Stephanus spake thusly,
I think the judge was excercising a sense of justice by calculating a reasonable figure that was payable by the defendent, rather than simply enriching the plaintiff
Steph, I disagree.
Here's why:
- A Measly Few hundred Bucks to compensate plaintiff Jennie Basiago for all the grief she was put through by these alligator-hided pests, is an insult. She is continually harassed by these doorbangers every couple of months for TWELVE years... lodged complaints with the Yahoos at TWO different Kingdomhols... and threatened legal action as a last resort to bring the haranguing to a stop... and then goes through the ordeal of a court trial for $632 bucks. That is NOT a reasonable settlement.
- $8000 (hardly enriching) sounds about right for a reasonable settlement for all the hardship Jennie Basiago was put through. I'm an insomniac of many, many years. I know how precious sleep is. You CAN'T put a dollar value on it. Basiago was trying to get sleep after working a late shift... so she was going against the biological clock anyway by trying to sleep during the day and then Homo Invaderus Interruptus comes KNOCK! KNOCK! RING! RING! ? ... ohhh, fleeting sleep.
- Jennie Basiago was trying to get restorative sleep after working the least desirable shift, and here comes Bernadine "BAM! BAM!" DiStefano to ruin it. jehovah Witness DiStefano was the last link in that long chain of interruptions and she caused Basiago to snap. The article makes no mention of anyone else living with her, so maybe Jennie Basiago lives alone and wants to be left alone and maybe doesn't have the benefit of a higher education and is struggling to make a living, working a tough job. She needed this grief?
- Rudely Ruining a citizen's private time, quality time, at home, by an unwelcome intrusion which startles the sleeping person and jars them awake, is MORE than just unsettling... and then to have it done repeatedly by arrogant people who ignore legitimate complaints... is inexcusable. Basiago was on a list of homeowners who had requested no visits, and yet... did the jehovah Witnesses honor her wishes? Hell no! The Watchtower "officials" whimpered excuses in court. Hey, the jWs claim to be god's Organization and they brag on their efficiency... what gives?
She's a victim of Brooklyn and its mad policies as much as the householder.
- No she's not. She (DiStefano) is responsible for her actions. The State of Pennsylvania issued her a driver's license. You have to pass a test to get one. She pleaded to the district judge that she didn't see ALL EIGHT of the "No Trespassing" signs Basiago had posted, as she tooled down the 300-foot-long driveway leading to
Basiago's house?! She should have her license yanked. A driver who pays no more attention to the road than DiStefano did, is a menace. And you say she's a "victim"? Gimme a break. She is responsible enough to endanger the motoring public.
- Oh yeah, and tack on three additional "Dog-Warning" signs also, that Basiago had posted... for a Grand Total of ELEVEN Warning Signs... and this derelict Witness claimed she didn't see them. Hey, it didn't mention that the judge compensated Basiago for the Expense of buying all those signs... and if she had to hire a signpainter (which trade I was in for over 15 years), then the $$'s start adding up.
- Basiago had to go file a civil trespassing complaint... you have to add on the lost time for pursuing a legal action. Have any idea the number of hours Basiago had to expend to gain her "justice"? What is fair compensation for that?
The judge only allowed compensation for 2 days - $40 per day (barely minimum wage) for Basiago's time she spent searching for this jehovah Witness's identity. What about ALL the rest of that time, just to pursue the case? How many hours of lost sleep would be the final tally? And once you are jolted awake from day sleep, it is very difficult to go back to sleep, so Basiago was MADE to get up, sleep-deprived, for the rest of the day... having to go back to work the next night, unrefreshed.
- Yeah, things are starting to add up. Looky what some of those divorce settlements add up to... for things like "trauma", "pain & suffering", "hardship", etc.,... big dollar values are assigned to those things and many judges give huge awards to the "victims" in those cases.
Let's not let hatred for the Borg make us lose site of the fact that DiStefano is simply R&F, following orders
- My Utter Contempt for the Evil Watchtower Entity, hopefully is not clouding my perspective, but since I'm in a Brain Fog most of the time with my illness... sssss, oh well.
- but now, where oh where have I heard that expression: "simply following orders"? ... could it be..., lessee, umm 'Nuremberg' rings a bell. Not to compare Nazi Germany with the Watchtower Organization . . ! well, Yes, I think I will make that comparison!
it was her before the court, not the WBTS, with its bottomless pockets. She took the fall for the Boys in Brooklyn.
- Wait a minute, Steph... "her" / "Boys" ? ... one could almost accuse you of making a veiled sexist comment, there. I'm for Equality of the sexes. Are you saying that because DiStefano was a "she", and not a "He", that the judge rendered his decision based on her gender? That he cut her a lot of slack because she was a "her"?
- What if she was a "he" - a "Brother DiStefano" - you know, one of "the Boys", do you think the judge would've been influenced by gender in "calculating a reasonable figure that was payable by the defendent" - this time a Man - and would the judge have been "fair" and "excercising a sense of justice" by Upping the settlement figure?
- I just came out of a trial situation a few months ago, and by personal experience, I can tell you that sexism is practiced by the judge in the courtroom. Two Women who tried to 'paint me black' were allowed certain privileges and freedom in the courtroom by the male judge, that was denied a Man, who testified in my behalf. It truly sucked.
- You said "She (DiStefano) took the fall for the Boys in Brooklyn"... but I didn't see that in the newspaper article. But what if she did? Wouldn't that have been GREAT?! And to hit her HARD with an $8000 settlement... and she would have to 'eat it'? Beautiful! Just think of the good witness that would have given. Just think of the Shock Value it would've had on Sister DiStefano, to be cut loose by Brooklyn in her time of need, thinking that she had been doing god's Will and should've had The Full Backing of the Brothers In Charge.
- Ha! It might've shocked her AWAKE! and OUT of the Watchtower, as well as other brothers and sisters who would've witnessed this abandonment of a fellow sister who had just been "Following Orders". I wish something like that would've happened to me 30 years ago and would have shocked me out of the Watchtower.
- Who here on this board would not have paid an $8000 fee to Come To Your Senses Enough To Make An Exit Out Of The Watchtower Organization, at an early start, before you frittered away years of your life? I would've gladly paid the $8K.
The judge was quite right to find in favour of the plaintiff, but to limit the financial damage to DiStefano.
Well, I'll end by agreeing with the first half of your statement, Stephanus.
Thank you for indulging me. I just wanted to pick something apart, tonight.
Mommie Dark: Stephanus: yes, I agree with you, the judge was quite fair considerng it was an individual case and not a suit against the corporate entity.
MomsyD! come'on now, you ain't goin' SOFT on me, now are you??
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"I just reached my limit," Basiago said.
Yeah, I can dig that.
.
