Court says LDS Church must release long-veiled financial information
Salt Lake Tribune
July 12, 2007
Court says
AP
Portland,
The
Despite the legal defeat, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately release the detailed financial information about its net worth, The Oregonian newspaper reported.
Kelly Clark, an attorney for the
"A jury needs to know the entire financial context to know whether a punitive award is too much or sufficient or not enough,"
The LDS church sought emergency relief from a trial court order to turn over the financial information, but the Oregon Supreme Court late Monday rejected the appeal. The pretrial decision was reached on narrow pretrial grounds and doesn’t mean the court would not ultimately side with the church’s position that the Constitution protects its right to keep financial information private.
"The church is considering its position," Stephen F. English, the LDS church’s lead
The LDS church has not released financial information since 1959.
"It’s the secret of secrets," said Timothy N. Kosnoff, a Seattle attorney who sought the information in 2001 on behalf of a former Oregon man who claimed he was sexually abused by an LDS Sunday school teacher.
Kosnoff never got the information because the church agreed to pay his client $3 million.
The latest bid to expose the church’s net worth stems from a lawsuit filed last year that accuses Kenneth I. Johnson Jr. of molesting a
Johnson, who has denied the accusation, was the boy’s home teacher, a church-sanctioned lay official authorized to provide educational and religious guidance, according to the suit.
English said Johnson was acting as a family friend, not a church official, and LDS church officials did not know about the alleged abuse while it was happening.
February 5th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I am wondering about the status of this case – was the information about the LDS Church’s net worth ever released by the LDS church? Have the case been settled out of court, so the LDS could avoid having to comply with the supreme court ruling?
February 6th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hello.
Thanks for writing. The case settled just before the Church was to produce financial records and have their financial personnel questioned.
Does that answer your question?
Thanks.
KC
February 6th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Thank you Sir for answering my question. I also want to thank you for helping victims of sexual abuse to get restitution, justice and some closure. It is really important to bring sex offenders to justice – the victims will suffer the rest of their lives; especially when they were sexually wictimized by clergy members. It is utter betrayal to allow child abusers to be placed in positions of trust and have access to children, especially when ecclesiasitical leaders knew about a persons prior offenses. These leaders should be held accountable. I also hope that preventing childabuse on every level in churches will be enforced strictly. Sadly most people want to ignore the risk and think that this can not happen in a Church like the LDS Church. Where all priesthoodholders gets their callings from God. When it does happen – churches and local leaders most often want to protect the image of the Church – instead of taking care of the victims. And often the victims are not believed. Keep fighting to bring justice to the victims mr. Clark. Thank you with all my heart!