I don't know about fraud, but I think they might be sued for BREACH OF PROMISE, and I think they also might be sued for ALIENATION OF AFFECTION.
I spoke once to Ray Franz about this. I asked if he knew if anyone had successfully sued the Borg. At the time, he didn't. And I don't know if this has changed in the fifteen years it's been since I spoke to him.
But remember, the tobacco industry hadn't been successfully sued either until here recently. Society and its norms DO effect the judiciary system, even if the laws haven't advanced fast enough to keep pace with a fast-moving society. One day soon, especially after the Dateline piece, someone may indeed be successful in suing the Borg.
I truly believe that anyone suing the Borg should definitely ask for a jury trial. The jury can participate in "jury nullification" if that is their desire. That is, the jury can disregard the applicable law if it wants to. The judge will instruct the jury that this is not appropriate, but it is. Judges don't want juries to even know they have such a right, but they do. This is another reason why you hardly ever see any really intelligent people on a jury. Judges and especially attorneys don't want anyone on the jury capable of thinking for themselves. They want to tell the jury what to think. That's why there are so many retired janitors and maintenance people, and cafeteria workers on juries. All of these are honorable modes of work, of course, but they don't usually attract the top level of intellectual and philosophical people.
For instance, a jury may very well decide it will not apply a certain law in a murder case. I saw that done here in Decatur, GA once. It was great. The jury left the judge and the prosecutor spluttering and pissing and wheezing, but by God they did it.
(This is the same reason that government schools are so piss-poor. The government doesn't want people demanding their rights, no matter how much lip service they give American freedom. Well, you can't demand a right you don't know you've got now, can you? That's just why they're teaching of the "glories of ancient Zimbabwe" in public schools instead of nitty-gritty civics. But that is a whole 'nother thread.)
Anyway, one day soon, the dam will burst and someone will successfully sue the Borg using some new and unique legal theory, and then everyone will PILE ON. There's a pile of money and other assets to divy up that the Borg has been sitting on for a century. And I feel that I deserve quite a bit of it for 25 years of servitude, broken promises, and broken family that I have suffered through because of those bastards. That's just how come they've got 57 lawyers on staff.
I like this thread. Keep it going.
Francois
