The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 Presidents Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 Presidents Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Trial Academy Master Class 6.0
    • The Business Of Law
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

California Court Affirms $2.8 Million Award in Jehovah’s Witness Sexual Assault

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Larry Bodine

Fremont-Kingdom-Hall-2

The California appeals court upheld the $2.8 million recovery of a former Jehovah’s Witness’  because the congregation and Watchtower, the governing body, breached their duty to supervise and protect a nine-year-old girl during field service.

The appeals court considered whether a religious organization owed a duty to a former member who was sexually assaulted by another member.

There was no evidence Watchtower did anything to prevent a known child molester from performing fieldwork with a child alone despite their policy to prevent such action

The defendants, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc and the North Fremont Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses appealed the trial court judgment that assigned:

  • 60 percent fault to Jonathan Kendrick
  • 27 percent fault to Watchtower
  • 13 percent fault to the Congregation.

Kendrick, a former ministerial servant, molested the plaintiff Conti until she was 10 or 11, several times a month. The child reported her abuse to her parents in 2003 and the elders in 2009.

At the time the abuse began in 1994, Conti was nine years old. She was molested by Jonathan Kendrick, another member of the Congregation.

Conti filed suit against the Congregation and Watchtower for damages for the sexual abuse and failure to warn the general members and her parents about Kendrick’s conduct.

Watchtower governs the church policies. The elders or spiritual leaders report to Watchtower as agents to ensure the church’s activities, such as door-to-door field service complies with policies and procedures. The church members are comprised of elders, ministerial servants and rank-and-file members.

Elders knew about prior abuse

The elders were aware Kendrick had molested his stepdaughter in 1993—he was demoted because of this.

The elders informed Watchtower of Kendrick’s actions against his stepdaughter but were strongly advised to keep the information confidential. Watchtower implemented a confidentiality policy for ministerial communications, similar to policies used by other religions.

The plaintiff testified there were times her father was present and Kendrick engaged in inappropriate behavior. Additionally, there were times Kendrick took advantage of Conti when field service groups separated.

Conti’s suit alleged negligence on the part of the Congregation and Watchtower, as well as damages for sexual abuse. Pursuant to a covenant not to execute any judgment against Kendrick, he agreed not to participate in the case.

Duty to prevent abuse

The court rules that the defendants had a legal duty to exercise due care to prevent Conti from being abused during field service under the special relationship doctrine.

Generally there is no duty to come to the aid of another, nor is there a duty to control the actions or warn those endangered by the actions. An exception exists if there is a special relationship between the victim and the wrongdoer.

In Conti’s case, the field service was a church-sponsored activity. The defendants could have banned the person from field service or prevented the child and the known molester from being paired together.

Conti testified how Kendrick were generally paired together and how he would separate from the field service groups, take her to the laundry mat or his home, molest her, and return her to the Kingdom Hall or service group.

There was no evidence Watchtower did anything to prevent a known child molester from performing fieldwork with a child alone despite their policy to prevent such action.

A Congregation member also testified she witnessed Conti and Kendrick together on several occasions and saw the plaintiff sitting on Kendrick’s lap during service.

Clergy communications are confidential  

The court believed it was not heavy burden for the church to take reasonable steps to supervise and protect a child from a known molester while in the field. Additionally, the court concludes it is foreseeable that a child molester will molest other children.

In addressing the defendants duty to warn, the court concluded due to public policy concern on confidential communications to clergy and their duty to protect the disclosure did not impose a duty for elders to stray from Watchtower’s policy, nor warn the members or her parents.

Communications with a clergy member are generally protected and the obligation to report abuse does not arise when communications are made while in the capacity of the clergy’s duty with the church.

This case is Conti v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. et al. Cal. App. Ct. 1 Dist. Case no. A136641

Posted in Blog, Personal Injury

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Walgreens Agrees to a $105 Million Shareholders Settlement

Walgreens Agrees to a $105 Million Shareholders Settlement

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) agreed to pay $105 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accus[Read More...]
A Military Couple Reaches a $15 Million Settlement With Tripler Hospital Over Botched Delivery

A Military Couple Reaches a $15 Million Settlement With Tripler Hospital Over Botched Delivery

A federal judge in Hawaii has approved a $15 million settlement for an Army couple whose son suffered brain damage from lack [Read More...]
Defrauded College Students Will Have $6 Billion Forgiven in a New Settlement

Defrauded College Students Will Have $6 Billion Forgiven in a New Settlement

The Biden administration has agreed to cancel $6 billion in student loans for about 200,000 former students who say they were[Read More...]
An Iowa City Settles Lawsuit Over a Deadly Police Shooting For $5 Million

An Iowa City Settles Lawsuit Over a Deadly Police Shooting For $5 Million

Burlington, Iowa, has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the mother of a man who was shot[Read More...]
Co-Owners File a $695 Million Lawsuit Against Georgia Power Over a Contract Dispute

Co-Owners File a $695 Million Lawsuit Against Georgia Power Over a Contract Dispute

The owners of a majority share of a nuclear power plant being expanded in Georgia are suing lead owner Georgia Power Co., cla[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.