27 Dresses - I Mean Duggar Threads (Now, with Duggar women lawsuit discussion!)

[HarryPotterFan]

1 hour ago, Lurky said:

Got to admit, while it's weird to think their lawyers have been scouring threads for evidence they need big bags of cash, I am hoping the defending lawyers are also reading here for ideas....

I wanna get paid to read FJ!

[TeamDefraudinSquad]

Jilll and Jessa doing the Megan Kelley interview, and later starring in that sexual molestation special that TLC aired, is definitely going to weaken their assertion that the city and InTouch magazine violated their privacy. No one knew for sure that Jill and Jessa were two of the victims until they came forward and confirmed it on Fox. While it probably felt good for them to air their thoughts on the situation when the scandal was first happening, they should have laid low for awhile if they were planning on filing a lawsuit for breach of privacy.

I read the "Josh's shavuot" comment as faecetious/sarcastic...because if "shavuot" means gift from God, and if we are talking about child molestation, I am guessing its not a literal gift from God. I read that comment as, "Yeah the molestation was Josh's shavuot to his sisters, alright ."

[SassyPants]

2 hours ago, singsingsing said:

I actually do agree that these young women were re-victimized by this. But I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of their parents, who not only failed to protect their daughters (time and time again), but chose to thrust them into the public spotlight and make them into reality TV stars even knowing that this was lurking in their background. They knew that this had happened, knew that many people in their circle in Arkansas were privy to many of the details, knew that the police reports existed, and still chose to put their daughters on public display and open up their lives for public consumption and judgment. The media is just doing what the media does. Jim Bob and Michelle, meanwhile, failed to do what parents are supposed to do: protect their children.

Absolutely- that is JB's sense of entitlement right there. Running for political office and shilling your family as the picture of moral values,  the correct way to live and basically do everything, up to and including denying education, to the media in exchange for easy money and thinking you could bury something of this magnitude that directly negates all of your claims...it is just unfathomable.

Effing egomaniac.

[HarleyQuinn]

If they're going to whine about speculation online, maybe they should whine about "Alice" who literally laid everything out online, including that Jana wasn't a victim in what, 2011? 

I hope they don't make a penny off of this.

[NakedKnees]

Wow. It was mentioned upthread that they might have brought it up now (very near a 2-year Joshgateversary) due to a statute of limitations, which I hope we can figure out soon here. If this wasn't due to a statute of limitations, and instead due to Joy's upcoming legitimization as a human (sarcasm) and/or reality TV funds running dry... then that's disgusting, and despicable.

The daughters are victims, and I sympathize with them. They have the right to claim that any way they see fit... as long as it doesn't victimize anyone besides the perpetrators. I will continue to hold out hope that some will, eventually, break away from their family's hateful way of life.

[VelociRapture]

I tried to work out my thoughts from earlier. Hopefully I did a decent job:

I will always have sympathy for these young women. Always. What Josh did to them was horrific. What their parents failed to do was horrendous. And then being publicly outed the way they were? I can't even imagine how difficult that was for them. 

But at the same time, they've chosen to address this publicly multiple times. They were the ones who confirmed Jill and Jessa were victims. They also confirmed  with this lawsuit that Jinger and Joy were victims as well. Yes, the reports led us in that direction and we could speculate until we were blue in the face about who might have been assaulted... but at the end of the day, it was purely speculation until they stepped forward.

Not only that, but they're continuing to cast blame onto the wrong people. If Josh hadn't assaulted them there would have been no police reports. Had their parents acted responsibly and reported the abuse, then the reports might have been sealed and unavailable for publication. If their mother wasn't such a hatefilled woman who made factually inaccurate robocall, then InTouch may not have had the motivation to dig up dirt on the family. If their parents weren't fame seekers set on reality television and political stardom, then no one would have known who they were or cared to take the time to look into their background.

So, do I think it was morally wrong to revictimize these young women? Absolutely. None of this was their fault, they didn't ask for any of this, and I wish none of this had ever happened to them. But I also understand that InTouch and the police department were doing their jobs, while Michelle and JimBob failed at their most important job - protecting their children. That is far more morally wrong in my view and I think it's an absolute travesty that these women either can't or won't admit that.

[MadeItOut]

4 hours ago, bekkah said:

Free Jinger is mentioned in the lawsuit...A user was able to identify the identities of the victims. 

 

Well that can't be much use to them can it? After all, how many of us are there and how many permutations of four out of five... surely the odds of that get so short there can be no real legal significance can there?

[VBOY9977]

This is the most unnecessary and weird thing to point out but I read the lawsuit and it literally says "Jim Bob Duggar" ... did he legally change his name to that? Because I would think a lawsuit would say James or James Robert right?

if he did change it, cringeee

[Gillyweed]

7 hours ago, HarleyQuinn said:

Ultimately, they should be suing their parents as this is entirely their fault, IMO. They didn't protect them then, and that's why these documents aren't sealed. 

If they were to sue their parents, do you think they would have a case there?

[snickers34]

Clause #105, or whatever it's called, says:

"At all times prior to the disclosure, Plaintiffs conducted themselves in a manner consistent with an actual expectation of privacy."

hahahahahahah! Right. I agree with those that have sympathy for these girls, and I too question a lot this, similar to what @VelociRapture said. But expectation of privacy? What about being a reality tv star, while condemning the Trans community as child molesters, while openly discussing your sexual activity on TV (or lack of it before marriage), entitles you to the expectation of privacy?

[Imagine20]

Even if FJ is mentioned, anyone with any knowledge of the Duggars could speculate with much accuracy after the Fox interview who the victims were. The cynic in me think this has nothing to do with privacy, and everything to do with InTouch having deep pockets. 

[Jess]

Not an Arkansas attorney but a quick search showed a two year statute of limations for intentional torts in Arkansas. Invasion of privacy would fall under that at least in my state so it does look like the filing this week was most likely due to statute of limitaions rules. Anyone more familiar with Arkansas should feel free to correct me.

No idea how successful this would be as it would take someone familiar with Arkansas case law on invasion of privacy and foil laws to know. 

Haven't read the filings yet but I see potential damages a little different then people posting. If I was the defense attorney I would argue the show was cancelled because Josh was an accused child molester not because the girls were victims therefore no recovery for lost earnings from show income. There attorneys should argue that in touch/the city not properly refracting their names  is not the cause of the show cancelations Josh's behavior was which is true no one from tlc is going to say they cancelled a show because stars were the victims of childhood sexual abuse. I guess there might be a damage to their reputation but that would is always hard to quantifyThat leaves psychiatric damages and the duggar girls would need some proof like regular psychiatric treatment but real professionals and records of it which I doubt exist. 

I would also drag Josh and the partners in as a third party defendants and brutally depose them on this issue a ton of stuff they wouldn't want coming out might in depostions and discovery. 

Overall the best thing they have going for them is it's a celebrity suit that everyone will likely want to settle no matter the merits of case.

[HarleyQuinn]

1 hour ago, Gillyweed said:

If they were to sue their parents, do you think they would have a case there?

Probably a bigger one then yelling at the city for doing things legally.

But I'm not a lawyer.

[lumpentheologie]

I am actually surprised at the amount of hate the Duggar girls are getting for this. There are many things that are terrible about their actions and their beliefs, but this is not one of them.  I have been sexually assaulted multiple times, and one time that information spread out of my control, which contributed to me not reporting the other times. The lack of privacy for victims is a major problem and a major factor in why more assaults aren't reported. 

The fact that these girls should not have been outed as victims is not negated by the extreme failures of their parents to protect them. It is not negated by the fact that Jill and Jessa did interviews about it after they were already implicated by the media and police report, interviews in which they talked about the very real pain that being outed as victims had caused them. Of course I don't approve of how they protected Josh, but the re-victimization of sexual assault victims isn't something I would wish on anyone, and if the law does turn out to be on their side, I see no problem with them suing. As for arguing that the identity of the victims was just speculation until Jill and Jessa gave interviews, I would say that everyone knowing that 4 of the 5 possible sisters had been abused is sufficient for re-victimization even without confirming the identities of those 4. 

[ShepherdontheRock]

Wow, I stopped falling the Duggars, but came back to the subforum when I saw the lawsuit trending on FB. Can't believe how much I've missed out on! 

And I appreciate the snarky huffpost "duggar sisters sue everyone except their parents and brother."

My few cents:

- I'll never not pity these poor girls for what happened to them. That must suck.

-I'd bet a fuck ton of money that it was JB that encouraged them to sue. He probably realizes that whatever money they get will mean less money he has to pay to support the growing families.

- Although I do agree this was kind of tacky of InTouch, I don't think they did anything lawsuit worthy. 

-They don't have a leg to stand on with the police/city. In fact, I think the police even notified them when the docs had been FOIA'd, which they weren't required to do. If anything, I think O'Kelley should be suing THEM. 

-This reeks of "just trying to get some money in terms of settlements." I hope this gets summarily thrown out. 

-My atheist self will continue to "pray for them."

 

Now to catch up on Henry Seewald, JinJer, and Joshley's 5th kid. LOL. 

[Hmmm_idolatry]

55 minutes ago, Jess said:

There attorneys should argue that in touch/the city not properly refracting their names  is not the cause of the show cancelations Josh's behavior was which is true no one from tlc is going to say they cancelled a show because stars were the victims of childhood sexual abuse.

A defense attorney could argue that the fact that the show did continue in the form of Counting On means that the victims didn't lose their livelihood as a result of the abuse going public.  It's not the most victim-friendly argument, but it is a truth in this case.  I truly feel sorry for Josh's victims, especially because they most likely didn't get the help they needed, and the odds that their parents, due to their religious beliefs, made them feel that they were to blame are pretty high in this case.  It's really a tragic thing, but the claims that the info was illegally obtained and that they lost their show due to this are false, IMO.  

@lumpentheologieI am so sorry for what you went through.  I hope that you have gotten nothing but unconditional love and healing in the years following the abuse.  

[lumpentheologie]

Thanks, @Hmmm_idolatry.  I did manage to get several years of actual therapy and am doing well now.

Also, your name makes me smile every time I see it.  

[nst]

In what context was FJ mentioned?  Also I think this reeks of JB telling the girls they can keep whatever comes to them money wise.  

 

[Eatingintheprayercloset]

It's weird they waited two years to sue. Anyone think it's their last form of closure from Josh's scandals? I read  that TLC wants to start to slowly re-introduce Josh into the family's show. I'm not sure how reliable The Ashley though. It can be for money but the Duggars make enough through their show and family blogs. Imo, it's their last ditch effort to paint the media as the bad guy instead of the parents and Josh. The public likes a good comeback story, but not when they involve sexual predators and hypocrites. Stay Gone, Josh. The Duggars are lucky they even have Counting On. Any other reality family would have went bye bye two years ago. 

 

I should add that I truly do feel sorry all this came to light for the victims but it isn't the media's fault. The Duggars should have never went on to be reality stars with heavy baggage. Journalists will dig and find stuff. JB&M should have handled this properly so the records would have been actually sealed. The piety that came out Josh, especially during his FRC years didn't help.....karma for him.

[Hmmm_idolatry]

7 minutes ago, lumpentheologie said:

Thanks, @Hmmm_idolatry.  I did manage to get several years of actual therapy and am doing well now.

Also, your name makes me smile every time I see it.  

Thank you!  I still laugh about its origins.  

[Bad Wolf]

I don't think the speculation was solely from FJ. It was pretty obvious who the victims were.

[Hmmm_idolatry]

I honestly don't see how any court would take seriously speculations from a website where users anonymously post.  I also don't see how FJ was the only place where discussions about this were taking place.  I'm sure there were comments made in any comments section of any article that mentioned this family.  Wasn't there a woman who knew the family who posted this publicly several years ago?  

[snickers34]

11 hours ago, lumpentheologie said:

I am actually surprised at the amount of hate the Duggar girls are getting for this.

I appreciate your whole post, and am very sorry for what you went through. I too feel a lot of empathy for these girls/women. For me, it just reeks of JB and money. These girls have been brainwashed their whole lives. They've been taught that they're men's property - in no universe did any of these girls take this initiative of the lawsuit on their own.

I don't know. I just struggle with many of you on this. Sad all around. Bottom line - JB is a POS.

[Curious]

Nothing says you've got a strong case like filing 2 days before your SoL runs (and falls on a Sunday).

We have suspected for years that TLC reading here and ages ago someone told us that Josh reads (after he was married and on his own).  The mention of us is most likely due to the name.  They could have found a similar comment on any number of websites.

I hope whoever is tasked with reading at least has fun with our thread drift 

[shiverful]

Jill hat tweeted about the lawsuit: https://mobile.twitter.com/jillmdillard 

I don't know why, but it feels kinda strange having her comment the case on her social media... Perhps because the Duggars rarely do. They are great at acting like all is good when huge shit is going down.