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Boy Scouts get conditional OK for $850M bankruptcy settlement

A Delaware judge ruled Thursday that the Boy Scouts of America can enter into an $850 million agreement to settle thousands of child sex abuse claims, a decision the organization hopes to use to emerge from bankruptcy.

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However, the judge rejected two key provisions of the deal, The Associated Press reported.

On June 30, the Boy Scouts reached an agreement with the attorneys representing victims of child sex abuse, doubling its initial offer to $850 million.

After three days of testimony, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington said she would approve the restructuring agreement between the Boy Scouts and attorneys representing the child abuse victims, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The case involved the BSA’s national organization, approximately 250 local Boy Scouts councils, and attorneys representing approximately 70,000 men who claimed they were sexually abused as youths decades ago while participating in Boy Scouts-related activities, the AP reported.

>> Boy Scouts reach $850M settlement with sexual abuse victims

The agreement calls for the $850 million to be placed into a fund for the abuse claimants.

The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year as it faced increasing legal fees to defend itself against claims of sexual abuse against boys, according to NBC News.

The judge rejected BSA’s request to pay millions of dollars in legal fees, and also denied the organization’s request to withdraw from an April agreement, in which The Hartford insurance company would pay $650 million into the fund for abuse claims. That second provision also stipulated that the BSA would be released from any further liability after the payment was made, according to the AP.

Silverstein said it was up to the Boy Scouts and the abuse survivors whether to file a Chapter 11 plan consistent with her ruling, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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