Possible Lawsuit for Josh

[Rachel333]

Like everyone else, I would really like to know and would appreciate a pm if you're doing that. :)

[NeverQuivered]

PM me or even a link would be great. Thanks.

[JenniferJuniper]

Just curious, about how much would Boob & J'Chelle and Josh have to pay if the lawsuit against them would be a success?

ETA: would Boob and J'Chelle have to pay more since they were adults? Or how do you deal with this in the US?

I don't think anyone has answered your question, so I'll give it a shot.

First, if the Duggars had a personal liability policy at the time (my understanding is they didn't own a home at the time, but good real estate professionals should know the value of a tenants policy and most such policies also have a personal liability component), it's very likely that the cost of their defense would be covered by that policy. Any counts against Michelle and JB are likely to contain allegations of negligence, so that would be sufficient to get the whole thing defended (although not necessary "covered") for them individually by their insurance company. The same would be true for Josh, however, he's less likely to be accused of any negligence, and if not, his intentional acts would bar all insurance coverage, including a defense. Josh is not protected by the fact that he was a minor, however, his age may make negligence counts more likely, guaranteeing him a defense under his parents' personal liability policy. Assuming there is one.

The downside for the Duggars of accepting an insurance defense even though an insurance defense is free and unlimited, is they'd have to use an attorney appointed by their insurance company. That may not appeal to them.

Defending these things can very expensive if they are required or choose to hire their own counsel. And all three would need separate defense attorneys and any other named defendants would also require their own attorneys.

However, depending on who the victim is, the case could be dismissed very quickly. Despite what some news outlets are implying, if the victim is now over 21, the civil statute of limitations has run in Arkansas. Now there is a caveat. If the victim can prove she repressed all memories of the event or only recently began to suffer the effects of the assault, the court could allow her lawsuit to move forward. But the burden to prove this is on her, and depending upon how strong or weak her proof of this is, a good defense attorney could get her case tossed on a statute of limitations defense.

If the case is allowed to move forward, discovery goes forth, interrogatories are exchanged, principals and witnesses are deposed regarding their knowledge of the event, and the plaintiff (alleged victim) must prove her damages through testimony, medical and psychiatric reports, etc. After all of this is done, a court date is set.

If the case makes it to a jury, the jury sits through a trial and then decides whether the defendants were responsible for the counts alleged and what if any damages should be awarded. The defendants will all have separate counts against them, so the jury will decide the merits of the case against each defendant differently and award damages separately. For instance, they could find Michelle negligent for failing to supervise her son and award 10,000, and they could find Jim Bob liable for intentionally (and/or negligently) not getting his son help in time for this victim to be protected and award 50,000 to the plaintiff, and they could find Josh liable for the emotional distress he caused by intentionally molesting her and award 100,000 under the count against Josh. (All hypothetical counts and numbers.)

Insurance, assuming there is any, would only cover awards for non-intentional actions. So any awards for intentional or willful behavior would be the responsibility of the defendant him or herself.

The vast majority of cases like this settle ages before they make it to the jury. But depending on the plaintiff's motives, this is not always the case. Some people simply want their "day in court" and refuse all offers of monetary settlement. No one can force a plaintiff to take money to go away.

So it's a fairly complicated process. If the plaintiff is offered enough money up front and her attorney explains all of this (and more) to her,she make take it, sign a confidentiality agreement and go away and we'll never know the details.

[Evangeline]

I'm a n00b, but would love a PM/link, if someone would be so kind. I don't have enough posts to see the secret section and don't think it would be cool to make a bunch of inane posts so I can see it.

[TuringMachine]

I'm a n00b, but would love a PM/link, if someone would be so kind. I don't have enough posts to see the secret section and don't think it would be cool to make a bunch of inane posts so I can see it.

I'm in the same boat. Some one please PM me the link too.

[BarbaraMary]

I would also like a PM please

[jqlgoblue]

I'd say that everyone in this subforum wants additional info.

Yes. Thank you. :)

[lascuba]

Thanks so much for all the information, JenniferJuniper. I had no idea liability insurance would cover something like this.

[EmmieJ]

Add me to the list of those interested in more information/link.

Me too please.

[jqlgoblue]

And I'm also wondering if Boob & J'Chelle even know the whole truth about Josh's molestations regarding the number of victims and incidents. If not, that might also be a reason why Josh is so quiet right now.

This is a very good point.

I also suspect the Duggars got some kind of warning before all of this happened. I'm not sure if it would have been from In Touch or someone else close to them who knew it was going to break. There also could be some political power play going on. I'm not usually a "conspiracy theorist" but there are too many hints that JB & Josh knew this was coming.

[cptbailey]

I'd like a link PM too :D Or can we just post the link here? No?

[Dandruff]

I'd also like a PM, thanks.

[balsamicvinegar]

I'm in the same boat. Some one please PM me the link too.

Might as well send a PM to everyone.

Or post in the 75+ post thread them PM us newbs to makr less work.

[FundieFarmer]

I'd also like a PM.

Don't really know what else to add except that this story just gets more and more bizarre and what else they're hiding.

Ditto for a PM, please! I'm very interested in the link. I tried googling the direct quotes as well as amalgamations of words, but nothing came up.

I don't know what to think about all this either. I don't want to imagine more victims coming forward, but it also wouldn't surprise me!

[Alicja]

I'm a newb also but a PM of the link would be greatly appreciated.

[GeoBQn]

I'd like to take a ride on the PM train.

[MotherOfDragons]

PM me, too, please. TIA!

[BlackberryGirl]

guess I might as well ask too.

[chelleinchicago]

Me too, please! Thank you!

[usmcmom]

Yes. Thank you. :)

*sheepishly raising hand*. Please, may I have a pm, also, regarding further information and link. I will try to be patient. Thanks.

[Eighth-of-eleven]

May I also have a pm with link...if possible, if not, s'ok, I am new here, I can wait till I post 75. :)

[JesSky03]

*sheepishly raising hand*. Please, may I have a pm, also, regarding further information and link. I will try to be patient. Thanks.

Long time lurker but fairly new still...would love a PM if you get around to it :)

[gustava]

Maybe just post it in AYTFJ? At this point this person is going to have to pm like 50 separate people...

DUH.....

[Wingnut]

Thanks so much for all the information, JenniferJuniper. I had no idea liability insurance would cover something like this.

I second that. I would never had guessed that insurance would pay for something like that. Learn something new everyday

[church_of_dog]

Now, they didn't say they 'hired' a babysitter, right? ;) In other words, I also think this is a 'family friend' they may have asked to 'help babysit' the children. However, since Josh was already known for his behavior, that young lady never should have been left in a vulnerable position, that's incredibly irresponsible!

Agreed.

To me the way it was worded indicated a situation where, for example, there was another family visiting them, and then all the adults went out for the evening, and the kids stayed home. In any event, the oldest kids were charged with babysitting. And the oldest kids could have been Josh plus a teen age kid from the other family. There was some reference earlier (IIRC) that Josh AND the other person were babysitting, not just the other person.