by hornetsnest 19 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
Good show, Tom!!! Interesting find. This information will go to parties that will find this useful. Aren’t grapevines wonderful?
You might expect Brooklyn to do an amicus curiae over this. They can’t want this to achieve precedent status.
This makes me wonder how those XX Xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx are drawn.
Mustang
Is this the same story? The wording seems slightly different...
Thanks Hornetsnest. This is an interesting development. Please keep us posted, with links to news articles if possible. If this proves to work out, the JWs will be flying out of the Watchtower faster than bats out of hell.
Thanks again,
Jim Whitney
bttt ... I really think this is a major case that could spell doom for the JWs.
How do you figure something like this will hurt the Tower? They have gone to great lengths to keep their assets divvied up among hundreds of legal corporations. Kingdom Halls are owned by the local congregations, despite myths to the contrary that appear far too often on the board.
If anything, I see this defense working much better for the JWs than it will for the Catholics. So I don't see how this will affect them much, especially with their recent court victories. At least with the Catholics, they have already been found liable for millions, while the Watchtower has been able to avoid the same fate.
No Apologies
Hi, sKally! --- Good to hear from you too! All is as well as can be expected, I suppose. (Grin) Hope you are too. My best to you!
Greendawn and No Apologies --- True, they are resourceful. However, the courts are not unaware of the extreme measures that some go to in order to protect their assets. They can only go so far --- or so long. Steady as she goes is the secret. The WTBTS wasn’t built in a day, and it won’t fall in a day.
Look at the cigarette companies and the years of litigation they resisted before they finally cracked. As far as I’m concerned, this is the way it should be. Considering the agony the Society has put so many others through, it seems apropos that they should have plenty of time to experience the same agony.
IT Support --- I’m not sure as to the exact way they handle that. I copied the most interesting parts of the article straight out of the newspaper itself. When I found the link afterwards on their website, it looked to me like the copies were identical. What you’ve posted looks like it’s shorter. You may have an archived version that is shortened to save space. Notice that the link above is no longer active, probably because they consider it “old news” and no longer of interest.
There is already a similar case in Wisconsin where the priest is suing the victim.
If you want to follow the Catholic abuse cases go to this site
SNAP: Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests
You can keep up to date on breaking news stories, SNAP's involvement in it, DBs, and the email addresses of the people involved by national and regional levels.
Blondie
In an unheralded quid pro quo arrangement of sorts, the WTS has always maintained that they will "keep the wolves at bay" legally, to their adherents/congregants/parishioners/publishers/whatever.
I.e. check out the old "Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News"; I’ve personally seen this one mow down an Officer who was going to arrest me, his Supervisor and the City Attorney.
But this tactic by another entity could do an end run around their carefully trimmed use of the "Church Law Shield" provisions of American legal precedent.
While WTS can likely do a fast shuffle song and dance and keep things about the way they are, if it gets so that a claimant can come after an INDIVIDUAL JW, then the house of cards will start feeling the breeze of a hurricane.
JW’s are generally impoverished in a gradual manner by the method of the religion; but to drive them to the poor house in such a shocking manner would totally destroy the fragile morale of the troops
Mustang
Hi no apology,
How do you figure something like this will hurt the Tower? They have gone to great lengths to keep their assets divvied up among hundreds of legal corporations. Kingdom Halls are owned by the local congregations, despite myths to the contrary that appear far too often on the board.
First, as cases get fought in the courts, and one large class action is victorious, then all Watchtower assets could be at risk. Dividing assets no longer is a solid shield.
Second, The Kingdom Halls have always been, and continue to be, locally owned. The only change after the Bonham, TX case, was that the Watctower Society is named as the beneficiary in the event of the demise of the congregation.
However, if this Oregon case is won, which is substantially different in its claims than the Wisconsin case. The Wisconsin case, the Priest can go after the victim. Whereas in the Oregon case each congregant or member will be jointly held liable before the court. So, if an Elder is found guilty of molestation, then the Society, and the local congregation and "now" each member will have to pay up a shared liabiliy. Therefore, a JW in such a congregation, denending on the size of the judgment, could get a bill for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. It will behoove JWs to leave the religion given their track record of hiding child abuse.
Jim W.
Amazing,
I think one of us is misunderstanding the Oregon case. My take is that by the parishioners being named as the owners of the all the local church property, so that they/the church don't have to pay out millions and millions to settle lawsuits. The parishioners are not liable in these lawsuits, therefore if the parishioners own the property, it can't be used to pay the lawsuits/settlements.
They are trying to deprive the victims of collecting the millions in damages they have been awarded. If this works, the Society could easily use the same tactic, should they actually lose, "we don't own the Kingdom Halls, they belong to the local congregations." And so then the victims get squat.
Again, so far the WT hasn't even been found liable in any of the cases that have been brought against them ( although Vicki Boer came close).
No Apologies
