A U.S. district judge on Tuesday affirmed the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion Chapter 11 settlement plan over decades of sex abuse claims, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The judge’s approval denied appeals by some of the group’s insurers and some who brought abuse claims against the organization saying the settlement was not fair.
U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled that the agreement to pay out the more than $2 billion was made in good faith.
More than 80,000 men have said they were abused as children by troop leaders, and the settlement covering those claims creates the largest sexual abuse payment fund in U.S. history.
The settlement was approved in bankruptcy court in September. According to Reuters, it was supported by 86% of those who brought claims against the organization and by two of the Boy Scouts’ largest insurers.
“We look forward to the organization’s exit from bankruptcy in the near future and firmly believe that the mission of Scouting will be preserved for future generations,” Boy Scouts of America said in a statement.
Some insurers had claimed that the organization colluded with some abuse claimants to shift liability for the abuse away from the organization and onto insurers.
The money for the settlement comes from the Boy Scouts, local councils, insurers and organizations that have chartered Scouting units and activities, including churches, according to the Journal.
The Boy Scouts also contributed additional insurance rights, which may be worth more than $4 billion, to the fund that will pay abuse claims, according to Reuters.
The Boy Scouts of America said, “We are enormously gratified that the district court has ruled to uphold the order confirming the BSA’s plan of reorganization.” The youth group said the ruling is a milestone in its restructuring that “solidifies a path forward for both survivors and Scouting.”
Lawyers representing American International Group Inc., one of the groups that opposed the chapter 11 plan, declined to comment for the Journal story.