Posts by jwleaks

In this Canadian case, the question arose of the validity of dispositions in a will. The residuary beneficiary under the will of Arthur Sawdon (the deceased) was The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada (Watch Tower), a charity and the corporate entity which acts as the legal arm of the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada. However, the Watch Tower attempted to obtain further amounts from the estate.

The deceased had formed a company in the Cayman Islands for tax reasons. He held a 75% interest in the company and his five children the remaining 25% interest. The assets in the company were administered by a trust company, CIBC. The case turned on the fate of seven joint bank accounts, totalling $1,075,872.83. These accounts had been held jointly by the deceased and two of his sons.

The deceased's lawyer was Mr Pole, who set up the company in the Cayman Islands for the deceased, and prepared his will documents. Two wills were prepared, one in 2004 and one in 2006. The 2004 will provided that the estate was to be divided into five parts, one part for each of his children or their issue. If one of the deceased's children died without issue, that particular child's share was to go to the Watch Tower. The 2006 will was prepared on 5 July 2006 along with a purported Transfer and Assignment to the Watch Tower of the deceased's 75% share in the Cayman Islands company. The will left substantially more of the deceased's assets to the Watch Tower by not acknowledging the fact that joint bank accounts existed. Joint bank accounts would not have formed part of the deceased's estate (as would be the case in Australia).

Although by this stage Pole had been the family's lawyer for more than 12 years, he had not disclosed to the deceased that he was an Elder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and that he had acted as counsel for the Watch Tower in the past. After the signing of the Transfer and Assignment document, Pole travelled to the Cayman Islands with the document to effect the transfer of the assets to the Watch Tower, but the trustee, CIBC, refused to recognise or act upon the document. Pole informed the deceased that, notwithstanding this refusal, the residue of the estate would include his share of the Cayman Islands company.

Some weeks after the 2006 will was executed, the deceased transferred more of his assets (about a further 60% in total) from the Cayman Islands company into joint accounts with his sons. His Honour had already pointed to the plethora of evidence that indicated that the deceased clearly intended to excise the joint accounts from his estate, and said that this late change further illustrated that the deceased did not want the assets transferred to be included in his estate.

The deceased died on 27 March 2007. After his death, Pole wrote to the executor (the eldest of the deceased's sons) to the effect that the Watch Tower was now the majority holder of the Cayman Islands company shares, on the basis that the 75% share had been transferred to the Watch Tower inter vivos (while the deceased was still alive). This was based on the Transfer and Assignment document which had been refused by the Cayman Islands company's trustee. He also wrote to the trustee threatening legal action if the transfer was not accomplished immediately. His Honour took a predictably dim view of Pole's actions. As a lawyer, he should have disclosed the very clear conflict of interest which existed in his dealings with the deceased. His Honour found that his actions were biased towards the interests of the Jehovah's Witnesses. His Honour said on this point (at [51]):

I find it surprising and questionable that Mr. Pole would not disclose a conflict or even a potential conflict that he was an "elder" or "lay minister" with the Jehovah's Witness church and had acted for the Jehovah's Witness church prior to the preparation of the 2004 Will or the July 2006 Will or the Transfer and Assignment. Mr. Pole's reason for not doing so - because he wasn't wearing his Jehovah's Witness "hat" at the time - is simply not a good answer. Arthur Sawdon and the other shareholders of Sawdon Holdings were entitled to know all of Mr. Pole's "hats" when Mr. Pole provided advice or prepared documents for Arthur Sawdon.... upon Arthur Sawdon's death, Mr. Pole's actions in his attempts and threatens [sic] to get an immediate transfer of the shares of Sawdon Holdings to the Watch Tower, not as a residual beneficiary but as an inter vivos gift, gives the appearance of bias in favour of the Watch Tower. Mr. Pole's explanation that he did this to avoid estate fees was not a credible explanation....

His Honour went on to find that the deceased had the clear intention of creating joint bank accounts with his sons, and that he did not intend to make any inter vivos gift to the Watch Tower. Nor did the deceased make any gift of the interest on the accounts (as opposed to the accounts themselves) to the Watch Tower. As the 'gift' of the joint accounts to his sons was not a testamentary disposition, they were not included in the assets of the estate.

Therefore, the Watch Tower failed in its bid to obtain the benefit of the joint accounts. They were entitled to the residuary of the estate under the will, but as most of the assets had been transferred to joint accounts, very little remained to be distributed.

Implications of this case

This case has been in the courts since 2010, when there was an initial attempt by one of the sons of the deceased to have the 2006 will declared invalid on the grounds of the medical condition of the deceased when he made the will. That application was denied as the evidence pointed to the deceased's good health at the time. In the same application, the Watch Tower attempted to stop distributions from the estate, and payment of various fees. This was in order to preserve the amount to which they might have been entitled. This decision disposed of any attempt by the charity to have other than the residuary from the will, which had been the deceased's intention from the beginning.

The case also highlights the conflict of interest which will arise when someone associated with a charity to benefit under a will is also acting as the testator's solicitor, or in another professional capacity, in the matter of the will or property distribution. The solicitor in this case should have disclosed his connection to the charity and ceased acting for the testator unless there was fully informed consent.

Related JWN forum discussions:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/230141/1/Judge-reprimands-lawyer-for-failing-to-disclose-connection-to-church

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/183946/1/W-T-legal-dept-exposed

JW LEAKS

8

Conti v Watchtower - November 6 and 8 court documents in pdf

by jwleaks in

jw leaks has published the latest court documents, in pdf, relating to "candace conti v the watchtower bible and tract society of new york" as filed on november 6, 2012, and the court minutes for november 8, 2012.. the november 6, 2012, document filed by the watchtower society entitled "church defendants' reply in support of motion to subsitute or reuce bond on appeal" puts the value of the jehovah's witnesses headquarters at patterson, new york, at "more than $162,000,000".. ww.jwleaks.org.

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jw leaks.

jwleaks

Court Document extract - Conti v Watchtower

8

Conti v Watchtower - November 6 and 8 court documents in pdf

by jwleaks in

jw leaks has published the latest court documents, in pdf, relating to "candace conti v the watchtower bible and tract society of new york" as filed on november 6, 2012, and the court minutes for november 8, 2012.. the november 6, 2012, document filed by the watchtower society entitled "church defendants' reply in support of motion to subsitute or reuce bond on appeal" puts the value of the jehovah's witnesses headquarters at patterson, new york, at "more than $162,000,000".. ww.jwleaks.org.

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jw leaks.

jwleaks

JW LEAKS has published the latest court documents, in PDF, relating to "Candace Conti v The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York" as filed on November 6, 2012, and the court minutes for November 8, 2012.

The November 6, 2012, document filed by the Watchtower Society entitled "Church Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion to Subsitute or Reuce Bond on Appeal" puts the value of the Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters at Patterson, New York, at "more than $162,000,000".

ww.jwleaks.org

JW LEAKS

98

Rick Simons' Opposition to WTS Motion in Conti case is brilliant--Check it out @ Alameda Sup Ct Website

by DNCall in

jw
friends

jwleaks

The latest round of court documents (November 1, 2012) are available as 2 sets, both in pdf, on the JW LEAKS web site.

www.jwleaks.org

22

Richard Rawe

by Outaservice in

jw
friends

it was reported to me in an e-mail that richard rawe of soap lake, washington has died.. many of you might remember him and god rest his soul.. outaservice.

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jwleaks

SAD DAY.

Thanks for the friendship Richard and the many very long chats on the telephone we shared. You'll now have the reward you were only telling me about last week.

6

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: Child Abuse Inquiry submissions from religions and institutions are now publicly available on the government website

by jwleaks in

many religions, including the catholic church, have adopted a blanket approach for all 'ministers of religions' and volunteers with regards to compliance with the working with children act 2005.. another point worthy of mentioning is that all religions and organisations have adopted, and have made publicly available a child protection policy, a working with children protocol, a child abuse handling policy, and a privacy policy.. victoria police also made a submission in which they launched an attack on the catholic church in relation to interfering with police investigations into child abuse.

the catholic church has now placed a "gag" order on all priests and religious personnel prohibiting them from talking to the media or the public about the inquiry.. notably absent was any submission made by the religion of jehovah's witnesses and the watch tower society.. an interesting submission came from the seventh-day adventist church.

their 65 page submission was submitted with the follow letter published on page 2.... .

jwleaks

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: Child Abuse Inquiry - submissions from religions and institutions are now publicly available on the government website

Submissions prepared by religions and organisations to the Victoria, Australia, Parliamentary Family and Community Development Committee's "Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Organisations" have now been officially released.

Interestingly, a common pattern emerged from all submissions made by religions, namely, full compliance with the Working with Children laws for all religious personnel, staff, and volunteers. Many religions, including the Catholic Church, have adopted a blanket approach for all 'ministers of religions' and volunteers with regards to compliance with the Working with Children Act 2005.

Another point worthy of mentioning is that all religions and organisations have adopted, and have made publicly available a Child Protection Policy, a Working With Children Protocol, a Child Abuse Handling Policy, and a Privacy Policy.

Victoria Police also made a submission in which they launched an attack on the Catholic Church in relation to interfering with police investigations into child abuse. The Catholic Church has now placed a "gag" order on all priests and religious personnel prohibiting them from talking to the media or the public about the Inquiry.

Notably absent was any submission made by the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society.

An interesting submission came from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their 65 page submission was submitted with the follow letter published on page 2...

Re: Inquiry Into The Handling Of Child Abuse By Religious And Other Organisations

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Victoria wishes to congratulate the Victorian Parliament on their decision to implement a Parliamentary Inquiry Into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations.

As a Church organisation we welcome this opportunity to review our Policies, Procedures and Protocols and are pleased to submit our response in relation to the Inquiry's Terms of Reference.

The Victorian Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church places a high value on the care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable persons. The Church considers that the Bible highlights a 'Spiritual Imperative' to provide for the safety of children, youth and vulnerable persons. These individuals are perceived to be precious gifts from God entrusted to the care of parents, family, community of faith and society-at-large. The Church believes that children possess enormous potential for making positive contributions to the Church and to society. Attention to their care, protection and development is therefore extremely important and an honourable and humbling privilege.

Yours sincerely

Pr. Wayne Stanley

President

Victorian Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Copies of the submissions made by various religions and organisations can be downloaded from the FCDC government web site. See below link:

www.childabuseinquiry.org

Public and personal submissions, including from victims, will be published once they have been formally accepted and processed by the Inquiry Committee.

Public hearings commence on Friday, October 19, 2012, at Parliament House, Melbourne.

JW LEAKS

www.jwleaks.org

11

HELP please! archives of old WT missing?

by EndofMysteries in

i just bumped an old thread, that had each year from 1800's to like 1950's of the wt magazines, the links now say the pages are missing.

please let them be somewhere else.

i really need them, it's super important, and something everyone will benefit tremendously from when i'm done!.

jwleaks

Watch Tower Society and Jehovah's Witness archive of books and magazines: The Watchtower, Zion's Watch Tower, Golden Age, Awake!, Consolation, rare books, convention reports, documents, letters. memos, audio recordings, etc.

http://bit.ly/watchtowerbooks

9

Candace Conti: WTS Appeal Info.

by DNCall in

jw
friends

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jwleaks

Direct link to case:

http://1.usa.gov/QZxR90

84

Candace Conti v. Watchtower Society - Closing Argument by WTBTS Attorney

by jwleaks in

jane doe v. watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc.. .

jury trial - june 14, 2012 - day 10. .

mr. schnack: ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the judge has instructed you that it is your choice to award or not to award punitive damages.

jwleaks

JANE DOE V. WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.

JURY TRIAL - JUNE 14, 2012 - DAY 10

CLOSING ARGUMENT BY MR. SCHNACK for WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.

MR. SCHNACK: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, the judge has instructed you that it is your choice to award or not to award punitive damages. You have been read the instruction and you have seen it there.

Does Watchtower need to be punished? The policies of Watchtower continue to evolve. You heard Monica Applewhite testify that Watchtower has published articles and educational materials for parents, for its church members starting in the 1970s and into the '80s and it continues up to the present day.

Those materials were in the forefront of educational materials for parents and for members in this regard.

Plaintiff's counsel has made a lot of the July 1, 1989 letter. Indeed, that's what he referred here to today. However, you also heard Mr. Shuster testify that that was never the last word. It wasn't the be-all end-all on policies.

So let me just briefly go through a few of the other All Bodies of Elders Letters that were in evidence before you today.

Remember the March 23, 1992 letter? Several references there that the elders in the congregation should be conscious of victims of abuse, treat them with thoroughness and kindness, that you should be tenderly compassionate to them.

It also says in that same letter:

"If a current case of child abuse comes to light in the congregation, the elders should do what they can to protect the children from further abuse. These policies are evolving as we go forward."

In evidence was the August 1, 1995 letter. There it says:

"Steps should be taken to protect the child or other children from further sexual abuse once abuse became apparent."

The elders, too, wanted to act -- should act in a way that demonstrates their protective care since the word "overseer" as that's used within the church, carries the thought of one who watches over in guarding and shepherding the flock.

In that same letter, the August 1, 1995 letter that you had in evidence and that you had in the room with you, it also says on the first page that:

"It would be appropriate to talk very frankly with the abuser that he should never be in the presence of a child without another adult being present."

And just one last one here this morning. The March 14, 1997 All Bodies of Elders Letter that was before you. That addressed the issue of when a member moves from one congregation to another. And if that member is known to be a child molester, that letter directed the elders in the local congregations to:

"Outline his background, including any needs for cautions that should be provided to the body of elders."

That letter would be presented to the congregation to which that person would move. And so, again, that's taking steps to help prevent child abuse.

Mr. Shuster also testified, when he was up on the stand, that the church has a long history, since he has been an elder, since '79, that child abusers cannot be appointed to serve as elders, as ministerial servants or pioneers.

That was reiterated in the March 14, 1997 that I just referenced.

The policy of Watchtower has continued to emerge on a case-by-case basis in which the Service Department elders sent letters to the local congregations, to the local elders to strongly warn, if they have a known child abuser within their congregation, that he should not be alone with children, and how the elders can deal with that if the member that is an abuser violates those instructions.

Now, I have no doubt that your verdict yesterday has already sent a message to Watchtower, and we will soon see another All Bodies of Elders Letter addressing the very issues that were raised.

One thing I would ask you to keep in mind.

The Jehovah's Witnesses Church is not the Catholic Church, that it has had verdict after verdict after verdict over the years. It's been in the press. We are all aware of it. This is the first verdict that the Jehovah's Witnesses church has faced. So, again, it is not the Catholic Church with multitudes of cases over a couple of decades.

We have been on the telephone, both last night and early this morning, speaking with the managing directors of Watchtower and the elders in the -

MR. SIMONS: I'm going to object, your Honor. It is not evidence.

THE COURT: Well, it is argument. But, counsel, why don't you go forward for a minute to make sure it is legit.

MR. SCHNACK: Your Honor, I didn't interrupt his argument.

THE COURT: Understood.

MR. SCHNACK: As I mentioned, we were on the phone to managing directors of Watchtower and to the elders in the Service Department. And I can tell you they are stunned by the verdict. Again, I mentioned, it is the first one. And it's, indeed, the first one we are all aware of that has ever found liability on a congregation in a church based on a congregation member causing harm to the child of another member.

However, I sincerely believe, and I put this to you, that Watchtower does not need to be punished by another monetary award.

Why is that?

Ms. Conti said she wanted to change policies. That's why she brought this suit. And we feel bad for Ms. Conti. But I can assure you, and I can assure her, that Watchtower's policies continue to evolve. And I can safely say that, with her verdict yesterday, Ms. Conti has succeeded. I encourage you to award no punitive damages in this case.

Again, I thank you for your service, for your time and your attention.

Thank you, your Honor.