The Boy Scouts Bankruptcy: From Fame and Respect to Shame: A Trap for
Abstract
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest organizations serving youth in the United States, with 2.3 million youth members and approximately 889,000 adult volunteers. On February 18, 2020 the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy—or more precisely, financial restructuring—to offer “equitable compensation” to survivors of sex abuse and their families. The Boy Scouts of America partners with various community organizations, religious congregations, churches, fraternal groups, service clubs, and other civic groups to provide Scouting programs for a particular neighborhood or community. These organizations hold charters issued by the BSA and are known as Chartered Organizations. The relationship between the Chartered Organization and the Boy Scouts is symbiotic and is memorialized in “The Annual Unit Charter Agreement.” This paper discusses the various provisions of the Bankruptcy Act as it relates to the Boy Scouts and poses an important question: Given the nature of the relationship between the BSA and Chartered Organizations, should a Chartered Organization seek to be protected by filing a “placeholder” claim in the Boy Scouts bankruptcy proceeding?