U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
NEW YORK – Plaintiffs firms that took part in sex-abuse litigation against the Boy Scouts of America are now arguing over fees.
ASK LLP and Andrew & Higgins sued two other firms Nov. 2 in New York federal court for at least $3.4 million after the U.S. Supreme Court finalized the Boy Scouts’ $2.46 billion settlement, reached in bankruptcy court.
The fund has distributed about $1.3 billion for close to 63,000 claims – an average of $21,222. Lawyers charged contingency fees of up to 40%, and the two plaintiffs were members of a leadership group called the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice that pushed the case toward resolution.
The coalition represented about 75% of claimants and “had potential leverage in the plan-confirmation process,” the suit says. This was a benefit to James Harris Law and Damon J. Baldone & Associates, the plaintiffs say.
ASK and A&H had entered into fee-sharing agreements with those firms in 2020, in which it was agreed the plaintiffs would “jointly perform all claim management,” like filing proofs of claim and preparing personal injury-claim packets. JHL and Baldone were to perform client intake, the suit says.
Forty percent of fees would go to Baldone and 60% to ASK and A&H, they claim. The contract with JHL stipulated the same split.
“Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, both Baldone and JHL went on to breach nearly every one of the contractual provisions quoted above,” the suit says.
The contracts said the defendants agreed to share all available client data, but the plaintiffs claim Baldone filed at least 450 claims without their knowledge and JHL did the same with 400 proofs of claim.
It appears they did so to avoid splitting fees with the plaintiffs, the suit says, despite the aid the defendants received when their business partners were put on the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice.
“Plaintiffs used that leverage – and Plaintiffs did so in ways that materially benefited Baldone, JHL, and their other BSA PI Claim clients of whom Plaintiffs were unaware,” the suit says.
“In particular, the Coalition and the Future Claimants’ Representative (appointed by the Bankruptcy Court) negotiated settlements with BSA’s insurers—Hartford, Century, Chubb, Zurich, and Clarendon—and also with the BSA itself, certain BSA-affiliated local councils, and the United Methodists.”
The plaintiffs sue for breach of contract, breach of contract implied in fact and unjust enrichment, among other claims. The suit seeks at least $1.5 million from Baldone and $1.9 million from JHL.
