Conti v Watchtower - Court Denies Watchtower Motion re: Substituting Bond - November 16 court documents in pdf

by jwleaks 102 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Look at it this way. An inmate on the way to the electric chair will exhaust all appeals first. He has nothing left to lose.

    As expensive as it is for the WT to continue the appeal, the alternative - to lie down and take the judgement - opens them up to one humdinger of a class-action suit.

    They may very well have a class-action on the way, but those cases waiting in the wings will wait until all appeals are exhausted. The WTS, at the very least, is delaying the inevitable.

    That class action will make the Conti case look like a drop in the bucket.

    Faced with those odds, the WTS will be dragged kicking and screaming all the way to the bank.

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    jgnat - "...the WTS will be dragged kicking and screaming all the way to the bank."

    Huh. Yeah, that'll go over well.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    With who, Vidiot?

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    Justita Themis - "Is it that it has bought into its own press and think God's on its side?"

    I would argue that virtually every credible insider report we've heard, and every course of action that the WTS has collectively made either directly or indirectly supports that conclusion.

  • 144001
    144001

    Re: WTBTS strategy in filing the motion, despite the slim chance of success (i.e., success predicated upon the court not following the law) -- it wasn't a bad gamble for them. The motion probably cost them less than $10K. Had it been successful, it would have saved them $172K. Also, this is a huge law firm with a very wealthy client, and we don't know what the firm told the WTBTS its chances of success were.

    RE: Confidentiality -- What has been made public will remain public. Given the nature of this case, it's possible that there are statutes allowing for some of the record to be sealed in order to protect the interests of the victim of the abuse. I know that there are many laws on the books here, in various areas of the law, to protect victims of sex crimes/child abuse. I don't have time to research it, but the laws are designed to protect the victim, not the perpetrator and others who are liable for the harm.

    What can be made confidential, at this stage of the case, is the terms of any settlement. WTBTS will want to add a provision in the agreement that requires Conti and her counsel to keep all details of the agreement confidential, with serious legal consequences for violating it. They will insist on this because they do not want it known that they settled for a large amount, thereby enticing other individuals, and more lawyers, to sue them for the large settlement that Conti's case would demonstrate could be achieved.

    RE: Settlement -- At some price, Conti and her counsel will be wise to settle, and she will be advised accordingly. it's the "bird in hand" sort of thing; for example, if they're offered say, $10 million cash to settle right away, by accepting that offer, they: [1] eliminate whatever risk there is that the appeal could ultimately result in a win for the WTBTS and a loss of all that has been put into this case; and [2] Conti and her team get paid immediately, and no collection efforts are necessary. It would be risky to reject such an offer; given that the upside of rejecting it would be only that they would collect $1 million more in damages (plus the interest that has accrued on $11 million at 10%/annum).

    Of course, Conti's strategy will depend on Mr. Simons' assessment of the WTBTS' probability of success on the appeal. He's a great lawyer, and I expect that he will give Ms. Conti excellent advice.

  • ziddina
    ziddina

    If Candace settles for an undisclosed figure, can future lawsuits use the $11 million settlement as a 'guideline' or standard? Legally, I mean...

  • Scott77
    Scott77

    Conti's strategy will depend on Mr. Simons' assessment of the WTBTS' probability of success on the appeal. He's a great lawyer, and I expect that he will give Ms. Conti excellent advice.
    144001

    In my view, this one is excellent assessment. Thank you 144001

    Scott77

  • Etude
    Etude

    "If Travelers is very conservative, they would be more likely to assist a "Christian" organization, especially if the Watchtower represented itself to them as the "innocent, injured" party in all of this..."

    I doubt that any insurance carrier would be likely to favor an organization on the basis of anything other than financial reciprocity. "Conservative" in the case of Travelers means "fiscally" conservative, meaning that they won't do anything stupid that would make them lose money.

    I know nothing about legal matters, so I just wanted to restate what I understood regarding a "settlement". My capture is that once the veredict is handed and the case has been determinied, it is up to the defendant (or perhaps any litigant?) to propose a settlement if any of the following is true:

    1. The settlement is offered during a period of time between the decision and a point of acceptance or appeal.
    2. The settlement is presented while an appeal is in progres, which can change the outcome of the original decision.
    3. The settlement is presented before any or all appeals are exhausted or before the time for filing an appeal is past.

    Is that right?

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    jgnat - "With who, Vidiot?"

    Nobody. I was being sarcastic.

    What it will do is embarass any remaining R&F capable of rational thought, and make themselves look even worse to anybody else who's looking.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Agreed, vidiot. The Catholic apology was a long time coming but at least they are now working at making it right. I just can't see the WTS humbling themselves in a similar manner. They have no practice at it.

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