Posts by Richard Oliver

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

C. Failure to Timely File a Brief

1. Court notice. If an appellant’s opening brief or a respondent’s brief is not timely filed, the court will send a notice under rule 8.220(a) (civil cases), rule 8.360(c)(5) (criminal cases), rule 8.412(d) (juvenile delinquency cases), or rule 8.416(g) (juvenile dependency cases). This notice gives a party in a civil or juvenile dependency case an additional 15 days (rules 8.220(a), 8.416(g)), and a party in a criminal or juvenile delinquency case an additional 30 days (rules 8.360(c)(5), 8.412(d)(1)), within which to file the brief.

2. Failure to file in an ordinary civil or a criminal case. If the appellant’s opening brief is not filed within 15 days in an ordinary civil case from the date of the rule 8.220(a) notice, the appeal may be dismissed. (Rule 8.220(a)(1) & (c).) If the appellant’s opening brief is not filed within 30 days in a criminal or juvenile delinquency case, the appeal may be dismissed if the appellant is the People or is the defendant and is not represented by appointed counsel. (Rules 8.360(c)(5)(A)(i), (iii) & (6), 8.412(d)(1)(A)(i), (iii).) If the appellant is the defendant and is represented by appointed counsel on appeal, the court may relieve that appointed counsel and appoint new counsel. (Rules 8.360(c)(5)(A)(ii) & (6), 8.412(d)(1)(A)(ii).) If the respondent’s brief is not filed before the expiration of the time specified in the notice, the court may decide the appeal on the record, the opening brief, and any oral argument by the appellant. (Rules 8.220(a)(2) & (c), 8.360(c)(5)(B) & (6), 8.412(d)(1)(B).)

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

Richard Oliver

When u are dealing with the law the details do matter.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

It could be any number of things. But it is common that wires get crossed when inside counsel has to work with outside counsel. It has to be relatively common thing for it to be put into the rules of the appeals court to give an additional 15 days from the notice.

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

Richard Oliver

No, the Conti case was not settled out of court. The case reached a verdict. Watchtower filed a motion to set aside the verdict, the verdict amount was lowered by the trial court. Watchtower appealed the case, and the appeals court lowered the damages down even further. The final amount is recorded in the Appeals court decision.

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

Richard Oliver

Conti case was not settled. The Lopez and Padron cases are ongoing cases and have not been settled.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

For Watchtower, there is the Worldwide Legal Department that falls under the Coordinator's Committee. The Worldwide Legal Department is overseen by Watchtower General Counsel Philip Brumley. Branches and country committees may or may not have legal counsel on staff. It depends on the size of the branch and how much legal issues may arise at some point. If you are a country with only a few thousand Witnesses it may not be worth the expense of housing attorney's at the branch. For branches and country committees that don't have dedicated attorney's they will hire lawyers as needed. In the US the is something like 15 in-house attorney's that work both for the US Branch and Worldwide Legal Department, it mostly depends on what type of work is being done and for who. There are a number of also remote volunteers and consultants who are witnesses and are attorneys that they will call upon to handle certain matters depending on their expertise and jurisdiction that they are allowed to represent clients in. Watchtower will also hire outside attorney's if a case needs specialized knowlege or if a case is on appeal and they find a lawyer with a lot of experience before a certain appeals court.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

And yes Fisherman. Watchtower did not file their initial brief on 2/24 as stated by the stipulation agreed by both parties. The court sent Watchtower a failure to timely file opening brief. The court of appeals rules that the appellant has 15 days from that notice to submit the opening brief or the case would be dismissed. If the respondent fails to submit their brief 30 days after the appellant's opening brief submission, the court can rule, just on the opening brief of the appellant.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

Hiring law firms for specific actions is not uncommon especially when you already have in-house counsel. Sometimes you just need an expert in a field for a specific task and that is all that is needed for that.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

Due to the appeals court case management system online, it does appear that Watchtower is using outside counsel for the appeal. Which is common, generally it is a good idea to get an attorney on appeal that knows the local court rules and procedures when making an appeal. It is also a bit common for there to be some confusion when both general counsel of an organization hires outside counsel to handle a matter, sometimes there are lines that get crossed.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

Richard Oliver

Apparently, Watchtower did not file their brief by the deadline on 2/24. It does appear that they have 15 more days from 2/27 to file the brief or the case at the appeals court would be dismissed.