ALERT: All Child Abuse Lawsuits have been settled. Millions cashed out??? (page 17)

uninformed

I have really enjoyed the comments on this thread.

I have a question though. Does anyone know how many of the Plaintiffs had been disfellowshipped? It would be interesting to me to know that number.

Brant

M.J.

CYP:

no confirmation yet, aside from what Barbara Anderson and other insiders have revealed. Danny Haszard promises forthcoming info so stay tuned.

tijkmo

Can you tell me this outcome is going to save the current and future sexual victims??

i think the most immediate response will be a letter to the elders with further instructions re dealing with victims..the letter will not tell them why it is necessary and most will go thru their whole lives never knowing why or believing any negative info they might hear.

i'm sure any posting elders will keep us informed.

OnTheWayOut

This scenario sickens me the most:

Elder Bob: Yes, Bethel? I am calling because a 12 year old girl has come forward with
allegations against her uncle, who is one of our elders. There's only her testimony and
no witnesses. Her mother wants to know if we should get her to counseling and if the
family should report this to the police.

Bethel Service Desk: Well, let's look on the old computer and see what the law requires
in your area. It says here that you are not required to tell anyone. As long as you haven't
told them not to go report this, you should be fine. Our legal dept. says to say this- "You are
certainly welcome to go forward and report this to the police. Either way, the Body of Elders
will keep your confidentiality and we would be glad to help in any way we can. Since there
are not two witnesses to this incident. We will talk to Uncle, but he will have to confess
before any action is taken. Afterall, we can't remove him on the word of just one unbaptized
youth. We have some articles on counseling that discuss the dangers of worldly therapists.
If we assist [12 yr.old girl] we will use Jehovah's word and the vast knowledge of his earthly
representatives."

Elder Bob: Okay, can you email me those exact words? You guys are sure I won't be
liable for any legal neglect or anything, right? I put my complete trust in you. I sure
wouldn't want my 12 yr. old telling this to a worldly counselor. Thanks, Bethel Guy.

looking_glass

For the record - a gag order is only in place during the ongoing lawsuit. Once the matter has been resolved, either thru judgment or settlement the gag order is no longer in place. However, if there is a settlement there may be terms of the settlement that stretch beyond the lawsuit. If a person breaches the terms of confidentiality clause as set forth in the settlement agreement, there are consequences and a lawsuit can be brought against the individual who has breached the terms of the agreement. However, only a person who has signed off on the agreement can be held liable. In a lot of cases, a settlement agreement is not filed with the court because the parties do not want it to become public record. However, if the settlement agreement was filed (and not under seal) with the clerk of the court, it becomes public record and can be obtained by anyone who is willing to pay the copying cost.

For those who are not in the world of law, I would like to point some basics out that might allow you to have a broader picture of how the plaintiff/contingency action works. An attorney/law firm incurs all fees and costs til money is awarded or a settlement has been reached. Your staff has to be paid, your bills have to be paid because the gas company does not give a rat's rear-end that you are doing plaintiff's work and you have not been paid. There is no such thing as a sure win. You could have a great case, but a bad plaintiff, one that does not come across well to a jury or one who cannot be controlled and causes problems. Experts cost thousands of dollars and generally charge you one full day for deposition and some charge a whole week for trial (because it disrupts their lives). At the end of the day you have things you have to take into consideration, mostly whether you client can handle a trial and the likelihood of success. It would be very out of character for an attorney to EVER tell a person that they will not settle because a good lawyer would never shut the door to any possibility, settlement or otherwise.

I do think some excellent questions have been posed here. What will the WTBTS do now that they are having to pay out monies. Well we all pretty much guess that the regular JWs will never know exactly what happened because the WTBTS are the gods of spin control.
Will the WTBTS put steps in place to regulate their people more. Since they have no problem telling them that they have to be dressed up even after a convention (and you know there are a ton of dubs that will follow this rule) and that the conductor cannot bring in extra information that he has researched because the WTBTS has researched it all (and again these idiots don't see this as a red flag saying MIND CONTROL MIND CONTROL but will follow this blindly) .... I don't see why these same group of knuckleheads can't come up with some kind of regulation regarding prevs in the hall.

sammielee24

Does anyone know how many of the Plaintiffs had been disfellowshipped? It would be interesting to me to know that number.

Great question. Anyone know the answer...I don't but I'm interested. sammieswife.

looking_glass

It is my understanding that there were many more plaintiffs then were left standing at the end of the action. Of the group, it is further my understanding that some of those people were DA'd (as it was deemed that those who were baptized were choosing to no longer being a JW and thus were DA'ing themselves). The way I understand it, not all plaintiffs were baptized JWs.

garybuss

RE: Post 1706

bluesapphire, Here are links for your enjoyment that answer your questions. Yes precedent is set.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/116108/1.ashx http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/116570/1.ashx

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/122529/1.ashx
http://www.silentlambs.org/documents/CARulingonDiscoveryMotions.pdf

MidwichCuckoo

Great result, and looking forward to Danny's update. I may just pop off an email to Stephen Bates (The Guardian)

tijkmo

Does anyone know how many of the Plaintiffs had been disfellowshipped? It would be interesting to me to know that number.

this is an interesting question in that whether or not they are df it is unlikely that they will remain part of the org..and would be treated with contempt by jws anyway for sueing their org.

and why would they want to remain in the org anyway

i remember reading somewhere that in cases such as these the victims sue only as a last resort and after attempts at an explanation have failed. and the explanation is always sought from the religion and its leaders. it is only when that fails that legal recourse is pursued.

i remember phoning the bethel and telling them i was going to sue them. i was so distraught at the way i had been treated and couldnt understand why they weren't outraged by it...(and i was the wrongdoer and had not suffered in any way like these abused children)

these individuals would have gladly settled for understanding from their 'leaders'.

if only the wts realised this

(which you would think god would direct them to if he was directing them at all)

ALERT: All Child Abuse Lawsuits have been settled. Millions cashed out???

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