The two churches plan to kick in $280 million toward a proposed settlement that could top $2.7 billion.
The $250 million the church has committed to the settlement “will be used fully to compensate those who may have been abused while participating in Scouting units sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Hawkins said. “The church’s agreement and the payment of the significant sums covers all Scouts and Scouting units that were part of BSA and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Steven Scheid, director of the United Methodists’ Center for Scouting Ministries, said Methodist leaders also support the new restructuring plan. “If the plan is approved through the trial set to begin March 14, claims against United Methodist congregations and entities will be channeled to the Survivor Trust Fund,” United Methodist Bishop John Schol told RNS in a statement.
“Religious organizations have been one significant part of the backbone of the Boy Scouts of America,” said Los Angeles lawyer Paul Mones, who was co-counsel on the case that brought the largest punitive-damages verdict against the BSA when a jury awarded a 38-year-old former Scout $19.9 million in 2010.
Other religious institutions “may have liability and they’ll have a year after the plan goes into effect to see if they want to make some kind of settlement with the trust in order to get protection,” said Mones. “I am sure that the Boy Scout bankruptcy came as a complete shock to most of them and they were caught off guard.”“The congregational polity of the UCC is such that chartering BSA units happens at the discretion of each local church,” the Rev.