Idaho Supreme Court allows Boy Scout lawsuit to move forward

Idaho’s highest court has ruled that the 16 men who say they were sexually abused as youngsters by scout leaders in Idaho filed their lawsuit on time against the Boy Scouts of America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The lawsuit was originally filed in federal district court in 2013. All but one of the plaintiffs identified as John Does allege they were sexually abused while attending scouting functions during the 1970s and 1980s.

However, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill requested Idaho’s Supreme Court justices to determine if the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit within the appropriate timeframe under Idaho law.

Plaintiff attorney Gilion Dumas says the lawsuit would have been over if Idaho’s highest court had ruled differently last week.