Flashes
Home
Search
Notifications
Sign in
Post
Bobby Borelando
@cfit.bsky.social
139
Followers
·
184
Following
![Women who alleged they had been repeatedly sexually molested as young girls in the 1970s and 80s by Jehovah’s Witnesses officials sued two Jehovah’s Witnesses corporations. One of the defendant corporations, WTPA, moved to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction. The sole evidentiary basis for WTPA’s motion was an affidavit signed by attorney Philip Brumley. In the affidavit, Brumley identified himself as “General Counsel for defendant Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania” and stated that “[i]n this role, I have direct knowledge of the information contained in this Affidavit.” The majority of Brumley’s statements in the affidavit were made in the present tense. Plaintiffs produced evidence that raised questions as to whether Brumley’s present-tense statements in his affidavit would be true if applied to the relevant period, the 1970s and 80s. Plaintiffs served WTPA with a motion for sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. The district court found the information collected by plaintiffs demonstrated “that in past decades WTPA played a more involved and pivotal role in the operation of Jehovah’s Witness congregations” than what Brumley had stated, and that “Brumley, as General Counsel for WTPA, should have been able to access the information at the time he made his sworn statements.” The court held that “Brumley’s actions demonstrate, at minimum, a reckless disregard for providing an accurate and truthful accounting of WTPA’s role” and that his conduct represented “a conscious decision to provide only a limited depiction of WTPA’s corporate activities” and “permitted WTPA to file its motion to dismiss that then multiplied the proceedings for 17 months through jurisdictional discovery and motions to compel.” The district court sanctioned Brumley under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and ordered him to personally satisfy $158,448.11 in excess costs, expenses, and fees incurred by plaintiffs as a result of his affidavit.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ot5dlmwdgnpjht4ktgwg53a4/bafkreib7monuybvdpvdnhi7vm74os2kfo4pvobvanrpaabcsw5iisj3cja)
![On May 18, 2021, during Claimant B’s first appointment with him,
Khounganian stated that Claimant B had “complete[d] all modalities of conservative management” and that Khounganian was recommending lumbar decompression/discectomy for her lower back” at an approximate cost of $226,000. This appointment was completed via telehealth, such that Khounganian did not conduct a physical exam of Claimant B prior to recommending and scheduling the surgery.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ot5dlmwdgnpjht4ktgwg53a4/bafkreiaqqgfdfwgxsuhylezjwoyrhequi4kpon5obcbcsxdxowlydoosei)
