Boy Scouts of America lawsuits highlight the BSA’s brutal negligence. Legal discovery in the suits filed show that the Boy Scouts of America not only covered up crimes against children, but also allowed known abusers to continue their abuse.
Insurance company papers uncovered in discovery show the total moral failure of the Boy Scouts’ organization as it categorically, tragically, and deliberately, with forethought, failed to protect the children in their charge.
Abuse “Expected and Intended”
One of the BSA’s insurance companies’ analysis has come to light in court documents. After viewing BSA’s previously secret documents, the company wrote, “The Boy Scouts of America did not warn or protect kids. The abuse that occurred in scouting was expected and intended, and therefore we should not be responsible to pay or provide coverage any longer because we were defrauded.”
Oregon Court unearthed Perversion Files
The Boy Scouts organization has seen a barrage of lawsuits after an Oregon court forced the release of 20,000 confidential BSA’s documents. Those documents are now known as the “perversion files.” They show that the pedophile scoutmasters and volunteers whom BSA kept hidden included the names of more than 1,000 volunteers and details of incidents of abuse.
Bankruptcy Complicates Cases
The Boy Scouts declared bankruptcy in February 2020 after the Oregon court documents became public and unleashed a rash of sex abuse lawsuits.
The bankruptcy allows BSA to put many claims into one court, which the organization hopes will save it some money and assets. But that bankruptcy, which allows BSA to put many claims in one court, conflicts with laws pending in several states that would allow a longer window to file a claim.
Hidden Predators Act
The Hidden Predators Act introduced in several other states is designed to encourage survivors to come forward and identify their abusers. Abuse survivors who remain silent, unfortunately, help protect abusers from discovery.
Decades Pass Before Most Survivors Reveal Abuse
Attorney David Matthews, whose law firm represents Boy Scouts abuse survivors, says most of his clients are in their fifties and sixties. It typically takes sex abuse survivors in BSA cases decades to come forward.
Statutes of Limitations Issues
The statutes of limitations clock, meanwhile, is ticking on Boy Scouts of America abuse cases. There is always a limited amount of time in which to file any civil suit, but the BSA declaration of bankruptcy could wind up victimizing Boy Scout victims all over again, if they don’t get their cases filed in time.
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- Boy Scouts of America Lawsuits Highlight BSA’s Brutal Negligence
by Matthews & Associates
