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patgundJuror Awards Father $2.9M In Funeral Protesters Case
"A federal jury ruled Wednesday that a fundamentalist Kansas church was wrong to protest the funeral of a fallen Marine in Maryland.
The jury awarded $2.9 million to the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. It found that the Westboro Baptist Church invaded the family's privacy and intentionally inflicted emotional distress when it picketed Snyder's funeral last year.
Members of the small church routinely picket military funerals. They argue that American soldiers are dying as punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality."
Now we all know the family will appeal, (most of the Phelps children are lawyers, and Mr. Phelps himself is a disbarred lawyer). And I suspect they'll more than likely try to place some of the church / family assets beyond collection reach, (the family and church is pretty intermingled, so that may make it harder to collect as well.)
Still, glad a father - and a jury - stood up to these asshats.
On edit - even better. The jury awarded $8 million more in punitive damges. Total against Mr. Phelps and his "church"?? $10.9 million.
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=3238&type=UTTM
"A federal jury ruled Wednesday that a fundamentalist Kansas church was wrong to protest the funeral of a fallen Marine in Maryland.
The jury awarded $2.9 million to the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. It found that the Westboro Baptist Church invaded the family's privacy and intentionally inflicted emotional distress when it picketed Snyder's funeral last year.
Members of the small church routinely picket military funerals. They argue that American soldiers are dying as punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality."
Now we all know the family will appeal, (most of the Phelps children are lawyers, and Mr. Phelps himself is a disbarred lawyer). And I suspect they'll more than likely try to place some of the church / family assets beyond collection reach, (the family and church is pretty intermingled, so that may make it harder to collect as well.)
Still, glad a father - and a jury - stood up to these asshats.
On edit - even better. The jury awarded $8 million more in punitive damges. Total against Mr. Phelps and his "church"?? $10.9 million.
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=3238&type=UTTM
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 10:09 pm (UTC)It would be nice to see this lawsuit stick, but I doubt it will. IANAL, but most of that church is, and $11M for invasion of privacy seems a bit high.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 10:17 pm (UTC)Still couldn't happen to nicer people
no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 10:31 pm (UTC)And, you're right, it would be nice to have them actually get the cash they were awarded, but I'm just glad someone had the cojònes to stand up and fight against those SOBs!
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Date: 2007-11-02 02:59 am (UTC)"The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. ... Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means."
no subject
Date: 2007-11-01 04:37 am (UTC)