Montana jury awards two women $35M in sex abuse lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses (page 6)

Solzhenitsyn

I read the AP article and got multiple flashbacks to personally being on the phone with another elder conferenced with legal at Patterson (sometimes for hours) to in the end be told the exact same thing....."since you are in Georgia, a non reporting state, you are to take no further action, the authorities are not to be involved."

AFTER the long conference call with legal then came the transfer to the service desk to give us direction on how to "offer assistance" to the victim AND perp.

This subject is the #1 reason out of 53 why I am so ashamed to be known as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. It will be on my mind heavily while at the WT this Sunday, in part, on why we should be proud to be a JW.

Please excuse me, I'm going to vomit now.

All or nothing

Waton, I definitely agree these victims more than deserve the money, my point in saying my comment is that as they (my fiends and family) blindly donate to this cult they don't know their money is being used for this. The fairy tale of the spiritual paradise bs is strong with them.

Doubting Bro

Glad this is getting picked up on the wire. It's a shame these young ladies had to suffer and the WT did nothing. There is a reason mandatory reporting laws are in place.

100% this is getting appealed but the PR damage done to their brand is much worse that the money.

Corney

AbusedandPissed
It is actually 15 million dollars as punitive damages are maxed at 10 million dollars or 3% of the defendant's net worth whichever is least.
One article does say that there is a challenge to the punitive max that is going in Montana but that case probably won't be resolved before the trial judge enters the final decision.

In 2014-15 three MT district court judges defied this rule due to its alleged unconstitutionality. Since Hyundai and Kelly Logging cases were settled before the state Supreme Court and in Masters Group International the Court avoided deciding on the issue, it's uncertain whether a judge in this case will reduce the award.

cobweb
Apparently the net worth of the org was revealed at the court session. Jason Wynne who has been tweeting about the details of the case over the last few days just said this:
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York has a net worth of $1.6 billion. The Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses has a net worth of $50 million #MontanaCSA

Nothing new or informative

https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/111753577_201708_990T_2018022215185394.pdf

slimboyfat

$35 million here, $35 million there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.

the girl next door

1.6 billion is far less than I thought WT might be worth. Didn’t they just recently sell off many properties to the tune of a billion?

StephaneLaliberte

The girll next door - 1.6 billion is far less than I thought WT might be worth.

1.6 billion doesn't take into consideration the worth of all the kingdom hall and most assembly halls as these belong to private organization. Collectively, they could be worth another billion in the USA alone.

LongHairGal

BARBARA ANDERSON:

This is great news! More victims being awarded huge sums! I wonder what the JW religion will change to cope with this increasing problem?? Are they going to ask for even MORE money on top of their regular non-stop appeals?

All the stalwart JWs still sitting there (who have two brain cells left to rub together) have to be absolutely nauseous from it all.

stan livedeath

All the stalwart JWs still sitting there (who have two brain cells left to rub together) have to be absolutely nauseous from it all.

nope...they know its all just apostate lies. just proves the end is even closer than before.

TheFadingAlbatros

$35M !! only ? That's what I am spending for my breakfast every morning !!!

Montana jury awards two women $35M in sex abuse lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses

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