As most are aware, Vicki Boer has been long awaiting a decision to be handed down in a case she started against the Society in Canada.
The decision was handed down today. As with any 55 page decision, it will take some time for the legal experts to hash it over and decipher what was said. But, in a nutshell....
Vicki won. Not much by way of $$$ in fact a paltry sum of $5,000. But in the Judge's own handwriting in announcing the Order she wrote, "$5,000 for negligence against the Watchtower Society." The local elders were not found to be culpable but the Society corporately was.
Financially this is insulting but compared to the Canadian standard of extremely low costs awarded even against the perpetrators of the most extreme child abuse ($75,000-$150,000 CDN) it is large enough to be noticed by the Society.
There is some language in the decision that is absolutely HUGE by way of opening the door for further lawsuits. The Judge gave an excellent write up regarding the stranglehold the Borg has on its adherents. i.e While it is true Vicki was legally an adult when she attended the committee meetings to confront her abuser, she was by no means capable of free will to decide not to attend due to the relationship and power held over her by the church.
The Judge also spent about 10 pages explaining why in Canada the freedoms given to religion are NOT absolute and damage to an individual supercedes the rights of a religion.
So while the amount is not large, the fact that any damages were awarded is a victory since it has never happened before to the WT Society over an abuse case. It is historic.
Vicki is shocked by the small amount but is somewhat bolstered by the gains legally for future cases. Awarding of costs of the court case is going to be battled out by the lawyers. So Vicki will likely end up out of pocket for at least some of her legal costs.
This is something we as a community can possibly assist with once the final amount is known and perhaps some can help out as they are able.
Thank you to all those who have been of support in this case and please continue to show Vicki your appreciation for her strength and determination in exposing the Borg for what they truly are, uncaring selfish egoists interested only in covering their collective ass.
I look forward to hearing the comments of those more learned than myself as the decisions itself gets analyzed.
Uzzah