Judge Denies $21 Million Fee Request by Plaintiff's Attorneys in Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Case

The judge overseeing the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case has denied a request from plaintiffs' attorneys for $21 million in fees. The attorneys in question were part of the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice, a group of law firms separate from the official victims' committee.

In her decision, the judge said that “the coalition's contribution did not go beyond its self-interest.”  She noted that some of the services provided by the coalition overlapped with those already offered by the official victims' committee and that certain actions taken by the coalition appeared to be more beneficial to the law firms themselves rather than the abuse survivors they were representing. The judge also stated that the fee reimbursement request contradicted the attorneys'  prior representations to the court that the individual law firms were paying them and that abuse survivors “will not, in any way, be responsible for the fees of coalition counsel.”  Given the finite (though large) pool of funds, the judge decided, any payment to the attorneys necessarily would come from the victims' compensation.

A spokesman for the attorneys said that they will appeal the ruling.  

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