Supreme Court Denies Request to Stop Boy Scouts’ Bankruptcy Settlement

The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Feb. 22 to halt the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion bankruptcy settlement after a group of alleged sex-abuse victims asked the court to hold up the proceeding while they appeal the settlement.

The court’s refusal to stay the settlement came in the form of an unsigned order (pdf) in Lujan Claimants v. Boy Scouts of America.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was founded in 1916. The applicants, the Lujan Claimants, are 75 individuals who claim to have suffered scouting-related childhood sexual abuse in Guam from about 1955 to 1981. The Dumas and Vaughn Claimants, also applicants, are 69 individuals who also claimed to have experienced scouting-related childhood sexual abuse across the United States.

Justice Samuel Alito had temporarily stayed the settlement in an order on Feb. 16 but days later the full court voted to lift the stay.

The case could return to the Supreme Court at some point. The claimants could ask the Supreme Court again in the future to stay the settlement.

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