So I have now read over the decision at least twice now so I guess I should give my 10 cents worth on this case.
FWIW I offer the following comments:
1) This case is a huge win for all victims in Canada when it comes to the statute of limitations. Her Honour has ruled that the test in this case allows victims to sue the WTS much after the 6 year statute of limitations that Ontario has on the books since people like Vicki did not realize she was wronged by the Watchtower. This helps victims like Mike Moss and others who want to sue these dudes a$$eS off but could have been prevented due to the statute of limitations.
2) A huge win for all victims in Canada when it comes to the negligence of the Watchtower if this corporation allows a child or adult JW to confront an accused in serious mental situations such as in Vicki's case. This case clearly nails the Watchtower's arses to the wall when it comes to "confrontations". Negligence happened for two separate reasons. One, elder Longworth "apparently" did not follow Watchtower policy in the confrontation (actually he did but I will discuss later). And second and most important, the shunning and loss of family, friends and God in such a closed society prevented Vicki Boer from excersizing her own free will in determining whether she wanted to go to the confrontation or not. In other words the Judge stated to the Watchtower that naive children and adults must obey the elders no matter what. That puts the elders in the "superior" role and the regular JW in the "inferior role" during a confrontation and thus, the Watchtower must take steps to protect people like Vicki in these confrontations. Please note that this is for adults as well as minors so the ruling can help adult JW women who say have been raped by an adult JW male as just one example.
It seems there was a serious lack of evidence to prove there was a breach of trust between elders and Vicki presented by plaintiff's counsel (Mr. Marks) to prove a fiduciary relationship existed between the elders and Vicki. So I am really happy that Her Honour ruled on the point of negligence.
3) For over two years now I have heard the Watchtower spin this child abuse story as problems created by elders NOT following the Watchtower's policies. This case showed that it was NOT the elders who were negligent but the Watchtower itself, God's Chosen Organization, who directed and forced Vicki, through elder Longworth to attend the confrontation. And for that, God's Chosen Organization was held negligent by Her Honour. This is stunning and something that people like Bill Bowen can use until Lassie doesn't get booked into a dog show against the Watchtower and confirms exactly what Bill Bowen, Barb Anderson and others have been saying all a long.
4) Charles Marks and Colin Stevenson, the lawyers in the case really got wacked by the Judge. Marks was really hammered for not alerting the Court to calling Penton and Anderson within the appropriate time frame.
I am thoroughly disappointed that Mr. Marks did not provide the Watchtower policy manual (ie. the Flock book) to Her Honour and did not get people like Frank Toth and "shadow man" to explain the written policy to Her Honour. If Her Honour knew what the policy is about, she would have known that Longworth did actually apply the Watchtower's policy in getting the victim (Vicki) to confront the accused (her father). Her Honour would then have applied the superior/inferior roles that she concluded existed (thanks to the shunning done by the Watchtower) and I believe she would have then awarded punitive damages on top of the damages awarded for the negligence. Her Honour might have realized that she was being lied too by the elders.
By not putting into evidence those policies that existed in the Watchtower's literature and not using Frank Toth or shadow man to their fullest really pisses me off.
For this, Charles Marks, Vicki's counsel, should hang his head a little lower from now on.
I can't tell all survivors on this board enough - it is really important that you have a very good working relationship with counsel, that counsel be sharp, counsel researches and knows the jurisprudence and that counsel be very upfront with the positives and negatives of the case. And survivors you really need to set your goals before you start a suit, have to be prepared for the ups and downs of any case and check your lawyer out just as you would if you hired someone to fix your house or work on your car.
5) Costs have yet to be determined. I suspect that costs will be split. Vicki paying for Charles Marks bill and the Watchtower picking up Colin Stevenson's bill. I suspect Her Honour will have to rule on the costs issue at a hearing later this year. The 5,000 dollars was awarded for negligence on the part of Watchtower.
6) I am unclear how the decision will help the people in the USA. There are some interesting discussions on how American law and Canadian law differ when it comes to peoples rights and those of religious rights. In a nutshell, the Judge concluded that Vicki would have lost if this case would have come before a Judge in the USA thanks to the USA consititution. Thankfully in Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allow the courts to interfere in situations where victims have been harmed by church representatives (ie. freedom of religion is NOT absolute.
7) Vicki lost on failure to report to children's aid and forbidding medical treatment. The reason why was simple. Charles Mark's case just did not have enough proof to show the court that the elders prevented Vicki from seeking professional help. Without enough evidence to present to the Judge (including Watchtower magazine articles etc. which were available ito him if he only used them) to back witnesses like Vicki and Frank Mott-Trille up, Charles Mark's case went into the toilet and the Judge had no choice but to rule the way she did on those issues
8) Vicki was offered 50,000 dollars before the trial started by the WTS with a gag order. She refused because she believed her story needed to be told. Her story was told - to millions of Canadians in newspaper articles, radio broadcasts and of course on TV. Her story along with Mike Moss' will be told again on CBC in a repeated episode that will hopefully be happening shortly. It is very apparent to me that she took a tremendous financial loss in order to help others in Canada (seeing us Canadians have to pay for lawyers up front in most cases). For this I can't thank her, her husband Scott who has bravely stood by her and worked endlessly on this case and of course her little children enough. This family broke the ground for many of you and I am damn proud to know them all.
9) I would like to thank Her Honour for the ruling. She took a tough case and has created new case law that will be used for years to come. She had to put up with bumbling lawyers who never told her what Matt. 18 was all about and admitted the evidence that in my opinion should have been admitted. I know this case could have been a lot better for Vicki but I gotta admit, with the little evidence that Her Honour had before her, Her Honour did about as good a job as one could hope.
10) I think this Court ruling on negligence - which shows the world that these judicial committee meetings place elders in superior roles and JWs do not have a free will to not follow the elders in these meetings - will force the Watchtower to change its policies. The court has now said that the Watchtower cannot have any JW rape or abuse victims of any age confronting their accusers. If they do as currently is the practice as stated in the Flock book, then, the Court will act and find the Watchtower negligent for doing such a nasty act to the victim.
I will be recommending that Bill Bowen publish this 55 page court decision on his web site for all to see. The Silentlambs web site is an excellent database for legal issues relating to child abuse.
Finally, thanks to everyone who worked behind and infront of the camera to bring this together people. All of you, whether knowingly or unknowlying, did a great job in getting this case the attention it has deserved and hopefully protecting little kids from serious future trauma.
hawk
