SBCLitigation

Southern Baptist Convention cases We're Following - Update: DOJ Investigation (NY) Rollins v. Pressler (TX) Roe v. Patterson (TX) Berry v. SBC (NC) Blue v. SBC (NC) Caldwell v. SBC (NC) Couch v. SBC (NC) Dockins v. SBC (NC) Doe v. SBC (SC) Doe v. SBC (SC) Duhart v. SBC (SC) 1/3

"Failing to apply heightened scrutiny, conduct exhaustive verification, or implement additional child-safety precautions when selecting a youth minister from a compromised church fell below the standard of reasonable care ...." /5

Plf. says the abuser was effectively placed by Steve Gaines , SBC President and Pastor of Bellevue Baptist. And says FBCB should have known Gaines had mishandled abuse reporting in the past. /4

New Suit: Heine / Arkansas. Parent of minor victim sues FBC Bentonville, NWA Association, Ark. Baptist Convention, SBC, 25 unknown leaders, and 25 unknown insurance companies.

Based on questioning, it's hard to count three noses in favor of Garner. If any portion of the case survives, it will depend on (1) a technicality about whether the Supreme Court of TN has jurisdiction yet, and (2) allowing a claim for Garner's "non-ministerial" damages.

The CJ and Justice Campbell both seem to believe 1A requires SBC statements about pastors should come out like the Catholic treatment of priests -- even if Baptists have a different structure than Catholics -- to avoid discrimination among denominations.

Garner: TN Supreme Court asks SBC lawyer what happens if SBC leaders knowingly make false statements about local pastors. "That doesn't sound like church governance," says SBC lawyer. Anyone familiar with church governance knows that's a common occurrence.

Garner: arguments tomorrow morning. Live stream is scheduled here: youtube.com/live/ZUsYZ2b8j…

Not in our normal scope but: Former Truett Prof sues BNG over sex abuse articles. The law probably gives BNG the upper hand here. I’m not sure there has ever been a cluster of Baptist defamation cases like we’ve seen the past few years. baptistnews.com/article/profes…

MCRANEY: asks SCOTUS to overturn 5th Circuit's ruling in favor of NAMB. supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?fi…

Probably not surprising, as there were four other trials on the court's docket for Feb. 10, and 8 pending summary judgment motions. Hard to wade through all that. Because the court called for a new trial date, we wouldn't read too much into this decision.

SILLS: Judge cancels trial date, asks parties to agree on date in late 2026. x.com/BaptistPress/s…

SILLS: Guidepost asks for a status conference, as trial date is currently set for February 10, and MSJ motions are pending. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

@DiP11s @CapstoneReport Yes, but this judge does not seem inclined to let a jury hear speculation. Probably needs to be better than “reasonable to have happened” for a jury to see it.

@SBCLitigation @CapstoneReport One could easily see though a jury finding it reasonable that a President gave information to his exec assistant that was subsequently used to defame someone (in this case a victim of SA)

hey @SBCLitigation what is status of Hunt case? I know they had motion to reconsider, but I don't see much of anything else since then. The reason I ask, the Sills discovery makes SBC elites look like fools & clowns, but the Hunt stuff will likely be 100x worse.

Patterson: Court says Patterson can file new MSJ. Otherwise, trial set for 6/15 on remanded claim. SWBTS confirmed to be out of the case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

@DiP11s @CapstoneReport I see a new BP story. There were some orders on 12/1, mostly resetting the deck for Patterson to address the clarified standard. Trial set for June 15, but no new discovery. Burden will fall on Roe's team to show a connection using what they have. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

@SBCLitigation @CapstoneReport Have you noticed the re-invigoration of the Patterson case here in Texas? Apparently the appeals court decided he could be in big trouble if he was ultimately the source for the defamatory information vs Roe.