‘We’re a Resource,’ Partner Eric Goodman Says on Mass Tort News ‘LegalCast’

Partner Eric Goodman served as a podcast guest on the Mass Tort News “LegalCast” to offer his perspective on current mass tort cases and the evolving legal landscape.

During the July 18 episode, Goodman discussed his involvement in high-profile bankruptcy proceedings such as the Boy Scouts of America, Takata Airbags and PG&E.

“We’re a resource that’s available to this community in terms of helping people navigate through bankruptcy proceedings,” Goodman said. “We would obviously love to have the opportunity to help victims who have been impacted by sexual abuse, wildfires, defective airbags; there’s obviously a long laundry list.”

In the Boy Scouts case, Brown Rudnick represents the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice, a group of approximately 18,000 sexual abuse survivors. On March 28, U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews affirmed a bankruptcy court’s order directing more than 82,000 claims of childhood sexual abuse to a historic $2.5 billion settlement trust. The decision is the second one upholding the restructuring plan, which will allow for a trustee to begin distributing funds to victims.

The case is one order away from a resolution, which, if the Third Circuit Court affirms the district court’s ruling, would add the remaining insurance money to the settlement trust, Goodman said.

He said there are other organizations that seem to be looking toward the Boy Scouts ruling as a way to utilize the bankruptcy laws to settle sexual abuse lawsuits.

“The bankruptcy intersection with sex abuse and the like, I don’t think it’s over yet, in terms of what we’re likely to see going into the future,” Goodman said. “These are what I would describe as true bankruptcy cases and that you do have entities that are in true financial distress and are trying to find a way to ensure an equitable allocation of assets that are available for payment to survivors.”