Our Lawsuit against the WTS

gordon d

Can anyone share their input (stupid question) on the possibilties of former JW's or DF'd Dubs filing a personal or class action lawsuit against the WTS or it's local congregations based upon defamation of character. In some states there is the provision of a slander/libel suit based upon "malicious use of truthful information".

I would think that some precidence has been established by similar suits against other social and religious groups. The WTS probably records their opinions upon christian conduct and leadership protocol more than any other group. Certainly some Elder has crossed some legal line in the announcement of a member's DF'd status or being labeled as apostate. That coupled with the historical records of "proper" conduct of members towards such individuals would leave very little doubt as to the effects of such an announcement.

No doubt people have suffered the loss of family, income, and mental health based upon the society's sanctioned treatment of these persons.

Perhaps this approach could be lucrative to some legal firm, and better yet, perhaps it would impact some of the destructive practices that the WTS employs.

Please let me know your thoughts and what information you could provide to establish this case.

If this approach has been tried before or if there are any unforseen damaging effects, please share that info as well.

If any attorneys are present, please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.

Gordon

Mary

It's a pretty 'iffy' situation. On one hand, people have the right to sue for defamation of character, on the other hand, the government still allows religions to practice shunning, even though the Witnesses are one of the very few who practice such an extreme form of it. I know Doc Bob threatened legal action in his letter to his elder body and they backed off. This might be because the WTS itself will not pay for any legal bills for any elder body that DF's someone (unless it's for child molestation and exposure of their f*cked up logic). The elders are on their own.

jgnat

I think it is fear of lawsuit that changed the disfellowshipping/DA'ing announcement. "So-and-so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses." No word of the offence, no comment on their character.

Amazing

You may want to spend some time ... and money of course ... talking with an attorney who specializes in libel and slander litigation. Call your state Bar Association and ask for some good references. You can also use the "Guide to Attorneys" in your Yellow pages, and of course, the awesome Internet. Since the Society changed the DF announcement to simply read that "so-and-so is no longer a JW" it has served to limit the incidents of such slander.

However ... we ALL understand that the situation does NOT stop there ... for the Society directs that at a later time the Elders shall prepare a special talk to be delivered at the Service Meeting which characterizes the conduct involved ... but without naming the person. If you are the only person who was DF'd or DA'd recently, then such slander will be applied to you. This heppened to me in a most disgusting way ... because the Elders announced my deletion as an MS just prior to a special talk on a serious sin that was committed by another JW man. Many linked me to that sin ... and I was PISSED! (All caps intended). There is more ... the JWs, via the Elders will also privately tell people that so-and-so is DF'd or DA'd and will drop hints about the alleged conduct involved ... and JWs are unfortunately left to fill in the gaps which fuels the rumor mill.

The problem is ... you need to show cause that the slander is harming you in some measurable way (money, such as harmed reputation costing you business), that it is untrue, and worst of all you must show that the slander even exists. You can simply show slander existed, and no direct harm, and like pain and suffering, I suppose you could win a judgement for money on that basis ... but it may be difficult. Try getting a JW to the witness stand or to tell the truth ... they are quite capable of lying through their teeth to protect the Watch-tower publishing corporation. But ... it is not impossible ... Olyn Moyle, former Watchtower attorney, sued the Society and Rutherford and beat them badly for such slander. It can be done, but it requires skill, a cool head, a lot of time to get facts together, and a few willing JWs to tell the truth.

Jim Whitney

mouthy

Over the years I have known of a few that sued the WT( I cant remember their names ) They lost, only because it became to expensive for them to carry on- the WT keeps postponing the court cases ( smart lawyers) You must take into account this is one of the reasons the Baptism remarks were changed To Father Son & Spirit filled Organisation. As one Judge said" You know when you joined that group you had to abide by its rules"This is a Multi Million $ organisation. I personally wouldnt bother.... I know I could use the defination of Character against them, they have accused me of

1-having a Brothel,( because young brothers were visiting & staying 2 hours.
2 gone off my head when hubby died
3 a Malcontent.
4 starting my own religion.
My 2 cents.

doogie

i think another issue is that technically we knew and implicitly agreed to the possibility of subsequent sanctions at the time of our officially joining. (nevermind that many of us were hardly out of our didies when we were dunked...)

gordon d

DOH!!!!

That's it!... everytime I think that I've come up with something original, I just find out that it's already been run into the ground.... I suppose a little more listening and a little less talking,on my part, might be a stroke of wisdom. I didn't even know that the WTS had changed the policy on DF announcements.

So much for my aspirations of being the greatest, wisest, most loved contributor here (you-bunch-of-been-there-done-that-kill-joys) I guess I'll have to be content with just being the most well-hung.....

Thanks for you responses anyway
Gordon

Mary

Gordon, instead of filing a lawsuit, you should try one of the following:

Send a subscription of Playboy, Hustler or Penthouse to the local Kingdom Hall with the PO's name clearly on the envelope
Order pizza's to the Thursday night meeting and/or bookstudy group
Crazy glue a scanned copy of Crisis of Conscience to each car's windshield of the local Dubs when they're inside getting indoctrinated
Do up a fake "letter to the brothers" of each congregation encouraging a university degree and eliminating the Bookstudy
Put up a huge Quarantine sign out on the KH's front lawn during the WT study.

It might cost a few bucks, but I think you'll derive far more pleasure doing this, than sitting in a court room.

mouthy

Gordon! Dont do any of Mary's suggestions.My suggestion is start going to differant Churches ,Youth Groups ,etc asking to give a video -or a testimony- to warn folks of the Dangers of JWS The BEST video in MY opinion is "Witnesses Of Jehovah" Has brought so many to the light.... Helps the folk in these groups KNOW how to protect themsellves from the wolf at their door.

Mary Go to you room!!!!

outoftheorg

YES Mary. I did just that.

I used the name of the Elder that molested my daughter and purchased a subscription to Playboy to be mailed to the congregation he was in.

Ya know what??

I never heard a damned thing about the outcome.

I think they may have kept the mags' as they came, in the interrogation room and had a circle, you know what.

Outoftheorg

Our Lawsuit against the WTS

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