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

by What-A-Coincidence 229 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  AlanF

  I have mixed feelings about this set of cases being settled.

  I'm sure that the victims and the Love & Norris firm carefully weighed the options before accepting the Watchtower's settlement offer, and assuming that the settlement really was a good one, I'm happy for the victims.

  On the other hand, I've been hoping for several years that the victims would truly get their day in court in the sense of being able to publicly expose the abuse they had experienced at the hands of this monstrous publishing firm posing as a religion. With a gag order in place, this exposure won't happen except in drips and drabs.

  On balance, I'm not sure whether to applaud everyone involved in getting these cases settled secretively, or to condemn some for not having the courage to see this through to the point that Watchtower leaders are exposed. In other words, I'm having trouble weighing whether the interests of society as a whole are better served by a settlement that satisfies victims and their lawyers, or by the larger view that religious organizations that systematically cover up child molestation and intimidate whistleblowers ought to be stopped by public exposure of their methods.

  I have no doubt that, over the next several years, and even in the near term, notable publicity will be generated about these cases. Far too many people have been working long and hard to expose the Watchtower for what it is for them to let this issue drop. I also hope that people who are working toward this exposure can put aside petty human issues and keep what's important in front.

  AlanF
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  slimboyfat

  AlanF,

  Good to see you back.

  Slim
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  peggy

  When a civil suit settles it is based on the legal advice and guidance of your lawyer, to make a good decision. As a victim of a therapists exploitive sexual abuse, I went through months of the defenses psychological evaluations, depositions with the perp in attendence, and hours of meetings with my attorney. One month prior to my trial date, I settled my suit. Why? A victory to any lawsuit always involves a appeal. I was just plain tired! I settled for an amount that would keep me moving in the right direction, which was healing! HEALING!! I am not allowed to disclose the amount of the settlement but I am free to discuss the name of the defendent and what I sued him for, as it is a matter of the court and public information!
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  DevonMcBride

  I think this is great news.

  1. If these cases played out entirely in court with a jury, the victims may have been awarded less than the settled amount.

  2. Hitting the WT finanically is the best strategy to knocking them down. Media attention would be great but bad press isn't going to stop them anytime soon. High court settlements lead to WT selloffs.
• 

  restrangled

  Alan F said:

  On balance, I'm not sure whether to applaud everyone involved in getting these cases settled secretively, or to condemn some for not having the courage to see this through to the point that Watchtower leaders are exposed. In other words, I'm having trouble weighing whether the interests of society as a whole are better served by a settlement that satisfies victims and their lawyers, or by the larger view that religious organizations that systematically cover up child molestation and intimidate whistle blowers ought to be stopped by public exposure of their methods.

  Alan, I can guarantee you the lawyers did there best under the conditions. They received there basic fees but that was it. Once cases go to trial they receive up to 45 percent of the settlement plus costs. The "costs" can literally bankrupt any recipient. I have seen it happen over, and over again. The WBTS could have dragged this out for years with no end in sight.

  I don't feel it is any of our business as to what the victims received unless they want to talk about it themselves. The word will get out eventually despite gag orders that the WBTS had to settle.

  These attorneys did the right thing. No attorney really wants to go to trial. Their job is to get it settled before hand, proving that there will be enough damage to force the defendant into settling.

  Considering the content of these cases, (sexual abuse), I think they respected their clients and did the absolute best thing possible. I hope the settlement was large enough to compensate these victims in some small way for the pain they endured.

  There will be other lawsuits. The truth always comes out.

  r.
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  moshe

  I had a friend just settle a lawsuit with his employer and he settled out of court for 1/10 of what he was asking for. He found out that, if he rejected the settlement offer and went to court and he lost, he would have to pay his attorneys a 30% calculated fee from the original offer he rejected. How many would be willing to go to trial on this WT case knowing that, if they lost they would be liable for $300,000 to their lawyers?- the 30% fee on say a one million dollar settlement from the WT Society? I know I wouldn't take that kind of risk and I doubt anyone on JWD would either.
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  garybuss

  I hope the victims benefited and had some closure. I'm guessing all this has been hard on many of them. I compliment the attorneys. A settlement would be preferable over going to court for me every time. Going to court is a toss of the dice. A settlement is a guarantee.
  
  A settlement is also a concession if not a confession. Me thinks if the Society thinks they can win a case, they will take it to the supreme court. They have in the past. When they think they will loose, they will fold (settle) like they did in the bethel worker car accident case, or weasel (like the denotation agreement).
  
  The other big thing a settlement tells me is that the attorneys have pierced the Society's firewalls, or least made the Society believe they could. Seems to me if the Society thought their firewalls were going to hold, there's no way they would have settled.
  
  Another thing I'm thinking is that by settling, the Society probably took the heat (and liability) off the local elders and congregations named in the suits. So it appears to me at this point that, in that sense, they stepped up to the plate. If the Society would have left the local elders to take big personal losses in court, that news would have spread like the plague and it would have dried up the elder pools in fast order. No elder I know wants to write a large personal check. Especially when the elder was following directions he received from the Society.
  
  My best wishes to the victims.
  
  
  
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  nvrgnbk

  I also hope that people who are working toward this exposure can put aside petty human issues and keep what's important in front.

  AlanF

  Yes sir. May ego be surpressed in the interest of justice.

  Deepest respect to you brother,

  Nvr
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  Robert222

  i think GaryBuss hit the nail on the head.

  The reality is, the elders would have said "hey we were following society rules" and run to the press. The society had to settle because it is, in fact, their policy to protect the molesters, not the victims.

  From my JW family point of view, this was an attack by satan, and they avoided it by silencing all parties and paying up.

  I think it wouldn't matter if this became public. It would not open the eyes of the blind JW followers anyway. Reality has gone from them they are mindless drones.
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  Makena1

  A little off topic - but many years ago I settled a personal injury suit against someone who was skiing recklessly. I asked a friend who was a CPA if the IRS was going to get a big chunk of it. I was told that these kind of settlements were NOT taxed. I hope that is the case with the folks that have suffered all these years. I have no problem with them taking the money per the terms, getting some help and a new start in life. Just hope the amounts were minimum low seven figures!