ALERT: All Child Abuse Lawsuits have been settled. Millions cashed out???

by What-A-Coincidence 229 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  Highlander

  Hi

  However, now the more we think about it, when the news of the settlement begins to move through the congregations,

  How will they ever find out though?

  Thomas Covenant

  True, since it doesn't have the media attention that the catholics received I'm thinking that only a minority of j-dubs will hear about this.

  Second,, of those that hear of this, I fear that they will just dismiss it as apostate rumours and not feel compelled to tell other J-dubs about it.

  Those who are critical of the settlement should realize how emotionally draining it is to fight a court case for months, even years, with absolutely no idea how it will turn out in the end. Nut-job judges, dysfunctional juries, and a convoluted justice system are all ingredients in any such case, which means the plaintiff is just rolling the dice. A settlement is a "win" by any standard.

  I agree. It can be emotionally draining any time a person visits the DMV. I can't even imagine what it is like for those

  poor victims and what they are going through during this entire process. For some I'm willing to bet that the emotions

  and turmoil borders on that of unbearable.
• 

  DannyHaszard

  NOTICE: I am in the loop on this and infomation is incomplete until next week.

  Don't jump the gun until all parties are in place
• 

  AndersonsInfo

  It would be good if Dateline was contacted. I haven't done anything about the press but I hear there is movement to make an announcement about all of this shortly.

  As I said in a previous post, I've read each filed complaint so it might be interesting to total up the amount of money asked by each plaintiff. If memory serves me right, each victim was asking for a few million for each cause and some complaints had more than four. Give me some time and more information will be forth-coming. Your questions are important to me too, so we'll see if there are answers. But one thing for sure, Love and Norris are not communicating with me anymore. That started, I see now, when they went into settlement mode.

  If the press is interested in this settlement and there is newspaper coverage then the Witneses will hear about it. Or, if no press involvement, the message will get out to the R & F through relatives and friends who are on these forums. It will take time for the news to spread, but if I know "Jehovah's organization" the greatest gossip mill in the world, the news will make its way around. We have to be patient while we continue to each do our thing to expose Watchtower like we each have been doing down through the years. When I found out about the child abuse problem within the organization back in 1992, I could not have imagined how big the exposure would have been by 2007. Of course, we never want to ignore the Silentlambs organization for exposing Watchtower and I'm thankful that project turned out as well as it did mainly due to the tireless efforts of Bill Bowen.

  Barbara
• 

  Nathan Natas

  I would like to offer a few miscellaneous comments:

  1. The media is all over the Roman Catholic Church in the USA because the RCC has more than 75 million members in the USA. Compare and contrast to the measly one million Dubs. What the RCC does affects at least 75x more people, so it is bigger news. Certainly what the WTB&TS does is important to each one of us, but we are a "little crowd" as far as the general public is concerned. This is what makes the work of Danny Haszard, Bill Bowen and Barb & Joe Anderson, et al, so important.

  2. The decision to settle a case is made by the client, not the lawyer. Let no one think for a moment that L&N "sold out" thier clients. They acted in THEIR CLIENT'S best interests, which isn't always to provide a theatrical spectacle for the world.

  3. The decision to settle a case is not a sign of moral weakness or lack of spine. Recall the situation of our dear brother Quotes, who was looking at the prospect of putting his entire net worth into a legal battle with the WTB&TS or folding his tents and going away. He chose to be a survivor. It always easy to judge others, especially when we are not at risk.

  4. When a case is settled with a gag order, the gag order applies to the lawyers in the case as well as to the clients.

  5. Observe the trees of the field. On a casual glance, they appear to be doing nothing, but they grow and put forth fruit in due season. Many fruitful processes are "invisible," so to speak.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Those who are critical of the settlement should realize how emotionally draining it is to fight a court case for months,
  even years, with absolutely no idea how it will turn out in the end. ......
  A settlement is a "win" by any standard.

  Absolutely. I have always told my wife and myself that if there is a "wrongful death" or otherwise horrible
  case, work with an attorney to get a settlement, then move on with your life. A personal victory in a
  public hearing at the end would be wonderful, but often doesn't happen. A judgement of "millions" gets
  appealed and you never see the money for years, if ever.
  Moving on is easier when you know their settlement is a small admission that they screwed up, even if
  you can't talk about it. This money is awarded right away, so there's some comfort.
  Before I criticize anyone, I try to say "Would I do that?"
• 

  DannyHaszard

  Those who are critical of the settlement should realize how emotionally draining it is to fight a court case for months,
  even years, with absolutely no idea how it will turn out in the end. ......
  A settlement is a "win" by any standard.

  Absolutely. I have always told my wife and myself that if there is a "wrongful death" or otherwise horrible
  case, work with an attorney to get a settlement, then move on with your life. A personal victory in a
  public hearing at the end would be wonderful, but often doesn't happen. A judgement of "millions" gets
  appealed and you never see the money for years, if ever

  Well put-- below is my other life pounding the heck out of Eli Lilly a big pharma company while thousands have settled out of court with them.

  Zyprexa-Victims

  My name is Daniel Haszard from Bangor Maine www.zyprexa-victims.com/
• 

  applepies

  Three to four million dollars per victim means it's a major victory for them, silentlambs.org and all future victims as well. As to people finding out about it, can you hide the light of the sun?

  The six buildings the Watchtower Society has had to sell aren't the only things they've had to sell. The average JW isn't increasing donations and some are dropping donations in amount or entirely.

  They are also getting horrible press in Canada especially since two of the sextuplets died when the JW parents backed by the Watchtower Society's attorney wouldn't give them transfusions even to help keep them alive.

  The British Columbia government had to have the other four transfused to help save their lives, and the attorney named Shane Brady was dumb enough to take the BC government for task for saving their lives! Ted Jaracz and Gene Smalley must be wetting their pants.

  Thank you Mr. Brady and Watchtower Society for being so stupid! You have really betrayed the regular JWs.

  Also, this settlement has established that the Watchtower Society, not just local elders, is liable for the future lawsuits by other victims. It is a precedent that will be used in other states and nations as well.

  Thanks Bill Bowen and Silentlambs.org. When you're ready it'll be fascinating to see the victory party. Got to go hit the road for a long drive, but doing so with a song in my heart!
• 

  Jringe01

  This is an important victory for all those that oppose the WTS. The sheer scale if the settlement and the number of people involved makes covering it up tenious at best. Word will get out. I am glad that the victims were able to get something out of it and can now work on building/rebuilding their lives.

  The only problem is now the WTS can say that they settled to prevent the victims a long and emotionally draining trial. They can very easily put a positive spin on the decision to settle thus the rank and file can be given a "credible" (I use the term loosely) alternate view than the ones being expressed here. I fear that it won't make a real difference in the numbers. For a real shock wave to sweep the org a victory in court is necessary.

  Somehow, somewhere a victim will come forward with a damaging case and be willing to press forward in court and get the victory we all desire to see.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Welcome apllepies.

  If I were still an elder, and an abuse victim came to me with their problems,
  I would:
  a) stop them in mid-sentence, saying "I would love to help, but you really need
  trained people to help you. Let's contact the police and county systems of
  help."

  b) call Bethel and immediately dump this in their laps.

  c) quit before I was named in the suit.
• 

  ignored_one

  Just thought i'd BTTT.