CynicalScouter

Lots of Councils don't have summer camps. My Council lost its camp years ago due to financial mismanagement. Any LC that tries to shield its camp with "but it's a core function!" will have those Councils without camps thrown back in their face.

Something Guide to Safe Scouting explicitly prohibits. See also Reminder: Singing for a lost item is bullying - Bryan on Scouting

Something Guide to Safe Scouting now explicitly prohibits.

Early on several councils fled paperwork that they did NOT consider the Ad Hoc committee as operating as representatives on their behalf and that they would be operating/making decisions as individual councils. Circle Ten, for example, is effectively operating on its own, up to and including appearing separately with its own lawyers and filing its own objections to motions. Ditto Baltimore Area Council.

We've told out troop parents this weekend to expect BSA to be shut down this summer. Lot of disappointment and sadness, but that's where we are at.

That's true for any business in a Chapter 11, not just a not-for-profit. The company (or not for profit) must retain enough of an operating business model to be able to survive post-bankruptcy/Chapter 11.

To focus on the case at hand: BSA's bankruptcy. Not to fix every ill or to ensure BSA is an exemplar of youth protection. People keep thinking that somehow BSA's improved YPT means all the abuse claims go away. It doesn't. This is raw math: does BSA owe money? If so how much? And how much can it be forced to pay? Or as the TCC lawyers put it: the key focus of a bankruptcy is 1) How much (do creditors get) and 2) When (will it be paid out). The fact is that if BSA suddenly found a magic formula in March 2020 that made all sexual abuse go away, that would NOT allow a bankruptcy court to dismiss the abuse claims that occurred prior to that date.

They restructured the debt in 2019 to make it look more in debt than it really is. Again, remember, this is shell game time. BSA is doing everything it can to save Summit by making it look like it is 100% (or more) in debt to JPMorgan Chase. So you are right. For unspecified reasons that lack ANY detail or support they decided to declare Arrow WV had $350 million in debt. See paragraphs 30 and 31 and 38-39. "Oh, I'm sorry, you can't have Summit because well JPMorgan Chase already has it." And I absolute guarantee within 2-3 years of BSA emerging from bankruptcy all that debt is suddenly going to disappear off the books.

I think there are two separate issues and Silverstein can really put the screws to BSA and the LCs with either decision 1) BSA National's control of (on paper) "independent" entities. If the judge determines that Arrow WV really is under BSA National's command and control, that argument/mindset could carry over to the LCs and all their assets. 2) BSA National using JPMorgan Case notes and credit agreements to play hide-the-assets. If the 2019 credit financing scheme gets proven to be fraudulent/intended to deny creditors assets then Philmont's next on the chopping block (they had a similar note created just before the bankruptcy). That will also mean any Councils who in 2019 or 2020 shuffled camps off to "Trusts" or got mortgages thrown on to properties to shield them will be getting a real, real hard look.

First, keep in mind the number of CLAIMS is not the same as the amount of ABUSE or even REPORTED ABUSE (e.g. someone may have reported the abuse but simply did not want to proceed with the bankruptcy claims). That said, here's my question: to what extent does the decline in claims correlate to a decline in membership? In other words, run a Pearson correlation test and see what happens. I know in 1990 the number of youth was around 4 million and today (2020) was 1.2 million, a 70% decline. BUT the number of abuse claims saw a 99% decline (1,125 vs. 10) This is horrible math and my old stats professors would collectively pummel me for doing this (I should at least be running a Pearson's test I know) but that would SEEM to indicate that the decline in the number of abuse claims is NOT simply a function of a decline in membership. Of course, it is impossible to parse out how much of that decline in the number of claims can be attributed to YPT without running regressions and controlling for a whole host of factors, but still. Interesting.

That's EXACTLY what they are arguing. It is a two part accusation. First, Arrow WV is a shell game. BSA claims they don't own or control it, they merely rent it. This article reviews some of the aspects here https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/summit-bechtel-state-chartered-nonprofit-play-roles-in-boy-scouts-bankruptcy-case/article_7e36f599-ac41-51dc-9f36-badfbe4cc094.html BUT the Arrow WV board reads like a whose-who of BSA National leadership. BSA money went to create it. It is NOT independent. It's BSA's property. This culminates in this paragraph of the document ThenNow posted Which ROUGHLY translates as: 1) IF as we (TCC) suspect Arrow WV is really just BSA in a different set of clothes ("affiliate of BSA") then BSA really controls Arrow WV and the money BSA sent to Arrow WV should be viewed as BSA's money that we (TCC) can go collect/carve out of Arrow WV's hide. 2) IF Arrow WV really, really is not "an affiliate of BSA", we (TCC) are still calling shenanigans because then it was a fraudulent transfer by BSA to an external entity for fraudulent purposes (most recently playing hide-the-asset-from-creditors). Second, the other aspect is that BSA claims even if they WANTED to sell Summit they can't because it was already promised to JPMorgan Chase as a loan or other credit agreements and oh shucks isn't that too bad. The TCC is calling BS and claiming BSA purposefully and fraudulently put Summit under JPMorgan Chase in order to dodge potential sale as part of the bankruptcy. So, TCC would like permission to go sue JPMorganChase (and BSA and Arrow WV, but mostly JPMorgan Chase) in order to have JPMorgan Chase's claim on Arrow WV voided. If TCC can do that AND THEN show that Arrow WV is really just BSA in different clothing, then Summit can be liquidated/sold NOW as part of the bankruptcy and the money turned over to the abuse victims (OR the note and deed to Arrow WV get turned over and the Settlement Fund sells it later Either/or). Why permission? Generally during a bankruptcy ALL lawsuits involving the debtor and debtor assets are stayed. If you'd still like to sue the stuffing out of the debtor (or the bank they are playing hide-the-asset games with) you need the bankruptcy judge's OK.

Because the AIS tracker is only tracking cases that use AIS lawyers. It is NOT intended to be 100% comprehensive of ALL abuse cases.

First, keep in mind that National has said absolutely nothing officially so EVERYTHING here amounts to "I heard from Council that" or "My buddy on the board heard." That's part of the problem here: National's hiding the ball. As for cash, National has said in filings it will run out of money "by late summer". Here's why July 20 is important. It is the absolutely earliest BSA can emerge from bankruptcy IF EVERYTHING WORKS EXACTLY AS BSA WANTS. Look at this video from the TCC at minute 42:33. Again, that's if 1) NO ONE objects to the BSA plan and 2) NO ONE argues at the April 15 hearing against the plan and 3) AT LEAST 66% of abuse claimants approve the plan by June 28 and 4) THE JUDGE CONFIRMS the final plan around July 20-26. There is precisely 0% chance of all 4 of these things happening. In fact, #1 and #2 are already off the table. Finally, what happens? Yes, program is gone. Advancement is gone. Scoutbook is gone. Everything is pretty much gone. And since Congress gave the (by this point dead) BSA exclusive rights to the names and logo associated with Scouting, you cannot go start your own program and start making your own Eagle Scouts. THAT is why my troop parents were notified today we are racing for July 1 to get our Life Scouts to Eagle. We don't expect BSA to be alive much past that point.

That and keep in mind that the numbers may also have collapsed not because YPT is amazing but because the BSA membership fell off a cliff at around the same time.

I couldn't agree more. I've said that my own theory is that you need heads on pikes (read: people who are clearly and openly removed from the program for YPT failures) and/or Clery Act type reporting in which Councils have to report YPT violations each year and the results. That second part can be anonymous or aggregated, but as it is, I have never, ever, EVER seen ANYONE reprimanded, reviewed, or in any way disciplined for YPT violations. Either my district and council have attained YPT perfection or it's getting buried/ignored.

Right. There's already plans to sue not only Local Councils but Chartered Organizations as well. Such suits are being filed but the bankruptcy court proceeding stays those suits for now. I really, really don't think people really grasp exactly how screwed BSA is right now. Fortunately for my Council our Council President is an attorney who as early as last year saw where this was heading and I think really laid it out as best as he could that BSA's screwed and the council's not going to be able to walk out of this without paying SOMETHING. I don't think even he fathomed how insulting the BSA offer would be. Our next Council board meeting is next week and I'll find out the details after. But my district folks already know that my troop doesn't expect to survive this and they are operating similarly that BSA National really can't be believed or trusted at this point.

I've worked as a paralegal, court staffer, or judicial system employee for 30 years. I can read the writing on the wall in a civil case. To borrow a phrase: It's all over but the screaming.

The video of last night's TCC call is online. I just want to bring up one thing and this is a placeholder of sorts. In a very, very short amount of time the reality is going to set in that local councils ARE in fact going to have to chip in and pay for this. The TCC made it clear they are looking at four sources of money for this BSA national (and its insurers) Local Councils (and their insurers) Chartered Organizations (and presumably their insurers) Individual abusers. When that happens, I wonder how much of the anger is going to be directed at National for, in effect, lying (or at least not being fully honest) about what councils and COs were on the hook for. Councils for even as late as today assuring people there was/is no way the councils are going to have to pay a dime and that any money they give to their local council will remain local. I will give my Council Key-3 all the credit in the world here: they've made it clear for MONTHS that the Council is going to have to pay SOMETHING, even if they are not sure exactly how much. Lawyers Abuse victims Chartered Organizations

That's how I am interpreting it too. I guess the (sick) argument is that grooming is ok as long as the pedophile is not able to actually abuse the child/is lucky enough to escape.

Here's the other aspect. Since 1990, BSA has touted YPT as the be all and end all. Since 1990, there has been over 11,000 victims. That's a mess. There's BSA's liability right there.

And I will put money on the table that says if you talked to Circle 10 leadership they'd continue to blow "Everthing is Awesome" vibes your way. For Councils still pushing the "It's all National, we'll be fine. No local money will be forced to be paid." line, I don't really know at this point if it is because the Council leaders are naive clueless about what peril they are in just simply lying to themselves and others or being told by National they are OK and believing it to be so or a combo of some/all of the above.

The AIS map is based on those who have AIS attorneys.

No. Congress gave Boy Scouts of America (the corporate entity, National if you will) the exclusive rights to the "emblems, badges, marks, and words" of Boy Scouts of America. 36 U.S. Code § 30905. A bankruptcy doesn't repeal that statute. So no, the Local Councils could not continue with anything like that. I'd suspect you'd see something like the Baden-Powell Service Association with things that look/feel similar but that do not include "Bear" "Bobcat" "Eagle Scout", etc.

I can read the writing on the wall. BSA's dead by summer and/or the COs will start to drop units when they start to get sued. It isn't fair to have scouts within weeks/months of Eagle miss out because of this, and we are giving our parents and scouts a heads up.

How about this: Reporting on all YPT violations and the resulting punishments at a council level. I think something similar to how Congress mandated Clery Act reports that all higher education facilities bust report similar data annually. If a council starts to cough up numbers saying "we had NO YPT violations in 2021!" you know either a) they reached a state of perfection not know to humankind or b) they are full of crap and not enforcing YPT.