The Elk Lick Scout Reserve in Smethport, Pa. P-J photo

The region’s Boy Scouts council that includes Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties has voted to sell one of its two camping properties.

The sale of the Elk Lick Scout Reserve in Smethport, Pa. — approved unanimously this week by the Allegheny Highlands Council — would satisfy its roughly $900,000 required contribution to the Boy Scouts of America and abuse settlement amid an onslaught of child sex abuse allegations. Proceeds would go directly to a trust established for the victims of abuse.

“We are not voting tonight on giving away a piece of history, we are voting on whether we want to keep Scouting alive in the Allegheny Highlands Council,” Michael Kelley, AHC board president, told members in a newsletter sent Friday. “If things stay on course, the lawsuit may be coming to an end in the next 90 days — it is not yet a done deal, but when it is, we will need to be prepared to put our part of the settlement into action. A key component of the plan is 100 percent participation by the 252 local Councils; if any one of these Councils decides not to participate, the deal is dead, and so is scouting.”

The Allegheny Highlands Council has been asked to contribute to the settlement; the contribution from each council was determined by the Local Council Committee in consultation with the Torts Claimant Committee.

The newsletter states that the formula used to determine each council’s contribution included council assets, number of claims filed within each council and statute of limitations in the state in which the claimswere filed.

Kelley said the decision to turn the Elk Lick Scout Reserve over to satisfy the settlement was reached after “months of meetings of an Ad Hoc Committee that included AHC board members and professional staff, as well as other scouters from within the Council. A number of board members indicated that while they supported the decision, it was made with a heavy heart.”

The Allegheny Highlands Council also operates Camp Merz in Mayville.

Earlier this year it was revealed in bankruptcy court documents that nearly 70 claims of sexual abuse had been filed against the Allegheny Highlands Council, which is based in Falconer and serves Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties in New York and McKean and Potter counties in Pennsylvania. Specifics regarding the claims, including when they were made or against whom, were not included in the documents made public. However, some of those claims have come to light in the last two years through Child Victim’s Act lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County.

BANKRUPTCY PLAN SET FOR VOTE

More than a year and a half after the Boy Scouts of America sought bankruptcy protection, tens of thousands of men who say they were molested as children by scoutmasters and others will soon get a chance to vote on a BSA reorganization plan. The Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, sought bankruptcy protection in February 2020, seeking to halt hundreds of individual lawsuits and create a fund for men who say they were sexually abused as children.

Although the organization was facing 275 lawsuits at the time, it’s now facing more than 82,000 sexual abuse claims in the bankruptcy case.

Despite the plan being sent out to abuse claimants for a vote, there are several issues involving Boy Scouts insurers and local troop sponsoring organizations that remain unresolved.

Here is a look at where the case stands:

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Following a hearing that stretched over two weeks, a judge last week approved a revised disclosure statement that outlines and explains the Boy Scouts’ reorganization plan. Approval of the disclosure statement was required before the Boy Scouts could begin sending out ballots to abuse claimants and other creditors to vote on the plan.

Among the issues discussed at the disclosure statement hearing were provisions for ensuring that ballots and informational packages are sent to all claimants, including men who are incarcerated, while protecting the privacy of those who do not want Boy Scouts-related communications sent to their homes.

The judge and attorneys also discussed provisions to ensure that law firms that represent multiple abuse claimants and want to submit “master ballots” on behalf of their clients prove they have obtained permission from each client who does not wish to submit a ballot himself.

THE PLAN

The plan calls for the Boys Scouts and its roughly 250 local councils to contribute up to $820 million in cash and property into a fund for abuse claimants. They also would assign certain insurance rights to the fund. In return, the local councils and national organization would be released from further liability for sexual abuse claims.

The plan also includes settlement agreements involving one of the Boy Scouts’ major insurers, The Hartford, and its former largest troop sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. The Hartford has agreed to pay $787 million into the fund for abuse claimants, and the Mormons have agreed to contribute $250 million for abuse related to the church’s scouting programs. In exchange, both entities would be released from any further liability involving child sex abuse claims.

Attorneys for the Boy Scouts and abuse claimants say they still hope to reach settlements with other insurers and sponsoring organizations, but it’s unclear whether they will be successful.

COMPETING RECOMMENDATIONS

The official committee appointed by the U.S. bankruptcy trustee to represent and act in the best interest of all sexual abuse survivors is recommending that abuse claimants reject the Boy Scouts’ plan. In a draft letter filed with the court, the nine abuse survivors on the committee said the plan is “grossly unfair,” and represents only a fraction of the settling parties’ potential liabilities and what they should and can pay.

According to the committee, a key flaw is that settlements with local Boy Scout councils would leave them with more than $1 billion in cash and property above what they need to fulfill the scouting mission. The committee also notes that sponsoring organizations such as churches and civic groups can avoid liability for abuse claims dating to 1976 simply by transferring their interests in insurance policies purchased by the BSA and local councils to the victims fund, without contributing any cash or property.

Meanwhile, attorneys separately representing tens of thousands of abuse claimants have submitted their own letter urging abuse claimants to vote for the plan. They say it will result in billions of dollars in compensation for abuse survivors and represents the best possible outcome for them.

The letter was drafted by attorneys representing an ad hoc group called the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice and the court-appointed advocate for those who might file claims in the future, including men who have repressed memories of their abuse. The coalition represents almost 18,000 abuse claimants and is affiliated with more than two dozen law firms that collectively represent more than 60,000 claimants.

CASE TIMELINE

With the judge’s approval of the disclosure statement, ballots and informational packages will be sent to more than 82,000 abuse claimants over the next two weeks. Ballots must be returned by Dec. 14, and a preliminary report on the voting results is due a week later. A final voting report is due by Jan. 4.

The judge has scheduled a hearing to begin on Jan. 24 to consider the voting results and to decide whether the plan meets the requirements of the bankruptcy code and should be approved.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.