
Critics of such arrangements say courts are generally not authorized to block such lawsuits. Supporters say that without protections for third-party groups, major bankruptcy deals like the ones for #Purdue & the #BoyScouts would never take effect.
#SCOTUS #law #rape #ChildSexCrimes #SexAbuse #pedophilia #BSA
The #BoyScoutsOfAmerica filed for #bankruptcy in 2020 after spending >$150M to settle hundreds of #abuse lawsuits between 2017 & 2019, acc/to court records. In 2022, a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware approved the reorganization plan, clearing the way for the #BSA to reemerge & creating a fund to pay survivors.
#SCOTUS #law #rape #ChildSexCrimes #SexAbuse #pedophilia #BSA
Lower courts, including the 3rd US Circuit Court Appeals, upheld the settlement agreement. The Lujan claimants appealed to #SCOTUS in October. SCOTUS in early 2024 rejected an emergency appeal from the same group of survivors.
Though SCOTUS did not explain its reasoning, the decision leaves in a place an appeals court decision that found that the way the #BoyScouts deal was structured largely #shielded it from review by appellate courts.
