boy scouts of america Looming wave of cases poses threat
Associated Press
NEW YORK
The lawyers’ ads on the internet aggressively seeking clients to file sexual-abuse lawsuits give a taste of what lies ahead for the Boy Scouts of America: potentially the most fateful chapter in its 109-year history.
Sexual-abuse settlements have already strained the Boy Scouts’ finances to the point where the organization is exploring “all available options,” including Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But now the financial threats have intensified.
The reason: States have been moving in recent months to adjust their statute-of-limitations laws so that victims of long-ago sexual abuse can sue. New York has passed a law that will allow such lawsuits starting in August. A similar bill in New Jersey has reached the governor’s desk. Bills also are pending in Pennsylvania and California.
Across the country, lawyers are hard at work recruiting clients to sue the Boy Scouts, alleging they were molested as youths by scoutmasters or other volunteers.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers “recognize that this is a very unique and lucrative opportunity,” said attorney Karen Bitar.
Attorney Tim Kosnoff, a veteran of major sexual-abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church, said Tuesday that he and his team have signed up 186 clients in just the past few weeks who want to be part of litigation against the Boy Scouts.
Kosnoff said 166 of them identified alleged abusers who have not been named in any of the Boy Scout files made public in past years.