ThenNow

I've not chimed in on this point for some time and have developed a new response. Let me try it out. Please don't freak out. I'm trying to illustrate what is being said and what I've said in the past in a different way. Many moons ago I used the phrase, "soul murder." Keep that in mind as you read on. Let's say you have a national organization with an acute dilemma. It has a "low" overall percentage incidence of a particular pediatric disease, but it is still widespread, i.e., many locations. This disease creates lifelong physiological and psychological impairments to the children afflicted by it. Permanent. Lifelong. Tragic. Sometimes fatal. Critically, you know the cause. (I prefer to use organization rather than a demographic, as would be typical with a disease. It still works here with 252 LCs, jeepers knows how many Packs and Units, and 40,000ish COs.) Okay. So, let's take brother John's case of 11 boys abused abused by the same two volunteers. There were probably more. I know for a fact five other boys were abused by my SM and I am quite confident there are another 5+ who are claimants here, more likely 10. That's in one small town, one Troop, over a 7-year span. Again, "low" percentage overall incidence, but local concentrations with exponential spikes imbedded by location. Remember this is lifelong and potentially fatal. Riddle me this: Would an organization with a mission to train up young (wo)men into exemplary citizens and leaders fail to tenaciously weed out the cause with the help of any and all experts? Would they alert the public, children and parents to be aware of the known factors that cause the dreaded disease? In this case, that includes context (kids alone with adults), grooming and the rest. C'mon man. Of course they would. If they did not, what would you call failing to warn any and all concerned about this threat of death for 82,000+ children regardless the timespan. Yup. Even if you became aware of 10 significant outbreaks within a 5 years period and knew the precipitating factors, wouldn't you pursue it aggressively and publicly? If you didn't...ack. Something got muddled up here, regardless the era and time. My take.

This has to be wrong. It’s Thursday. Please tell someone not to further tilt the axis of my universe. I’m far enough out of balance as it is!

I think I said something to this effect long ago at my point of entry into this Scouter.com universe. The whole thing feels like kids doing heart surgery with garden tools in a tree house at the rate of $1000 per hour per kid. All the neighborhood kids are lined up around the block to climb the rope ladder and get in on the action. (This assessment is not my logical brain speaking, rather the lizard part. I understand the complexity, it just feels utterly ridiculous and immoral.)

The problem of "future claimants"' plagues the resolution of mass tort bankruptcies.2 Mass tort injuries, such as those caused by asbestos exposure, can entail long and variable lag times between the exposure to a harmful product and the resultant harm? As a result, some claimants may be unaware of their injury at the time of a company's bankruptcy reorganization.' Moreover, the total number and magnitude of future claims is subject to great uncertainty Any resolution of mass tort claims in bankruptcy (or via the legislative creation of a mass tort trust fund)6 must ensure a "fair distribution" for these ill-defined future claimants-an exceedingly difficult task.' https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/4945/Protecting_Future_Claimants_in_Mass_Tort_Bankruptcies.pdf?sequence=2

First one to read and give a full report receives that old OA pocket patch I've been raving about. Enjoy all four hundred and twenty-four pages of it. DEBTORS’ (I) MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF CONFIRMATION OF THIRD MODIFIED FIFTH AMENDED CHAPTER 11 PLAN OF REORGANIZATION FOR BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA AND DELAWARE BSA, LLC AND (II) OMNIBUS REPLY TO PLAN CONFIRMATION OBJECTIONS 84842171_BSA-ConfirmationBrief-D.I.9114.pdf

From your post to JLSS ears. BUT, the payments must come from the people doing the billing and they can't turn around and pass it through to the Debtors' estate. Strike that. I want the Coalition to pay me, and a round for all my friends! C'mon boys (and gals)...!

This is going into my presentation to the Settlement Trustee or Neutral. We can adjust the figure for inflation.

At the center of this bankruptcy approach to mass tort resolution is the idea of the future claims representative (the "FCR"), a court-appointed agent named to represent then-nameless, faceless future victims of claimed tortious acts already committed by the corporate debtor. https://www.chapman.edu/law/_files/publications/CLR-3-frederick-tung.pdf

Hours. Total is before the holdback.

I think so. Yes?

Say wha? There must be a misplaced comma, no? COMBINED TWENTY-SECOND MONTHLY APPLICATION OF JAMES L. PATTON, JR. AS THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR FUTURE CLAIMANTS AND YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP AS COUNSEL TO THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR FUTURE CLAIMANTS FOR ALLOWANCE OF COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 1, 2022 THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2022 The amount of time spent by the Applicants during the Fee Period is fully set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto. The hourly rates set forth therein are the Applicants’ normal hourly rates of compensation for work of this character. The reasonable value of the services rendered by the Future Claimants’ Representative during the Fee Period is $98,262.00. The reasonable value of the services rendered by YCST during the Fee Period is $607,975.50. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/a1d84878-78ce-436c-8164-52ce4907d558_9086.pdf

Pah. Indeed. I was poor and had no choice but to glance and quickly skitter from that table of bling.

From your post to God's, er, JLSS's ears. I think allowing such a thing to be done in this case is horrifically offensive.

Bring on the next $130k+. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/1d0f8ba2-2a17-4ee9-871d-9dd1dd4ce502_9064.pdf Whoops! The tried to slide #18 on by me. 78 grand, give or take. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/969cd108-c6da-4241-9ed3-0f26b65894c9_9063.pdf I know there are some sophisticated consultants among us. Care to translate this? Oh, wait! I think that first sentence was lifted from my job description when I was raising teenagers. I knew it looked strangely familiar. About Ankura Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers services and end-to-end solutions to help clients at critical inflection points related to change, risk, disputes, finance, performance, distress, and transformation. The Ankura team consists of more than 1,500 professionals serving 3000+ clients across 55 countries who are leaders in their respective fields and areas of expertise. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results and Ankura is unrivaled in its ability to assist clients to Protect, Create, and Recover Value.

I don't get it, either. The argument is the bankruptcy code allows for payment/reimbursement based on a "substantial contribution" to the deal leading to the plan or some such. The US Trustee's comment back when they tried this the first time was pretty much, "Um, this case isn't close to over. How can we know if someone made a substantial contribution until a plan is approved?" As my gramps would say if you burped, "Bring it up later and we'll vote on it." This is nothing more than parties being unofficially officially appointed as a fiduciary so they can get paid from the estate. Fiduciary to me? Whom? Not me. How does that make any sense, especially when their 33%-40% amounts to many many many nickels. Let's get this straight. I wiggle a way to have my clients (and survivors who are NOT my clients) pay for the attorneys who help me make a deal to make millions of dollars from my clients. Okay. Makes total sense. Or not. Anyone get this?

If the REI bag proves less than optimal, I'll check this one out. Thank you!

Another beauty from the Certain Insurers' objection. Quoting: $24.5 Million Potentially Diverted from Abuse Claimants Solely for the Benefit of Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Who Represent Them 90. In connection with the RSA, the Coalition and the Debtors requested that the Court approve payments of $950,000 per month throughout the case and additional fees up to $10.5 million for professionals that Coalition plaintiffs’ lawyers hired on behalf of the Coalition without any showing of a “substantial contribution.” The Court denied that request, finding that it would harm the Abuse Claimants: The cost of the coalition’s professionals was to be borne by the State Court counsel who formed the coalition, not their clients. Payment by Boy Scouts and certainly payment by the investor trust comes directly or indirectly out of their client’s pockets and, indeed, the pockets of all abuse victims . . . any funds diverted from abuse victims, especially to pay an obligation of their lawyers, needs to be closely examined. Aug. 19, 2021 Hr’g Tr. at 20:20-21:3 (Supp. Obj. App. 1). 91. The provision regarding payment of Coalition fees remained in the Prior Plan, leading the Court to state when approving the Disclosure Statement that “the Coalition fees, I will decide that on a motion, on an appropriate motion unrelated to the plan . . . I’m not going to glom on something additional to the plan that doesn’t need to be decided in that context.” Sept. 29, 2021 Hr’g Tr. at 104:9-10 (Initial Opp. App. 55). 92. Undeterred, Coalition plaintiffs’ lawyers refused to remove the provision from the Prior Plan and then demanded that the Debtors increase the payment to $21 million. The Debtors relented. The Claimant Representatives now go even further and demand that an additional $3.5 million be used to pay fees incurred by the Pfau/Zalkin firms in connection with these Chapter 11 Cases. Revised Plan § V.H. Payment of Coalition and Pfau/Zalkin Restructuring Expenses. These recoveries for plaintiffs’ firms are in addition to the substantial contingency fees that are, in many cases, 33% to 40% of their clients’ recoveries and, if either the Prior Plan or Revised Plan is confirmed, will likely be billions of dollars. Payment of the professional fees that these lawyers (but not their clients) chose to incur further dilutes the recoveries of not only their own clients but all Abuse Claimants. This is particularly inappropriate because these plaintiffs’ lawyers also negotiated an agreement that allows the estate to contribute absolutely no cash to the Settlement Trust for the benefit of Abuse Claimants. See Feb. 11, 2022 Hr’g Tr. at 65:14-18 (MR. KURTZ: “It was originally contemplated that the debtors would make a contribution to the trust as we got to the end of March . . . that was dropping to zero, and that’s still the case.”) (Supp. Obj. App. 4).

Question for the wise. In reading the objection located on the docket via the link below, I found several interesting assertions. I haven't searched the TDP/IR processes to confirm all of them. I claim Monday malaise. In the meantime, anyone know the source of this assertion by the "Certain Insurers"? How does one come by that "private confidential information" to build one's case? There are several things I seek and I'd be happy to tell BSA "what I want, what I really really want." (Name that tune but don't deviate too far into a pop culture fest.) Sharing is care and I hope this is true. TDP & IR: Defendant (BSA) shares private confidential information with Plaintiff to build Plaintiff’s case before Plaintiff is required to submit documentation to the Settlement Trust. https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/29429b4d-503f-481b-b84e-5ee58331b5fd_9033.pdf

My understanding is a fee request that lands on the docket is an official, "Please ma'am, I want some more" seeking porridge from the slop bucket. Quoting: Perhaps the most significant fact about a Creditors’ Committee is that it may, with Bankruptcy Court approval, retain professionals including attorneys and accountants to represent the interest of unsecured creditors, and these professionals may be paid by the Debtor’s bankruptcy estate. 11 U.S.C. §1103(a) and §330(a)(1). Attorneys can assist a Creditors Committee with obtaining information necessary to make decisions and recommendations, negotiating with the debtor, other classes of creditors and other interested parties, and guidance regarding legal obligations and responsibilities as Committee members. PS - They are being submitted to the court for approval. Have any been rejected to date? This I do not know, but I'm thinkin' not. Century made a stink and got JLSS to require 20% be held back until the end of the case. Remind me when that is, again?

Ordered. On sale for $40.

The Scouters on this forum? Jk. I'm not sure of the membership, but this explains some of the elements. Effectively, the Debtors owe them cash and are holding no gold watches, artwork, real property or other things of value against which they can move to satisfy the indebtedness. I reserve the right to be wrong, per usual. https://www.mgwl.com/blog/what-you-should-know-about-ch-11-unsecured-creditors-committees/

Notice and agenda for Wed's hearing at 10ET. The $how must go on. (See above post.) https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/deb3c636-6cf0-4dd4-a3e5-ca89945008b4_9040.pdf

Okay. I know who these folks are and what they do, but does anyone know how they integrate with all the other professionals working this cash cow? 23rd Monthly Fee Application. WooHoo! $115,197 with a 20% holdback. This month's payday is $92,157.60. (By the way, that's the moolah kind and not the peanut and caramel log variety from our childhood.) https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/566b1605-4d4e-42d4-a5ce-7f6e1584c93c_9039.pdf https://www.alixpartners.com

Any recommendations on the daypack?

Amen to all that with a footnote. The Youth Protection Committee called for in the new YP terms is a critical component in the go forward world of BSA YP. I think it's not only critical to the BSA, but important as a model for other organizations. Why? Because at least half of its members must be BSA abuse survivors. They will have a hand in every aspect and phase of BSA YP. I'm hoping and praying that the members put forth by the TCC and SWG will be tenacious, thoughtful, capable, detail-oriented and united in their voice. If this all doesn't come tumbling down like so many Jenga towers, watch that group. Along with transparency, reporting, a culture passionate for YP and survivors on boards, the strong survivor representation on the YPC is a very, very good thing. They will be the pack of watchdogs in the house.