Boy Scouts Insurers Say Ch 11 Claim Process Needs Probe law360.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from law360.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kosnoff
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Insurance companies that will pick up most of the $1 billion tab for the sexual-abuse scandal that has overtaken the Boy Scouts of America are scheduled to face off tomorrow against plaintiff lawyers who filed tens of thousands of claims that insurers say were poorly investigated and potentially fraudulent.
Insurers have asked a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware to order an investigation into claims filed on the eve of a Nov. 16 deadline, some by lawyers who signed hundreds of claims an hour without providing essential information such as the name of the alleged abuser or whether any physical abuse occurred. The insurers say the wave of claims threatens to divert money away from legitimate claimants and into the pockets of lawyers, outside funders and undeserving plaintiffs.
Boy Scouts of America's insurers have challenged the validity of sexual abuse claims brought after a legal advertising campaign saw claims grow from 1,700 to over 95,000, asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge to allow discovery on individuals and attorneys who filed claims in the organization's Chapter 11 case.