3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has taken case/oral arguments off calendar pending SCOTUS decision on Purdue Pharma:

3rd highest chartered organization with abuse claims getting a "free get out of jail card" in BSA bankruptcy but has contributed $0 dollars to settlement trust fund. They have also petitioned the bankruptcy court to recoup $1,000,000.00 in legal fees for their significant contribution. That million, if approved, will come from the trust fund for survivors.

Deam straight I want SCOTUS to shine a light up the arse of "the plan" and non-debtor 3rd party releases. I too submitted my claim info to the trust fund yesterday,

I don't know if this means the Trust has to stop operations, but the current appeal before the 3rd circuit is halted. 

23A741 LUJAN CLAIMANTS and DUMAS & VAUGHN CLAIMANTS, Applicants, v. BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, et al., Respondents. | PDF | Boy Scouts Of America | Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution (scribd.com)

Justice Alito is not a proponent of the equitable mootness doctrine and is requiring BSA to respond by 2/15/2024. Day before IRO deadline of 2/16/2024. Indication Scouting Settlement Trust will be shutdown pending SCOTUS decision in Purdue case. APP probably attempt to scramble the egg even more.

8-1/7-2 SCOTUS rules non-debtor releases are not authorized by bankruptcy code.

We shall soon see....

"This would mean that the two attorneys (representing Guam Survivors and the other various survivors in several States) would need to have their clients compensated at a level so that their Survivors are much better off than other Survivors in this Bankruptcy AND the non-settling insurers who object also drop their objections.. "

What about survivors like myself who voted "no" on the plan because we didn't agree with the 3rd party releases. I saw no reason why sponsoring organizations should receive the benefits of a release. And likewise with the local councils. 

And their actions have more than confirmed my beliefs they only care about the bank account balance sheet. To date, my sponsoring organization has contributed $0 dollars to the trust, but they have the gall to ask the BK court for $1,000,000.00 to recoup their legal fees. My specific local council's contribution amounts to approximately $6,000.00 per survivor. Cut that $6,000.00 by 40% for my attorney fees. And survivors like me are force fed this excrement while being told we would receive value in return. What value? Who is really benefiting here.

My hope is SCOTUS adds checks and balances to these 3rd party releases requiring more consent from claimants instead of let's get as many 3rd party releases as possible.

Settlement Trust web site has been updated and revamped: Home (scoutingsettlementtrust.com) Check back regularly for updates.

BSA Settlement Trust (scoutingsettlementtrust.com)

The new BSA Claims Administrator, Randi Roth, who was the Claims Administrator in United States v. Farid Fata (Eastern District of Michigan), March 2016 – 2019, assisted the Department of Justice with the claims review process in that case. You can view an archive of the claim portal/process here:  U.S. v. Fata - Home (justice.gov)

I suspect rather than re-inventing the wheel, survivors will see a similar claims portal and processes.

Now what happens when we all get through "all appeals exhausted" the non-settling insurers decide to file bankruptcy themselves?

On 8/20/2022 at 10:34 PM, Eagle1970 said:

Thanks for the info.  My abuse was in Missouri.  With regards to lawyer explanation, I am pro se.   With limited legal background, I wish I had an attorney.  But with the Grey 3 situation, I can't justify it.

You do not need to respond to me but if you were taken across state lines and sexually abused/assaulted, there is no SOL under the Mann Act. The FBI has begun pursuing cases against individuals including corporate/religious entities under the Mann Act. 

And I am quite sure the TCJC is aware SCOTUS recently denied a petition filed by numerous California Roman Catholic Archdioceses to overturn California's look back window for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Search - Supreme Court of the United States

This strengthens the hand of those mixed-abuse claimants in open states including TCJC survivors. They will face us survivors in mediation, arbitration, litigation, and any other gation you can think of.

On 6/7/2022 at 5:05 PM, skeptic said:

Have to note; the police left your apartment and basically did nothing?  Why, and are they also being sue?  Simply trying to clarify this a little.  

 

Below is a post I made a while back on this forum regarding this issue. You can now include the Roman Catholic Archdiocese since they also withheld information from the police but also sided with "our" abuser which resulted in 1 survivor/scout/classmate getting kicked out of BSA.  This is why a judge granted us the ability to seek "punitive damages" and not just compensatory damages. There is a big difference between the too. In my case, my abuse was 200% preventable but BSA, the LC and Archdiocese were too concerned about their prestige and reputation. 

I believe I have watched this trailer at least 30-40 times since I found out about the documentary. I sure wish I could have had the same outcome as the survivor who received confirmation from the police, that his abuser admitted guilt. Instead, I was told by the police detective, "at least he knows someone talked. Maybe he won't do it anymore." I was left speechless and heartbroken as I watched the detective leave my apartment. 

Gulf Coast Health Bankruptcy Plan Rejected Because of Releases (bloomberglaw.com)

Gulf Coast Health Bankruptcy Plan Rejected Because of Releases

There is a max under the Independent Review/Neutral path:

"Notwithstanding the foregoing, any amount of an Accepted Settlement Recommendation or Allowed Claim Amount for an Abuse Claim that proceeds under this Independent Review Option in excess of a multiple of five (5) times the Maximum Matrix Value in the applicable tier set forth in the Claims Matrix...

At least that is the way it looks to me, the max award a claimant could receive is $13,500,000.00 (Max tier in TDP $2,700,000.00 x 5). Maybe I am wrong. The way this stuff is written....

There is a time limit for a survivor to pursue the Independent Review/Neutral:

"B. Time to Select Independent Review Option. Direct Abuse Claimants, other than Future Abuse Claimants, shall initially have until January 1, 2023, to elect to participate in the Independent Review Option. In addition, in order to participate in the Independent Review Option, the Direct Abuse Claimant must complete and submit the Trust Claim Submission by January 1, 2023 to enable the Settlement Trust to establish reserves."

A Claimant has 6 months from after the Effective Date to participate so don't go by that date above.

I don't know if this Independent Review/Neutral will survive but it's a lot more comprehensive than the TDP. A survivor must provide an expert report paid on their own dime (this won't be cheap based on the fees charged by the experts now):

"Damages must be supported by an expert report (the cost of which shall be paid by the Direct Abuse Claimant); and"

I encourage any survivor who is planning or thinking about participating in the Independent Review Option to carefully read through this material. There is a lot more information. You will have to make the determination what is best for you. And make your attorney answer any questions you have, if they are recommending you down this path.

But like what I wrote above, I don't know if this this process will see the light of day. 

I know this NPR article is a year old regarding the PG&E Ch. 11 BK and Trust Fund set up to compensate 67,000 fire victims but it's probably an idea what survivors/claimants can expect with the BSA BK Trust Fund (likely similar to other mass tort BKs as well). Trust will rack up huge attorney fees with slow payout to victims: 

PG&E Fire Victim Trust Racks Up $51 Million In Fees As Survivors Wait For Help : NPR

It really never ends does it....the greed that is....

6 hours ago, fred8033 said:

Disclosure ... I'm Catholic and love my church.  The organization is far from perfect, but it's my family.  

Is this weird?  ... Catholic groups getting protection seems like a questionable action.  So then from a victim side, will I lose the right to sue if abuse was not via scouts but I once attended a scout meeting?  Or will the "CO" be protected against abuse suits even if I was not a scout?  ... Flip side ... will Catholic organizations be still liable as abuse can be shown mostly not from scouting, but only slightly from scouting?  

From what I've seen, many cases are not a clean light switch of in-scouting or out-of-scouting abuse.  Many COs were schools and churches and other that had other connections to the youth.  

I'm wondering if some victims will be blocked that should not be or if Catholic organizations will not receive protection as intended because protection can be gone around. 

I have studied this from almost day 1 because it is my story. My abuser was not only my troop leader but a lay teacher at my catholic elementary school as well as my coach for after school sports. BSA wasn't paying his salary when I was in his class nor was it paying him to umpire local youth baseball games. For me, there is a guide post so to speak, when I was getting abused at school activity vs a BSA scouting activity. 

In fact, the TDP itself reflects this situation known as a mitigating factor (value of your claim is reduced) because the survivor had a relationship with the abuser outside of BSA scouting. As a survivor I find this mechanism patently offensive, particularly as both my archdiocese and BSA/LC concealed my abuser's prior bad acts, even before I myself was abused. That's really great, turn a blind eye to criminal acts and get rewarded for it. This also explains why my abuser was allowed to sexually abuse several of us young boys before finally getting perma- banned from the BSA .

So, to answer your question, I don't believe a survivor will lose the ability to pursue a civil case against the archdiocese, if the abuser had access to you outside of BSA activities and abuse occurred there as well. I  have a separate legal action against the archdiocese. I don't believe they would be wasting their resources on my case and other cases  similar to mine.  

Looking at the updated numbers, it shows 22,004 survivors opted out of granting 3rd party liability releases. That's almost 50% of the total number of survivors who voted. I would think a district court judge and maybe JSS would consider this as not overwhelming support for the plan. At least as it relates to BSA trying to bring their friends Tom, Dick and Harry to the party.

And for the indirect abuse claims, the percentage is much higher who rejected the 3rd party liability releases....

TCC made a video going over the 3 settlement options: 

1. $3,500 expedited payout

2. TDP (with scaling and mitigating factors)

3. Independent Review (IR)

The video is timestamped so you can go right to the section you need but I encourage you to watch it all. 

My interpretation of the IR is that it will only be made available to survivors in open states that can meet the criteria for the IR; See Timestamp 35:20 for requirements. Burden is shifted to survivors to provide a lot more detailed data than TDP. 

Another thing that is not mentioned is the IR valuation is subject to approval from the main trustee. I'd hate to go through IR, receive a decent valuation only to have it reduced by the Trustee.

I also think 20% of an IR settlement flows back into the Trust. So, if you have an attorney on contingency plus this potential 20%, a survivor is looking at receiving only 40%. But this needs to be verified; I may be wrong here.

Trust Distribution and Independent Review Process - YouTube

If a survivor wins a favorable valuation from IR, up to $1 million will come from the main trust fund subject to the initial payment percentage that will be established by the Trust (maybe future payments if Trust receives more funds).

The proceeds above $1 million will have to come from the non-settling excess insurers and COs. This will hopefully be accomplished via negotiation, settlement and/or litigation. It's taken us 2 years to get this far. I don't relish the idea of waiting another 1-2+ years while the IR and insurer/CO duke it out. 

But this is all for naught until Justice Silverstein issues her ruling. 

United Methodist leaders urge congregations to reject proposed settlement with Boy Scouts

United Methodist leaders urge congregations to reject proposed settlement with Boy Scouts – Baptist News Global

In one such North Texas meeting, Bishop Michael McKee told leaders of the region’s 80-church Metro District that the rejection was being pushed for two reasons:

• Insufficient recompense for the survivors of past sexual abuse by BSA leaders.
• Increased liability for United Methodist congregations that have sponsored Scout troops, past and present.

On 11/5/2021 at 8:50 AM, ThenNow said:

Interested to hear from Scouters who know the situation with their LC’s proposed Plan contribution who also watched last night’s TCC presentation of two BRG Dashboards. Per the town hall (again), the LC BRG dashboards are all being released, albeit slowly. The two they reviewed should be up soon, if I understood correctly. Ok. I’m actually interested in any and all thoughts. All comers welcomed. 

I already commented on my LC's contribution to the Settlement Trust in a previous post. My abuse occurred in a open state (No SOL). Under my LC's proposed contribution, each survivor would receive just shy of $5k which in my particular case does not include my attorney fees. If the plan was approved as-is, my LC would keep $10 million plus and be released from all liability. 

I received my paper ballot in the mail last week. I am a client of AIS but ceased being a member of the Coalition a couple months ago. I returned my completed ballot earlier this week. I voted NO on the plan, refused the expedited $3,500 payment and opted out of the liability releases.

I believe I received a paper ballot because on my POC, I chose to have communications from the Court sent directly to me instead of AIS. Call it the guiding hand of the universe... At first I thought this may have been a bad idea but not anymore based on the buffoonery with the Coalition. 

My CO still hasn't contributed anything but sure likes to make arguments about how the BSA is leaving them out in the cold. I read the BK court docket so I know where they stand. Nothing shocking here even though in the past my CO paid out several hundred million dollars to settle hundreds of CSA claims. 

20 hours ago, Muttsy said:

More of THE KEN SHOW starring KEN and featuring the SHYSTERETTES!

 

 

I received a text message urging me to watch this video and vote "yes" on the BSA's 5.5 plan. After watching it, I was strongly reminded of that movie "V for Vendetta." Just like High Chancellor Sutler instilling a climate of fear to keep the totalitarian regime in control and power. I promptly sent an email to the TCC notifying them of the Coalition's latest fear mongering maneuver. The TCC confirmed receipt and thanked me for forwarding this information to them.

I also attended the Coalition's 1st town hall meeting. I left after 41 minutes. Again, I was reminded of a Russian state controlled TV station where the information was strictly controlled from the top down. I thought about attending their 2nd town hall but decided against it. I am glad I didn't waste any more of my time. 

I'd take $0 dollars any day rather than be forced to settle for scraps from BSA's, my LC's and CO's tables. These 3 should be at the forefront and leading edge of Youth Protection but instead it's treated as an after thought. Survivors are even further down on their rung...

As a survivor and one of many victims of the same abuser who carried out his deeds across multiple boy scout troops, what gives the BSA, my LC and CO any right to complain about anything. PERIOD!

 I did go to the police and my case was turned over to a unit that specializes in the exploitation of children. And when law enforcement came knocking at BSA's and my LC's doors, they were told nothing to see here detectives. Guess what...24 years later I learned through this bankruptcy, BSA and my LC banned my abuser from scouting 11 years prior to me reporting him to law enforcement. So my path to justice as well as other victims was purposely obstructed and as a result "our" abuser never faced one day in court or served one day in jail for his crimes. Nor will he since he has departed this life as we know it.

It disgusts me to read posts on this forum complaining why aren't abusers being held directly accountable. You can personally shake the hands of BSA and my LC for their purposeful grievous omission which allowed a legitimate pedophile, whose path of destruction was spread far and wide, to escape justice. 

Isn't it ironic, 24 years later I get to watch BSA, my LC and CO squabble and squawk about not getting a fair deal under this re-organization plan. I keep hearing phrases like, "we're going to run out of money," or "there will be never be enough money," or the line "what about the future of scouting."  Yet, aren't these the same sentiments the BSA and my LC used to justify their actions to not share adverse information with law enforcement about my abuser. WAKE UP! As far as I am concerned, BSA, my LC and CO are just as guilty as my abuser. They might not have physically penetrated me but they sure did pierce my soul with their lack of humanity and callousness. And now, they are trying to do it again...

5 hours ago, ThenNow said:

I want to apologize to any of my fellows who are represented by the Coalition firms. My intention is not to attack you or their work for you. All I see is what they are doing publicly (press), in court (hearings) and via their filings (OmniAgent Docket). Taken as a whole, I cannot help but react as I am, given the apparent self-interested motivations of counsel, the willingness to undermine the TCC, their efforts to get the estate (BSA/victims funds) to pay their attorneys, all topped off with the histrionics I’ve witnesses. I hope all goes well for you and all of us, but I am unable to keep quiet at this point. I feel they have attacked me by attacking my family. I have a strong penchant to “protect the blindside.”

No need to apologize. I was a member of the Coalition but terminated my relationship with them. I find it disgusting they are using our pain and suffering so they can amass millions of dollars while their clients get paid pennies on the dollar. Their attack on the TCC is even more damning.

45 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

Judge was clear ... 1 & 2 are not protected in the settlement, 3 would be covered.  I'm not 100% sure LDS agrees. 

I want to add the TDP has a section that mitigates/reduces a survivor's claim value if the survivor had a relationship with their perpetrator outside of scouting. I don't see how LDS or any CO could get away with combining 1, 2 & 3 in the BSA settlement and then get a discount on top of it.