People's Justice

Case guide

LDS Scouting abuse: keep Church and trust records separate

Keep Scouting trust and Church claim records separate. Give a lawyer your claim numbers, notices and signed forms before seeking new advice.

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Updated Oct 4, 202611 sources

This may apply to you if

  • Ask a lawyer about sexual abuse by a person linked to the LDS Church.
  • Explain the place, years and your age when the abuse happened.
  • Describe the person’s role and any reports or responses you remember.

What the public record says

These are cited sources. Their inclusion does not imply that they endorse People’s Justice or reviewed this page.

Karen K. Caldwell · United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation · Chair of the panel issuing the April 3, 2025 order

Finding: The panel denied the request to group the listed LDS abuse cases. It said individual reports of abuse and the responses to those reports would be important facts in each case.

Order Denying Transfer, LDS sexual abuse litigation, April 3, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · Apr 3, 2025 · Checked Oct 3, 2026

The evidence and its limits

United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation · 2025

What the LDS grouping order reviewed

Design:
Other study design
Participants:
Listed civil actions and their varied allegations; no enrolled patients.
Finding:
The panel refused the listed grouping request and said individual reports and responses would matter.
Main limitation
A court coordination review does not establish abuse, fault, a clinical diagnosis or current case status.

Read the source: What the LDS grouping order reviewed (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026

The short answer

Are a Scouting trust claim and a Church claim the same?
Do not assume they are the same. Ask which process covers the events you mean. General court guidance does not decide whether a past agreement released a claim. [8]
Where does the current Boy Scouts notice direct filings?
The court’s March 2026 notice names a new case for later filings. Earlier records remain in the older case. The notice does not decide whether your claim is accepted. [11]
Does that notice release every LDS abuse claim?
The notice does not decide the release of Church claims. It gives case-filing instructions. Ask a lawyer to check the actual plan, orders and terms you signed. [11]
What should I ask before a second claim review?
Tell the lawyer if a firm already handles a trust or court claim. Ask about any overlap in work and fees. Request the proposed scope in writing. [6]

What rules a case out

Not covered by this case

  • A policy, role or published allegation does not prove your claim.
  • No personal deadline, firm acceptance, payment or privacy guarantee is given.

The process

What happens next

  1. 01

    You answer a few questions

    About two minutes. Nothing is sent until you agree on the last step and press submit.

  2. 02

    A lawyer looks at it

    A lawyer at the firm reads your answers and checks them against the current case criteria.

  3. 03

    The firm decides and gets in touch

    If the firm takes your case, you get the terms in writing to read before you sign. You can always say no.

Are a Scouting trust claim and a Church claim the same?

Do not assume they are the same. Ask which process covers the events you mean. General court guidance does not decide whether a past agreement released a claim.

List the troop, Church role, event and location you remember. If events occurred in more than one setting, describe them separately. Give the lawyer every claim notice and agreement you already have.

Where does the current Boy Scouts notice direct filings?

The court’s March 2026 notice names a new case for later filings. Earlier records remain in the older case. The notice does not decide whether your claim is accepted.

The notice identifies Delaware BSA LLC case 20-10342 for filings from March 13, 2026. Earlier filings are in Boy Scouts of America case 20-10343. Ask your current lawyer which records and process relate to your claim.

Does that notice release every LDS abuse claim?

The notice does not decide the release of Church claims. It gives case-filing instructions. Ask a lawyer to check the actual plan, orders and terms you signed.

Do not treat a proposed settlement described in an old article as the final terms you accepted. Bring copies of notices and signed forms. This page does not predict a current trust award or create a new filing window.

What should I ask before a second claim review?

Tell the lawyer if a firm already handles a trust or court claim. Ask about any overlap in work and fees. Request the proposed scope in writing.

Ask what representation you already have and whether another agreement would cover different work. Keep the written explanation. Do not assume that filing twice creates two separate payments.

What should I bring about an existing trust claim?

Keep the actual claim number, notices and signed forms. Ask your current lawyer which events and agreements they cover.

Would new advice overlap with my current firm?

Explain the trust or court work already assigned to a firm. Ask how the new scope and fees would differ before signing again.

Scientific evidence for this case

LDS Church Abuse · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · 2023Cross-sectional

Institutional Betrayal and Clergy Sexual Abuse: Impact on Disclosure, Reporting, and Psychological Outcomes

Survivors who experienced institutional betrayal (e.g., Church concealment of abuse, victim-blaming by leaders) had PTSD symptom severity scores 2.3x higher than survivors who did not experience institutional betrayal

LDS Church Abuse · Journal of Trauma and Dissociation · 2022Cross-sectional

Religious Institutional Abuse: Long-Term Psychological Outcomes in Adult Survivors

Clergy abuse survivors showed elevated complex PTSD rates (78%) compared to other sexual abuse survivors (45%)

LDS Church Abuse · Child Abuse & Neglect · 2018Cross-sectional

Mandated Reporter Compliance in Religious Institutions: A National Survey

41% of surveyed religious leaders were unaware of their mandatory reporting obligations in their state

Find out where you stand.

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Sources

  1. JPML: LDS sexual abuse order denying transfer, April 3, 2025www.jpml.uscourts.gov · court
  2. Church Newsroom: its help-line statement, August 5, 2022newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org
  3. Church guide: helping someone who has been abusedwww.churchofjesuschrist.org · study
  4. RAINN: National Sexual Assault Hotline contactrainn.org
  5. RAINN: what to expect from the hotlinerainn.org
  6. ABA Model Rule 1.5: fees and expenseswww.americanbar.org
  7. SDNY: filing time limits require legal researchnysd.uscourts.gov · court
  8. U.S. Courts: federal civil claims and evidencewww.uscourts.gov · court
  9. U.S. Courts: public access and privacy in federal fileswww.uscourts.gov · study
  10. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell (D. Utah) granted summary judgment to insurers National Union and ACE, ruling they owed the LDS Church no duty to defend or indemnify for its mid-trial 2018 settlement of the Doe-1 (Michael Jensen) West Virginia child sexual abuse suit; church appealed to the 10th Circuit (No. 25-4049). Settlement amount is sealed in court records. On July 28, 2026, the Tenth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment to the insurers and remanded for further proceedings.fox13now.com · Apr 3, 2025
  11. Delaware bankruptcy court: Boy Scouts docket notice

Checked against 6 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated

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