Supreme Court allows $2.5 billion Boy Scouts settlement with sex abuse victims to proceed

The Supreme Court issued an order allowing a $2.5 billion bankruptcy settlement by the Boy Scouts to proceed in lower federal courts Thursday.

A group of 144 plaintiffs had moved to block the settlement, but the court's Thursday order means the settlement will continue to be litigated among the parties. Justice Samuel Alito had issued a stay on the settlement last week while the court deliberated on the issue.

The claimants were a small group of the 82,000 who filed claims for payment in the Boy Scouts of America's bankruptcy. They previously asked the court to halt the organization's bankruptcy settlement, arguing it unlawfully prevents them from pursuing lawsuits against other organizations that are not bankrupt, including churches that ran scouting programs and local Boy Scout councils.

The Boy Scouts of America's bankruptcy deal was upheld by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Delaware last March. The plan would allow the Texas-based organization to continue operating while it compensated the sexual abuse claimants. 

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The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in 2020 following the passing of several laws allowing accusers the opportunity to sue over abuse allegations that were decades old. The organization later reached a settlement that was approved in court in 2022. The settlement would pay between $3,500 and $2.7 million to abuse victims.

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Adam Slater, a lawyer representing claimants who supported the settlement, celebrated the court's order on Thursday.

"With more than 12,400 survivors in this case over the age of 70 and more than 2,200 over the age of 80, these brave individuals deserve to receive compensation in their lifetimes," Slater said.

More than 86% of the 82,000 victims of sexual abuse within Boy Scouts of America voted in favor of the settlement plan. 

Reuters and Fox News' William Mears and Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report