Watchtower cheats abuse survivor out of settlement

In a recent trial in which Vicki Boer sued the Watchtower Corporation, (operating arm of Jehovah's Witnesses) the court ruled that Mrs. Boer be paid a settlement of $5,000 for negligence of the religion in handling her alleged abuse when she went to the elders for assistance.  The Watchtower Corporation while feigning supposed "compassion" to the news media for Mrs. Boer, exploited a technicality in Canadian Law to counter sue her for legal charges in the amount of over $140,000 as a punishment for the five year court battle.  See link for news article and background information of this action,

 http://www.silentlambs.org/newsletter/NewsLetterItem.cfm?SendoutID=136

When the media started asking questions about this, Watchtower Corporation was hard placed to show as a religious organization how they had any "compassion" for child abuse survivors that might suffer as a result of their policy on abuse.  This produced yet another "shot in the foot" PR nightmare for Jehovah's Witnesses across Canada.  How can you say you wish to help people when you publicly destroy child abuse survivors in the courts?  In yet another creatively deceptive move the Watchtower Corporate attorneys have attempted to create to members the "impression" that they had no idea of the request for payment of legal fees from Mrs. Boer.  In a recent letter written to a person seeking information about this note the response,

http://www.silentlambs.org/education/Britishlettervickyboer.htm

The implication is the Canadian Courts are the culprit and Watchtower Corporation had no idea that they would be awarded legal fees.  This in my opinion is a bald faced lie.  Anyone that knows the legalities of court operation would understand that legal fees are awarded when a formal request is made. This request is clearly documented in the court record. Do they really think their members are too stupid to look this up? Watchtower attorneys apparently made this request by exploiting a legal loophole in Canadian Law.  This law related to small claims courts and was put in place to prevent a person from filing multiple small claims to tie up the courts over frivolous lawsuits.  Suppose a person got an offer of $100 and then caused court time to be used of much more than that amount that ultimately resulted in a settlement of $50, then the law was put in place to prevent that from happening.  By exploiting this loophole Watchtower Corporation has now set a precedent in Canadian Law regarding larger settlements that will hurt plaintiffs for years to come.  The result can be seen in what happened to Mrs. Boer.  No matter what the settlement, if it is less than an original offer, the plaintiff can then be obliterated by legal fees.                    

Watchtower Corporation PR will now tell the public out of great "compassion" they have decided to forgo their expense in defending their loss against an abuse survivor.  Once again the deception continues as Mrs. Boer was told on no uncertain terms she could forget her court ordered settlement of $5,000. You can read the recent letter from Mrs. Boer’s attorney, Click Here.

When you consider the consistent events of the last year in how abuse survivors have been treated worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses when they have spoken out on abuse, for further information http://www.silentlambs.org/education/wtinfo.cfm

Watchtower "compassion" is once again seen for what it really is, a greedy corporation that punishes and silences child abuse survivors that are victims of their policy on abuse.