Courts split on whether the Governing Body may be sued
Dozens of lawsuits (more than 50) have been filed against Watchtower over the last three years, mainly thanks to Child Victims Acts (CVA) adopted in many states (which includes at least 11 cases recently filed in California); at least five of them have been settled or dismissed. Apparently for the first time, many of those cases named the Governing Body as defendant; the GB, in its motions to dismiss, claimed, among others, that it is not a jural entity capable of being sued, and its function is solely ecclesiastical. Most of its motions have not been decided yet, as courts are overflooded with CVA cases. For example, in the entire NYC there are 13 judges assigned to more than 5,000 cases. But the situation has began changing recently, albeit slowly.
In Grant v. Kingdom Hall (Nassau County, October 21, 2021), Justice Steven M. Jaeger found that "it remains unclear from the submissions of the parties what, precisely, the Governing Body's status is under New York Law. What is clear, however, from other cases involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses around the nation, is that the Governing Body is a proper entity to be sued." His successor cited and relied on this case as a local precedent in M. E. v. Dutchess County et al. (Dutchess County, July 14, 2022).
In a judgment issued a month later, another court decided the Governing Body is a jural entity (an unincorporated association) that may be sued but the plaintiff's failure "to plead and prove that each [GB] member ...authorized or ratified the alleged wrongful conduct” resulted in dismissal of the case against it. The case is Laurie Wadsworth v. Fairport Congregation of Jehovahs Witnesses Fairport, New York et al (Monroe County, August 12, 2022). Nine months earlier, the same judge denied another GB's motion for dismissal due to a technical issue - its failure to provide documents or affidavits supporting its claims (Jennifer Banlaki v. Kingdom Hall Of Jehovah's Witnesses et al, Monroe County, November 10, 2021).
In Denise J Jackson v. Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Of New York, Inc et al (Oneida County, September 13, 2022), Justice Jeffrey A. Tait found the question of the GB's legal status and its ultimate role in the organization is too difficult to decide at the early stage of litigation, especially given its failure to submit admissible evidence, so extensive discovery is needed before the GB will be allowed to renew its effort to dismiss.
Finally, less than two weeks ago, Justice Laurence L. Love, one of three judges administering pretrial matters of CVA lawsuits in NYC, dismissed a case (Kimberley Aldridge v. The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses et al, Kings County, December 7, 2022) against the GB on the grounds that the plaintiff "does not sufficiently articulate why the Governing Body should be deemed an 'unincorporated association' by the Court, as opposed to merely a division of a non-profit religious organization (here, Watchtower). The Governing Body appears to thus be more akin to a group of managers or other type of division at a corporation that has no independent legal existence...[Its] control and oversight pertain to ecumenical duties of the Jehovah's Witness faith... [T]he Governing Body exerts ecclesial control related to the religious teachings of the Jehovah's Witness church, and the Governing Body's areas of decision are not properly before this Court. Even if the Governing Body also exerts some degree of control over secular matters, the Governing Body is still just one group of individuals within the Watchtower non-profit corporation, and thus cannot be sued as its own legal entity absent a justification for corporate veil-piercing, which Plaintiff does not suggest." Moreover, since Watchtower is named as defendant, no injustice is caused by striking out the GB. He also addressed other arguments raised by the org, including its claims that the CVA is unconstitutional (summarily rejected). There is a hope now that its similar motions in other cases will be quickly decided, and discovery process will begin.
