The Boy Scouts of America may be forced to cut $250 million from its proposal to set up a trust fund for sex abuse victims after a judge rejected a key provision of a deal the youth group signed with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The complex ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Silverstein forces the Boy Scouts to return to the bargaining table with some of the groups funding the $2.7 billion fund, including the religious group known colloquially as the Mormon church.
Silverstein handed the Boy Scouts a partial victory Friday when she rejected arguments that a settlement with abuse survivors was not negotiated in good faith. The judge did not give final approval to the proposed trust fund plan, however, instead she rejected a number of key provisions. One example is Silverstein’s refusal to grant the church a so-called third party release that would have given the church broad legal protections from all sex abuse claims, not just those involving the Boy Scouts.
