A bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Thursday approved the Boy Scouts of America's $2.46 billion reorganization plan, opening the way for the youth organization to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and start compensating more than 80,000 men who say they were sexually abused by scout leaders. The approval of the plan by Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein still needs sign-off from a federal district judge, and some of the BSA's insurers have threatened to appeal the decision.
The national Boy Scouts of America organization filed for bankruptcy in 2020, saying the process would allow it to "equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in scouting" while continuing to carry out its scouting mission. The agreement it reached with tens of thousands of victims last year is the largest child sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.
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