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The cost to compensate survivors of sexual abuse by the Boy Scouts of America has surged past $7 billion—more than double the $3.6 billion forecast in the organization’s 2022 bankruptcy plan, writes Becky Yerak in The Wall Street Journal.
This figure does not yet include tens of thousands of claims still under review, and the settlement trust warns that survivors may receive only a portion of their full awards.
When the BSA (since rebranded as “Scouting America”) received court approval in 2022, it relied on $2.5 billion in pledged assets—including insurance payments—believing it could fully settle approved claims.
But a recent filing reveals that, after valuing slightly less than 30,000 of the roughly 60,000 claims, the settlement trust has billed $7 billion to non-party insurers.
Many have not yet paid and dispute the charges, potentially leaving survivors undercompensated. “Promises otherwise were simply false,” stated a lawyer representing a group of survivors who opposed the chapter 11 plan.
The trust itself cautions that survivors are unlikely to receive full compensation, as determined awards may exceed available funds. The final amount will depend on legal resolutions with insurers.
Estimates of the total cost of claims have fluctuated widely over the years: a survivors’ committee estimated damages up to $103 billion, and another report suggested $30 billion.
The Boy Scouts initially projected liabilities between $2.4 and $7.1 billion, later narrowing that to $3.6 billion, asserting payment in full was possible.
Since the plan took effect in 2023, the trust has filed lawsuits against around 90 insurers to recover additional funds, a process that could stretch for years. An appeals court upheld the bankruptcy plan last month, but some survivors may seek Supreme Court review.
