LATEST NEWS: CANDANCE CONTI VERIDICT READY - WT LOST!!!!!!!

by Viva la Vida 105 Replies latest jw friends

  • Oubliette
    Oubliette

    Their own words condemn them.

    From the Court of Appeals Opinion, page 7:

    Awake!, October 8, 1993 issue, which addressed the question “How Can We Protect Our Children?” ... The discussion under that heading stated: “Tragically, adult society often unwittingly collaborates with child abusers. How so? By refusing to be aware of this danger, by fostering a hush-hush attitude about it, by believing oft-repeated myths. Ignorance, misinformation, and silence give safe haven to abusers, not their victims.” - [Emphasis added]
  • Brokeback Watchtower
    Brokeback Watchtower

    $7 million is nothing to sneeze at. I was rather astounded at @the 21 million I thought it was awfully high but was glad the WT would lose such a high amount.

    Realistically 7 million even after the lawyer gets his cut for all his hard work will be a nice chunk of change.

  • Oubliette
    Oubliette

    Their own words condemn them.

    From the Court of Appeals Opinion, page 11:

    Defendants [the WTBTS and the elders of the Fremont congregation] initially demurred, and have consistently argued throughout the case that they had no duty to prevent Conti from being molested by Kendrick.

    Translation: It's not my job, man!



  • Ding
    Ding

    Her lawyer can't agreed to a gag order without her permission.

    Candace has no reason to agree to a gag order.

    She could have done that long ago.

    Besides, the whole thing has gone viral and is now part of a published court decision.

  • Ding
    Ding

    Imagine how JWs would feel if they knew that the WT argued in court that they have no duty to protect them from child molesters they know are in the congregation.

  • truthseeker100
    truthseeker100

    Besides, the whole thing has gone viral and is now part of a published court decision.

    Good for her I hope she enjoys her portion of the 7 mil.I think in this case she was not totally motivated by money. Again enjoy Candice!

  • Pete Zahut
    Pete Zahut

    Win or lose, this trial forced a lot of JW's to look twice at the policies of it's organization and gave cause for conversation among JW's as to why they never knew these things were going on before this. You can be sure that many, silently turned to the internet to find out more about this trial, which in turn lead them to websites like this one. Maybe they didn't walk away as a result but they will never look at the Organization in the same way.

    Much national media attention was focused on this serious and ugly matter which was an embarrassment to the Governing Body and JW's alike who pride themselves in being "above reproach". Former JW's were now able to ask their family members if they heard about this trial from within the congregation and if not, why not ?

    The Watchtower organization will likely not brag about this case for to do so will force them to acknowledge to it's members that this kind of thing happens in their God governed organization. To speak further about it would only encourage further conversation and possible questions rather than let it fade into the past like the nightmare it was to them.

    The door has been thrown open and the path has been paved for others like Candace who were too afraid to come forward or who figured theirs was a lost or forgotten cause. More importantly though, JW parents everywhere, won't be so naive as to think that their children are safe with whomever they work with out in Field Service and that their leaders are above this kind of crime. JW children everywhere are a little bit safer now that these predators know that they are being watched and that a blind eye or deaf ear will no longer be turned should they commit an offense against a child within the congregation. Those who committed such crimes in the past now live with the fear that at any moment, one of their victims will come forward.

    Candace had the satisfaction of seeing the man who used his power over her in such a life altering way when she was a child, get bullied and humiliated by the national media with their unrelenting news cameras and unvarnished questions. She saw him punished by the law of the land and was able to use her adult voice and power as a citizen of the United States to vindicate the little girl who was ignored by Jehovah's Witnesses in her hour of need all those years ago. She is personally responsible for saving, if not the literal lives, at least the emotional lives of untold numbers of JW children for evermore.

    No dollar amount can be put on that.

  • millie210
    millie210

    I dont think we will hear much about this in Jw circles.

    The Org cant have downplayed it this long only to highlight it now.

  • PokerPlayerPhil
    PokerPlayerPhil

    I remember all the litigation against asbestos, cigarettes, guns, malpractice, drug companies ect... I think most of you knew inside the punitive-damages would not hold because juries usually go way too far and it's the job of the appellate court to reel them back down to reality.

    We all don't know what's going on behind the scenes, Mr. Simon's might have made counter-offers to the Watchtower and they laughed their arrogant asses off hoping they could create some type of eternal trial like all the massive lawsuits of the past. Remember it took decades to prove a causal link between Asbestos and cancer, Tobacco and cancer, Big Pharma puts tons of cash away in case there's a lawsuit against them. The Watchtower has a army of poor and lower-caste publishers they can offer to trade for money.

    What if the Watchtower has been playing hardball like this giant companies did by dragging their feet and costing the applicant attorneys tons of cash so they burn up his resources and have him come back to them for a portion that's far away from the original offer? I think the Watchtower may have offered $2 or $3 million for Candace to go away with a gag-order and Mr. Simon's might have countered but we now know that this trial will not be solved so easily. The higher you go up the ladder, the justices usually want the parties to settle somewhere below the middle. Chaserious and two others here know this process much better than the rest of us, I was hoping the Watchtower would have to pay some Punitive Damages but glad they upheld the Compensatory damage part!

  • Chaserious
    Chaserious

    I skimmed through the opinion. The appeals court found there was no duty to warn, but that there was a duty of care to direct and supervise congregation activities such as field service, and that the jury could reasonably have concluded based on the evidence that the congregation and WTS acted negligently in supervising field service activities given their knowledge that Kendrick had molested children.

    But to correct a misconception about the dollar amount that Candace is entitled to should this decision stand - it is not $7 million. It's about $1.9 million from the WTS, and about $900k from the congregation. It's possible that her attorneys could run into difficulty collecting on the judgment against the congregation, but if this stands, she'll certainly get the $1.9 million against the WTS, after attorneys' fees. The $7 million represents the total compensatory award, including 60% against Kendrick that she will not collect on.

    It's not as groundbreaking as if the court would have found a duty to warn, but it's a victory for prevention of child abuse and holding accountable those who turn a blind eye to it.

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