More than 170 people are filing suit against local councils of the Boy Scouts of America in Maryland for childhood sexual abuse.

The cases flooded in last week against the Baltimore Area Council, the National Capital Area Council, the Del-Mar-Va Council, Laurel Highlands Council, Mason-Dixion Council and Chester County Council.

Councils fall under the larger umbrella of the Boy Scouts of America and are largely run by volunteers. The Councils being sued represent areas from western Maryland to the eastern shore.

The survivors allege sexual assault by scout leaders or personnel.

The lawsuits do not include the national Boy Scouts organization. It filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and offered a $2.4 billion settlement to victims as a means of avoiding further abuse cases.

The case alleges that the councils were aware of problems in the organization with sexual predators and did not take action.

The cases come as a deadline for changes to Maryland’s Child Victims Act is soon approaching.

The Child Victims Act went into law in 2023, and it got rid of the statute of limitations for the time between an incident and when someone could sue.

However, on June 1, the payouts of what survivors can receive from public institutions will decrease from $890,00 to $400,000 after a change approved this year by Maryland’s General Assembly and signed by Gov. Wes Moore.

It also limits the cap on private institutions from $1.5 million to $700,000.

It caps fees for attorneys at 20% for cases settled out of court and 25% for cases that go to trial. Cases that are filed before June 1 will not be subject to the new caps.

Lawyers say they are processing massive amounts of suits as people continue to come forward to sue the state of Maryland, the Catholic Church and other organizations for abuse.