Boy Scouts of America
Decades of abuse documented in the organization's own files, tens of thousands of claims, and the bankruptcy that created a $2.4 billion trust.
30 developments, 2010–2026, oldest first.
2010
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Oregon jury finds Boy Scouts negligent, awards $1.4 million to former Scout abused by leader
A Portland jury found the Boy Scouts of America failed to protect a Scout from abuse by an assistant Scoutmaster in the early 1980s and awarded $1.4 million in compensatory damages. A separate phase would decide punitive damages, and the Scouts said they would appeal.
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Oregon jury orders Boy Scouts to pay $18.5 million in punitive damages in abuse case
Jurors found the Boy Scouts acted with reckless indifference by keeping a leader near Scouts after he had admitted abusing children, and added $18.5 million in punitive damages. The verdict, built on the organization's confidential 'perversion files', was the largest of its kind against the Scouts.
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Boy Scouts settle remaining Oregon abuse lawsuits over the same troop leader
Six men who said the same Oregon Scout leader abused them in the 1980s reached undisclosed settlements with the national organization, including the plaintiff in the April verdict. The State of Oregon was due a share of the punitive damages.
2012
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California judge orders Boy Scouts to turn over two decades of confidential abuse files
In a lawsuit over a California troop leader's abuse of a Scout, a judge ordered the Boy Scouts to produce its nationwide 'ineligible volunteer files' from the previous 20 years. Scouting officials disputed that the files had been used to hide abuse.
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Oregon Supreme Court clears release of 20,000 pages of Boy Scouts 'perversion files'
The Oregon Supreme Court approved public release of roughly 20,000 pages of Boy Scouts files on suspected molesters that had been trial evidence in the 2010 Portland case. It was the first time the public would be able to review the records.
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LA Times review of 1,600 files finds Boy Scouts often failed to report suspected abusers
A Los Angeles Times review of about 1,600 confidential files from 1970 to 1991 found Scouting officials often did not alert police and sometimes let accused leaders resign quietly. In many cases where the Scouts learned of abuse first, there was no sign law enforcement was contacted, and some expelled men later rejoined.
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More than 1,200 Boy Scouts files on suspected molesters released under court order
Following the Oregon Supreme Court ruling, attorneys made public more than 1,200 Boy Scouts files covering 1965 to 1985. The records showed some removed volunteers rejoined and many allegations were not reported to police, which the Scouts disputed.
2018
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Boy Scouts lobby state legislatures against lookback windows for old child abuse claims
The Boy Scouts hired lobbyists in states including New York, Georgia and Michigan as legislators weighed windows reviving expired child sex abuse claims. The group said it opposed open-ended lookback periods because old cases are hard to defend.
2019
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Expert testifies Boy Scouts files identify 7,819 suspected abusers and more than 12,000 victims
An expert retained by the Boy Scouts testified in a court case that the organization's internal files from 1944 to 2016 identified 7,819 suspected abusers and more than 12,000 alleged victims. Attorneys said they would seek to publicize names of leaders not previously identified.
2020
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Boy Scouts of America files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid wave of abuse lawsuits
The Boy Scouts filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware, pausing hundreds of lawsuits brought after states including New York, New Jersey, Arizona and California opened lookback windows for old abuse claims. The organization planned a survivor compensation trust; its internal files listed 7,819 suspected abusers.
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At least 82,000 sex abuse claims filed against Boy Scouts by bankruptcy deadline
The claims deadline in the Boy Scouts' Chapter 11 case closed with more than 82,000 abuse claims filed, far beyond earlier projections. The volume made the case the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
2021
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The Hartford agrees to pay $650 million to settle Boy Scouts abuse coverage claims
Insurer The Hartford reached a $650 million agreement with the Boy Scouts to resolve its coverage obligations for abuse claims. Survivor groups objected that the amount was far too low.
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Boy Scouts reach $850 million settlement with tens of thousands of abuse survivors
The Boy Scouts and its local councils agreed to contribute $850 million to a trust for abuse survivors under a deal with major claimant groups. It was the largest such settlement involving a youth organization at the time.
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Bankruptcy judge gives conditional approval to Boy Scouts' $850 million survivor deal
A Delaware bankruptcy judge allowed the Boy Scouts to enter the $850 million settlement but rejected provisions on paying claimant lawyers' fees and on backing out of the Hartford agreement.
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Hartford raises Boy Scouts deal to $787 million; Latter-day Saints church agrees to pay $250 million
The Hartford agreed to a tentative $787 million contribution to the survivors' fund, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formerly the largest troop sponsor, agreed to pay $250 million in exchange for releases from abuse claims.
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Chubb's Century Indemnity agrees to contribute $800 million to Boy Scouts survivor fund
Century Indemnity and affiliated Chubb companies, the Boy Scouts' primary insurer, agreed to pay $800 million into the abuse survivors' trust, pushing the proposed total toward $2.7 billion.
2022
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Preliminary vote tally shows Boy Scouts plan short of targeted survivor support
A preliminary voting report showed about 73% of abuse claimants backed the reorganization plan, below the 75% the Boy Scouts sought given the plan's third-party releases.
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Judge rejects parts of Boy Scouts' $2.7 billion abuse settlement, including church contribution
Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved much of the settlement framework but declined to approve certain provisions, including the $250 million Latter-day Saints contribution as structured, requiring revisions before confirmation.
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Judge confirms $2.46 billion Boy Scouts reorganization plan for more than 80,000 abuse claimants
Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved a $2.46 billion plan funded by the BSA, local councils, settling insurers and sponsoring organizations, which in return are shielded from Scout-related abuse suits. A $250 million deal with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dropped after the judge found its release too broad, and objectors said they would appeal.
2023
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Federal district judge upholds Boy Scouts' $2.46 billion bankruptcy settlement
U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews affirmed the bankruptcy court's confirmation of the Boy Scouts plan, finding it a good-faith effort to resolve more than 80,000 abuse claims. Some survivors and insurers continued to appeal.
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Boy Scouts bankruptcy plan takes effect, creating survivor settlement trust
The Boy Scouts emerged from Chapter 11 as its reorganization plan became effective, transferring assets and insurance rights to the Scouting Settlement Trust that pays abuse claims. Appeals by objectors remained pending.
2024
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Supreme Court declines to pause Boy Scouts bankruptcy plan during appeals
The Supreme Court, without noted dissent, denied a request by a group of abuse claimants to stay the Boy Scouts plan while their challenge proceeded in the Third Circuit.
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Boy Scouts of America announces name change to Scouting America
The organization announced it would rebrand as Scouting America in 2025, a change that followed years of declining membership and the abuse-driven bankruptcy.
2025
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Third Circuit upholds Boy Scouts bankruptcy plan, saying it is too late to unwind
The Third Circuit rejected appeals by a small group of claimants and holdout insurers, ruling the plan had been consummated too far to be reversed despite the Supreme Court's 2024 Purdue Pharma decision on third-party releases. The trust can keep paying about 82,000 claimants.
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Third Circuit declines to rehear challenge to Boy Scouts Chapter 11 plan
The appeals court refused panel and en banc rehearing of its May ruling upholding the plan. Objecting claimants could next petition the Supreme Court.
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Appeals delays leave Boy Scouts abuse survivors waiting on bulk of settlement payouts
Bloomberg Law reported that continuing appeals were holding up full distributions from the survivor trust. Most insurer money remained in escrow pending final resolution of the challenges.
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Guam-based abuse claimants ask Supreme Court to review Boy Scouts settlement
A group of Guam-based claimants petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing the plan's releases for local councils, churches and schools conflict with the Purdue Pharma ruling. The petition kept roughly $1.5 billion in escrow, leaving survivors with about 1.5% recoveries so far.
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Scouting America urges Supreme Court to reject challenge to its bankruptcy deal
The organization told the justices the petitioners represent a tiny fraction of claimants and that the $1.65 billion insurance-rights sale funding the trust closed years ago and cannot be undone. It argued bankruptcy law bars the relief sought.
2026
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Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to $2.46 billion Boy Scouts abuse settlement
The Supreme Court denied review without comment, leaving the Third Circuit ruling and the plan's third-party releases in place. The decision frees about $1.65 billion in escrowed insurer funds, and Scouting America said payments to survivors could now accelerate.
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Scouting abuse trust has paid about $1.3 billion to 50,000 survivors as fees draw scrutiny
The Scouting Settlement Trust had distributed nearly $1.3 billion to just over 50,000 survivors, while about $40 million had gone to trustee and legal fees. Approved claimants were expected to receive only a small share of their claims' assessed value.