The Watch Tower Society has admitted that it cannot produce $17.3 million in cash without catastrophic consequences

It has emerged that the ground-breaking Candace Conti case has taken another intriguing twist. As was reported in a previous article, following their courtroom defeat the Watch Tower Society was forced by the Alameda County Court to, in effect, guarantee that it would be in a position to pay the full multi-million dollar award due to Candace Conti in the event of losing their appeal.

Initially, this “guarantee” came in the form of a court-imposed ban on the buying or selling of property until the appeals process was over. However, the Watch Tower Society is heavily dependent on selling its lucrative Brooklyn portfolio to generate much-needed funds, even selling Brooklyn properties at far below the asking price in some instances. Indeed, it is thought that the relocation of the World Headquarters from Brooklyn to upstate New York is motivated primarily by the need to free up funds. The Society therefore chose to circumvent this ban by electing instead to provide a surety bond by way of guaranteeing payment of damages (plus interest) in the event of losing their appeal.

The Society is prepared to gamble its Patterson complex on the outcome of the case

Now the Society appears to be pleading poverty, implying that it cannot afford to produce the required $17.3 million dollars by way of surety without using property instead of cash. Before reading further in this article, I would encourage you to download the motion filed by Watchtower by clicking on this link. By all means, familiarize yourselves with the contents, and please consider anything I write in this article as my own observations and speculation in regard to this development.

Some have pointed out that the Society’s main objection is, not that they cannot afford the bond, but that they are afraid of being unable to recover the $86,386 bond premium from Candace Conti if they win their appeal. I am no legal expert and can only interpret what I read according to my own limited understanding, so I am willing to stand corrected if I unknowingly misinterpret the precise wording used in the court documents.

I believe it is noteworthy that Watchtower has specifically motioned for a reduction in the bond if they are not allowed to offer real estate as surety. There is a difference of some $6 million dollars (presumably allowing for costs and interest) between the amount of damages awarded and the total bond amount.

Though a comparatively small amount, this $6 million dollars might well be the difference between relative prosperity and catastrophe for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York. The precise accounting figures of the Society are highly secretive, so only they will know whether this is the case.

Immediate Harm

In any event, the Society wants this $6 million difference reduced, and I believe it more than likely that the “immediate irreparable harm and hardship” refers, not just to payment of the $86,386 premium and their chances of recovering this amount in the future, but to the financial consequences if the bond needs to be paid in cash without the bond amount being reduced, which Watchtower is motioning for.

Bear in mind that, once the premium is paid, the first bond payments must also be delivered only weeks later. In that respect, payment of the premium is the “road of no return”, which is why the Society is anxious to find an alternative to paying in cash well before the premium payment is due.

I believe this is why Watchtower claims this would cause “immediate” harm. Surely any harm suffered by the Society by paying and subsequently losing the $86,386 premium could never be considered “immediate” since the appeal decision is still a future event. The appeals process has yet to be won or lost! So why use the word “immediate”? Note the wording in the document highlighted below…

Again, if I am wrong, and things are not as serious as I suggest, then I am willing to stand corrected. However, I believe it is important to allow my readers to hear both sides of the argument, and form their own opinions.

The Patterson Gamble

In any case, perhaps more amazingly, the Society is prepared to put their Patterson complex (The Watchtower Educational Center) on the line over this judgment, offering it as surety rather than starting the bond payments. However, in behind-the-scenes discussions this remarkable proposal has been declined by Candace’s legal team, so the matter must now be decided by a Judge. Candace’s team understandably want cash to be used as surety, not shaky property assets during times of economic uncertainty.

The payment of the $86,386 bond premium is due on November 15th, and the first installments of the bond itself follow soon thereafter. As mentioned, the Society has therefore filed a motion asking the Judge to either reduce the cash value of the bond, or allow them to substitute real estate (namely, Patterson) as surety for the judgment.

Many Witnesses will no doubt be shocked at the thought that the organization, said to be enjoying Jehovah’s blessing, is in such a perilous predicament that it is quite possibly only $17.3 million dollars away from meltdown! They will be just as amazed to learn that the Society is seeking to effectively put Patterson on the gambling table, to be given to Candace Conti if Watchtower loses its appeal and cannot pay the damages in full. See the document below…

Many have argued that the Society can easily afford the awarded damages and may well be bluffing in order to maneuver the situation in their favor. Indeed, there is nothing unusual in offering property assets in lieu of cash payments if it is possible to do so. However, it seems strange that, with so much pride at stake and the world looking on, the Society would effectively plead poverty unless their circumstances were indeed dire.

The Watchtower Educational Center at Patterson is arguably the most prestigious asset in the Society’s real estate portfolio

It is even more inconceivable that Watchtower would rather gamble with its prestigious Patterson complex (in which it takes considerable pride), and risk handing this over to Candace Conti if they lose on appeal, than cough up the $17.3 million in hard cash if this is available to them. It therefore seems highly likely that the Society IS indeed in financial turmoil, as their recent unprecedented spate of branch closures would seem to suggest. Their money is mostly tied up in property that they are finding it difficult to sell-on during these economically challenging times, and producing millions in spare cash just isn’t as easy as it once was.

The clock is ticking, and they have less than a month to sort this out. Watchtower’s lawyers have had conversations with Candace’s Conti’s legal team who have refused to yield on the issue. Now it is for the courts to decide on November 8th whether Watchtower can be allowed to put Patterson on the gambling table rather than pay a single dollar in actual money up front. If the Judge refuses to let them take their gamble with Patterson, and insists on the surety being paid in cash, the Society will have no choice but to pay the bond in full or drop their appeal – which is a strong likelihood if their circumstances are indeed as dire as their motion seems to suggest.

Why are they in this mess?

Many will wonder why the Society is in such peril when it outwardly appears to be prosperous. The publications have long given the impression that the organization is enjoying seemingly unlimited global expansion. However, as explained in a previous article, there is a deep underlying problem causing the Watch Tower Society serious financial difficulties.

The problem lies with the fact that growth in wealthier, developed lands is slowing down to a near standstill. It is the brothers in these lands who the Society counts on to contribute the most by way of donations to support the worldwide work. Meanwhile, the growth in poorer third-world countries remains relatively buoyant, but the needs of the brothers in those countries must be sustained by diverting much-needed funds from wealthier countries – funds that are slowly drying up. This causes a huge imbalance that is completely unsustainable for the Society in the long-term.

Forced by this disparity in contributions, the signs are that the Society has already entered a period of downsizing. Last year saw a 16% reduction in branch offices from 116 to only 98, and all indications are that the 2012 report will show a further reduction in this figure. By closing branches and reducing operations in various countries the Society is lowering its operating overheads and freeing up property to be sold in order to generate much-needed funds.

The problem is, the world is going through a period of unrivalled economic downturn, meaning that property cannot be sold at anywhere near the prices the Society would like to realize. In Brooklyn, many properties have been sold well below the initial asking price, because Watchtower is anxious to get its hands on much-needed cash more quickly.

In addition to the branch closures, there has also been a noticeable reduction in printing commitments since 2005. Magazine pages for the Watchtower and Awake! have been halved in that period in a further cost-cutting measure. Few would be able to offer justification for such drastic actions unless these were motivated by financial concerns, with paper and ink an increasingly costly means of distributing information in the age of the internet.

Forced to the brink

Now it appears the Candace Conti case is pushing the Society even deeper into financial instability. Many, myself included, believed it would take damage awards from multiple child abuse cases to seriously threaten the Society’s financial prosperity. However, following this latest startling development, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Society is fighting their appeal, not just to save face over their doctrinal stance on child abuse, but for their very survival!

Only time will tell whether things are really this desperate, or whether this is just an elaborate and reckless piece of strategizing on the part of the Society. Much will be learned on November 8th when the Judge reaches his decision. If he refuses to allow the Society to pay their surety in property assets, they will have a decision to make. They can either abandon their appeal and hold on to their money, or cough up the money, fight on with their appeal, and leave themselves in a financially precarious position. Win or lose, the Candace Conti case has formed a blueprint for future legal action, and more lawsuits are waiting downstream threatening to further sap the Watchtower’s over-burdened finances.

Failure to comply with the law over their reckless child abuse policy, which hinges on a mistaken application of the “two witness rule”, has long been the Achilles heel of the Watch Tower Society. Now it appears the consequences of this negligence are catching up with them.

Speculation aside, one thing that cannot be denied is that the Society is desperate enough to gamble with Patterson, its greatly esteemed educational facility and home of the Gilead School, and risk losing it to Candace Conti if the appeal fails and they cannot pay the damages. Even if the judge allows them to use this as surety instead of cash, many thinking Witnesses will wonder why their hard-earned contributions, donated for the purposes of furthering the worldwide preaching work, are being used to defend the Society’s out-dated, neglectful and damaging policies regarding their handling of child abuse.

 

 

 

 

 

To read a partial translation of this article in Italian, please click here (scroll down).

To read this article in Hungarian, please click here.

77 thoughts on “Patterson on the line: Watchtower claims that paying bond premium would lead to “immediate irreparable harm and hardship”

  • October 23, 2012 at 11:45 am
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    Not that difficult.

  • October 23, 2012 at 12:03 pm
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    “Not that difficult” ~ Haaaaah! If you had any Idea what that person has done on other Blogs and the Haaaavoc and torment that He/She/It (subject of great debate in and of itself) has wrought!

  • October 23, 2012 at 12:22 pm
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    Geez – can people really troll like that? I hate it. You’d think it’s easy to get rid of someone thru their different IPs. Wow… is this person’s JOB to be a jerk?

    • October 23, 2012 at 12:41 pm
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      I’ve put a more comprehensive block on him. We shouldn’t be seeing him again. Please email if he emerges under a different identity.

  • October 23, 2012 at 12:55 pm
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    She/He’s going Nuts on Topix right now! have a look-see…I tried posting a link here before but you have some tight controls…I can understand why though or everybody would be linking to Foot Fungus Cures and Siberian Midget Wrestling, Clowns who juggle Cats for a living and you name it!

    • October 24, 2012 at 5:17 am
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      Now that the Watchtower into a crisis angry and lose the appeal before the Court, the very Watchtower vai published literatures already initiated the end of the system of things kkkkkkkk

  • October 25, 2012 at 9:23 am
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    That’s 15 mil Jamaican…not US. The website, being a local Jamaican radio station, reports all figures in JA$. It’s $166,000 USD, and that’s actually a pretty low estimate for a business property in that area. I’m well familiar with it

  • October 25, 2012 at 9:24 am
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    Tamara
    Tongue in cheek: Maybe they can use the insurance from the $15Mil fire in Jamaica to one of their Kingdom Halls towards the $17Mil…Although I am having a hard time understanding why a KH would ever be worth that much…something is missing from this news story. http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/kingdom-hall-destroyed-by-fire

    That’s 15 mil Jamaican…not US. The website, being a local Jamaican radio station, reports all figures in JA$. It’s $166,000 USD, and that’s actually a pretty low estimate for a business property in that area. I’m well familiar with it, nothing fishy there

  • October 25, 2012 at 3:31 pm
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    Yeah I figured it had to be something like that… that would have been too obvious!

  • October 25, 2012 at 4:51 pm
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    A family member who works in the court system was able to access the court transcripts of the Candace Conti case. Has anyone else heard that the California Supreme Court FROZE the Watchtower’s property in Brooklyn????

    • October 25, 2012 at 11:30 pm
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      I think what you’re referring to is the motion that led to the Watchtower being forced to make a bond payment in the first place. Soon after the judgment, Candace’s team motioned that Watchtower shouldn’t be able to buy or sell property assets until the case was finally brought to a conclusion. The only way around this motion for the Watchtower was to pay a bond, which they were desperate to do in order to free them to continue their lucrative program of selling brooklyn real estate. Now they want to effectively sidestep the bond by paying it in property assets of THEIR choosing, namely Patterson. I hope that makes sense.

  • October 25, 2012 at 6:08 pm
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    Are you absolutely positive about this? Because this is Earthshaking if it’s true and can you verify it?

  • October 25, 2012 at 7:45 pm
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    I will ask my cousin if she can get me copies of the documents…I also found it mentioned on another site
    Filed on June 19, 2012, DEFENDANTS WATCHTOWER AND NORTH FREMONT CONGREGATION’S EX PARTE APPLICATION TO STAY ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENT;

    Defendants Watchtower applied for an Order temporarily staying enforcement of any judgment that may in the future be entered in this matter on the verdicts returned by the jury on June 13 and 14, 2012, until ten (10) days after the last day on which a notice of appeal may be filed, and (2) extinguishing any existing liens, levies or attachments and preventing the creation of any new liens, levies or attachments during the pendency of the temporary stay.

    Defendants claimed that this matter is necessary because: (1) the Church Defendants intend to file post-trial motions and, therefore, the final judgment may be eliminated, reduced, modified, or otherwise affected; (2) the Church Defendants presently intend to file an appeal should their post-trial motions be denied in whole or in part and, therefore, they will need time to obtain the requisite bond, …

    Also filed on June 19, 2012, PLAINTIFF JANE DOE’S LIMITED OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC. AND NORTH FREMONT CONGREGATION’S EX PARTE APPLICATION TO STAY ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENT.

    Plaintiff has no objection to an Order preventing the creation of any new liens, levies, or attachments, provided she is protected from a distribution of assets in avoidance of the judgment.

    There are no existing liens, levies, or attachments to extinguish, as a result of which, that part of the Ex Parte request is moot. However, Plaintiff’s willingness to agree to a stay of execution of the judgment to be filed shortly is conditional. To avoid a massive transfer of real estate assets worth, at present, approximately $1 Billion, from Watchtower to another corporate entity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which would leave Plaintiff with no enforcement right for the Judgment, Plaintiff requests that any stay be subject to the condition that defendant Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. not transfer, convey, or change title to any of its real property prior to the filing of a bond or undertaking required as a condition of appeal.

    Defendant filed on June 19, 2012 a REPLY BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF EX PARTE APPLICATION TO STAY ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENT stating:

    Plaintiff’s opposition states a willingness to agree to a stay of execution of the judgment on the condition that Defendant Watchtower “not transfer, convey, or change title to any of its real property prior to the filing of a bond or undertaking required as a condition of appeal.” This condition puts the proverbial cart before the horse.

  • October 25, 2012 at 8:04 pm
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    These are Ex-Parte (without being before the Judge) motions made by Candace’s attorneys but the WT attorneys are effectively requesting the opposite. My question is how they can sell the Brooklyn and other property(s) if these motions were granted…If I understand them and they are actual and verifiable since I have no actual document and am only reading some one’s script. If you provide an actual document to verify the text it would actually mean something as right now it’s nothing more than a Blog post…Also, the limited lay advocacy experience I have is worthless. There are actual Attorneys who may or may not jump all over this like Roseanne Barr on a Krispy Kreme display if you can actually provide a document.

  • October 25, 2012 at 8:15 pm
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    If it’s already known and published on another site then maybe it’s not that significant but I still would like to know how they are allowed to sell the property unless they weren’t granted the motion. But then why would it be news? Now I have a Headache…too much thinking again! The Doctor warned me about that!

  • November 5, 2012 at 11:15 am
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    All the property the Watchtower Society owns is not enough compensation for the misery Candice and other victims have suffered due to their(WTS) policies. I say they should sell all that property and help the poor JW’s around the world.Since they have taken a vow of poverty, they should live like Jesus who had nowhere to lay down his head.

  • November 7, 2012 at 10:17 pm
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    what happened to candace? was she molested? why would she sue the Watchtower Society? Why should they pay her????

  • November 8, 2012 at 8:15 pm
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    @cecilia – she was molested and because of the WT policy, they don’t contact the police when they learn of abuse, they actually protect the abuser, and the elders are to report it to the branch office. They treat it like a sin instead of a crime, and they misapply a scripture about two witnesses being needed to accuse someone.

  • November 9, 2012 at 11:20 am
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    Hey… so it’s November 9th… what’s the latest? What did the judge say? Update please.

  • November 10, 2012 at 10:01 am
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    That’s Ok. change is officially recorded with Patterson

  • November 13, 2012 at 10:11 am
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    @frere Toc
    You saying the watchtower managed to get patterson as bond instead of money?
    Well its looking bleaker by the day!
    Guess candace will end up with charges rather than compensation.
    Make you wonder how the watchtower swings it their way does it not?

  • November 16, 2012 at 9:18 am
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    Pls give me an update as to what happened on the signing of Bond due on Nov 15. Thanks

  • November 16, 2012 at 7:46 pm
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    Watchtower lost again. Their appeal to substitute property or reduce the bond has been denied. The original documents are at

    http://www.jwleaks.org/ click on Candace Conti and then click new document dated 16/11/12.

    Progress.

  • November 19, 2012 at 7:28 am
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    What is important is the protection of children and the WT has failed because of their policies, they deserve as any religion or organization that have not put the best interests of the children ahead of themselves to be prosecuted with the full extent of the law, which the WT would want of any other organization execpt their own, which makes them a very accountable and dangerous organization.

  • January 15, 2013 at 10:04 pm
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    Cedars. I have just now read your article on the Conti case, one of the judgements was supposed to be decided in October of 2012 its now January 2013 any news?…I can’t wait to see the WTS fall to their knees!

  • February 8, 2013 at 5:46 pm
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    I felt when I read about the WT in dire financial estates this way as the character in George Orwell’s 1984:
    O’Brien has tortured Winston Smith to the point of lunacy and then he asks him, “What are your true feelings towards Big Brother?” and Winston says, “I hate him.”

    I realised I was Winston when I read this. My heart leapt at the news, and til that moment I never knew I hated Them.

  • August 13, 2013 at 11:45 am
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    The policies of a party plays a very important role in determining the end verdict of such a case. Here all played equal roles in compromising it.

Comments are closed.