Boys Scouts of America file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Andrew de Koeyer| Writer

The Boy Scouts of America, a staple of American culture and youth, has declared chapter 11 bankruptcy. This organization, which has been operating for the last 110 years, took such action as a defense to the barrage of running sexual assault lawsuits brought forth by hundreds of past scouts. The eruption of cases and stories revealed a pattern of complaints dealing with the behavior of those affiliated with the group. 

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows the BSA to function and protects it while it deals with overwhelming lawsuits. In this ruling, the Delaware courts will likely freeze current lawsuits as well as set up a date that all new claims must be stated by. In this effort, the organization hopes to set up a trust to payout out to all ruled suits against the group. The decision has halted many national BSA operations; however, local councils will not be directly affected.  

In a recent testimony, 7,000 past employees have been identified as predators in the last 60 years. In addition, over 12,000 victims have been recognized in complaints. This pattern revealed a dark reality of continuous ignorance by the group, and a lack of leadership to combat the issue. 

In recent years the group has made a few settlements, including one for $18.5 million by Kerry Lewis in 2010. Yet these settlements have not been enough to deal with the overwhelming quantities of lawsuits being filed against them.

“In a way, this is an acknowledgment finally on the part of the Boy Scouts that they had this enormous problem and the problem is so large that they can’t deal with it themselves,” attorney Michael Pfau, a lawyer representing over 300 victims, said.

This decision to declare bankruptcy by the organization is a technique that is often utilized in dealing with these sorts of cases. The Catholic Church also chose to handle their claims against them in this fashion. In 2004, the Catholic Church declared bankruptcy as six major sexual abuse trials faced the church. 

The decision for the Boy Scouts to declare bankruptcy came with shock to the public. Many who have been part of the Boy Scouts were unaware of the severity of the issue.

“It’s very concerning to see such a trusted institution be facing such claims,” San Clemente High School senior Jack Martin commented. The future for the Boy Scouts remains unclear as more claims accumulate, but it is clear that if action by the group is not taken to prevent these issues in the future, it could possibly serve fatal to the organization.