@Badassadam1, the LDS Church loses lawsuits all the time. The problem is that the offense has to be so heinous that people will not turn a blind eye.
For example, the LDS Church has tried to cover up child sex abuse in their church and they have had multi-million dollar settlements because of it. Many victims of sexual abuse have won lawsuits against the LDS Church.
The other problem is that most victims dont even bother trying to seek justice because they dont think there is any. Many people will just say "Is that all you are upset about?" or something like that. When in reality if it happened to them then they would be just as upset.
About truthfulness of their message? They are going to get a free pass in America because of freedom of religion protections.
That doesn't exempt them from other suits such as failure to protect in cases of sexual assault by persons in position of leadership that may have been covered-up and left to continue for years. Such suits have proven expensive for other churches and LDS, Inc seems to settle these out of court with hush clauses regarding settlement amounts for the plaintiffs.
Badassadam1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What about physical abuse or emotional abuse or > mental abuse?
With physical abuse, you're dealing with a statute of limitations. I don't know what that statute of limitations is, Additionally, the longer ago that it happened, the more difficult it is to prove or disprove, which is a big reason for the statute of limitations.. Witnesses die or disappear, as does other evidence.
Mental and emotional abuse are highly subjetive and are damned hard to substantiate. A person's therapist isn't always viewed as a reliable and objective witness, as all he or she knows is what the patient has told him or her. Even if what was told is the gospel truth, how is a judge or jury to know that for certain? The big guns of the church would drag out all sorts of resources to blame everyone but the church for mental or emotional abuse. I'm not in a position to say it could never happen, but Iwouldn't count on it.
Cause i think i am the poster child for religious abuse in all areas except sexual hopefully unless my mind blocked it out. My therapist figured out i was a trauma victim right away so i don't know maybe that means something.
The Mormon corporation has a HUGE legal department to be the church's modern day "Danites."
They are paid the big dollars to defend the church in any lawsuit.
If there's a potential for it to lose a case that someone were to bring against it, it's in the church's interest to want to settle to avoid costly litigation and more bad publicity.
Many civil cases never see a courtroom because they're settled out of court.
A small law firm or sole practitioner would want to avoid getting into a lawsuit against the church corporation - it would be more costly than they're prepared to handle. The church makes it that way as the cards are stacked against any potential plaintiff because of its huge resources.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2017 08:43PM by Amyjo.
I don't think the size of the law firm means anything, so long as there's a war chest, meaning they don't 'need' to settle to pay their bills (happens more times than people know). Many of us are aware of a west coast law firm that has repeatedly stuck it to the court. Here's an excerpt from the firm's "LDS" page:
"(We) fought a significant case against the Church of Latter Day Saints in which one client was paid $3 million to settle out of court. The pattern of abuse supported by the Church was outrageous: The abuser had victimized people in seven states over 18 years, and after each incident, he was simply moved to a different ward. No organization, and especially not a church, should knowingly allow something like this thing to happen. This case is chronicled in the book “The Sins of Brother Curtis: A Story of Betrayal, Conviction, and the Mormon Church,” by Lisa Davis. (Simon & Schuster.)"
It depends upon the grounds for the suit. If a bishop assaults someone on church grounds in some sort of church capacity, as long as it's within the statute of limitations, both the bishop and the church might be liable.If a person asks for a return of contributions, it all reverts back to the disclaimer at the bottom of the tithing slip that indicates that contributions are voluntary and non-refundable..
In some ways it's like many other organizatios in that regard. I've never heard of the United Way, the American Red Cross, or the NAACP refunding donations, either,
I was assaulted on church grounds by a leader and it has affected me ever since but it may have been too long ago, i did not know i had the right to press charges back then, the church superceded the law in my town.
Badassadam1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was assaulted on church grounds by a leader and > it has affected me ever since but it may have been > too long ago, i did not know i had the right to > press charges back then, the church superceded the > law in my town.
Was this reported to higher church authorities? If it happened now and it was reported to church authorities and not to the police, the church authorities who failed to report to legal authorities would be ainall sorts of jeopardy. Things were different when we were kids, though.
I understand your not having picked up the hone and called the police yourself. Your parents probably would have punished you if they were life the parents of many of my friends.
Check out the statute of limitations of the area.It's probably been too long, but sometimes in cases of child abuse, the limitations are much longer. The church might try to paint the situation as a rogue acting out of policiy thorugh no fault of the church. Right after the Jim Jones Guyana massacre, the church issue a strongly worded statement against any physical puishment as a part of the church. They didn't say parents couldn't spank their children, but said that physical discipline was not to be done in the name of the church or under its authority. You might se able to go after the guy who chocked you, though, depending upon the statute of limitations.
My parents knew about the getting choked nearly to death but they turned on me and my mother yelled at me and my father beat me to get an answer out of me of what i did to drive the leader to choke me. It was a brutal affair and i remember it like yesterday, it literally altered my entire life. The cult won out that day, god watched me suffer, and then i became the bad guy in other words the now badass, adam died that day i felt that there was nothing i could do against what i thought was a church at the time, did not know it was a cult back then, didn't even know what a cult was back then until i was in college. But the fact that i was in a cult the entire time is the biggest mindf#ck and it kind of fascinates me how we were all controlled. The brilliant and brutal methods of a cult still fascinates me to this day, its kind of twisted, i respect the monster that took me down in other words and try to study how the hell it pulled it off so f#cking well.
That alone might complicate things but wouldn't remove him from liability. File in the jurisdiction where the assault took place if the statute of limitations hasn't expired. It's HIS problem that he no longer lives there. Criminal authorities may prefer not to pursue the matter, but if the statute of limitations is still in effect, you have every right to go after him civilly. As long as he lives in the U.S., he's within reach. You may not get much, but even if he has to sign over his vegicle to you and write you a check for seventy-five bucks a month, it's better than nothing.
More people sue the church because the church has much deeper pockets.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2017 01:26AM by scmd.