Court Posts Legal Documents., How to acces posted court documents. Options

[Observer]

# 1

The documents relating to this case have been posted by the Court for viewing by the public.

To view these documents access the Massachusetts District Court, Case # 07-40098FDS

These documents are listed in the Pacer System. To view them, you will need to have a Pacer account. I have one due to my interest in law and writing. You do not have to be an attorney to establish a Pacer account.

NOTE: Pacer accounts allow you to both view and print public legal reconds. You pay a fee for every page that you view. So, be aware that such accounts are not free. You are never billed until you actually view the file. Prior to viewing the file you are informed as to the number of pages, and the pages for which you will be billed. (I was billed for 30 pages of what was a 36 page file, in one case.) You have to click on an agreement to pay the charge before you can view the file.

Once you access the court file you will be given a menu as to what is available. The menu item listed "History" is probably the most important one. It lists in chronological the documents available, by document number. You will need this document number to order up a file for viewing.

Once you order up a file for viewing you are given the information that you need to decide whether or not to pay the fee and view it. NOTE: In some cases the file in divided into parts. In such, you can view individual sections without paying the fee to view all sections.

NOTE: One file I viewed was 100+ pages.

NOTE: One of the first files you may want to view is the Plaintiffs' Complaint which first began this lawsuit. Probably the first 21 page section is of most interest. The plaintiffs' request a trial by jury, and minimumn compensatory damages of $75,000 plus legal fees and costs. Read this document closely.



# 2



I am reading the complaint. I find it interesting.

In it the plaintiffs claim that Mr. Joy and Mr. Pickle have published a number of falsehoods, and refused to correct them. Among others, these include:

1) a false claim that Danny Shelton has several inapproprite extra-marital affairs while married to Linda.

2) A false claim that Danny Shelton had an extra-marital affair with a named employee of 3-ABN.

There is much more.

I am the first one to say that truth may not be an absolute defence.

But, the plaintiffs, in my opinon, have now opened up this lawsuit to issues such as the above. It will be interesting to see how this develops, and what happens when sworn testimony is presented.

I do not know.

6/24/2007 I hvae ben asked tp post the information needed to sign ukp for a Pacer account.

You may do so by going to http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov and going through the registration process. You will need a valid credit card to be billed for the materials that you view--GM.



This post has been edited by Observer: Jun 25 2007, 04:08 AM

[PeacefulBe]

Thank you for this information, Gregory.

[Observer]

I am now reading from the Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for permanent Impoundment.

Plaintiff's initial memorandum in support of impoundment set forth Defendants'pattern and practice of using every pososible medium, including court documents, to impugn, . . . Plaintiffs' reputations and conduct. . . . impoundment is an approprite mechanism by which this court can prevent Defendants from utilizing the Court's files to further their campaign to defame Plainfiffs,. . .

See page 1


I guess they really did not want the public to know what was in the documents.


Some other interesting statements in this same document:

As a direct result of Defendants' conduct, 3ABN has experienced a substantial loss of goodwill within the Adventist faith community.. . . It is simply not possible to quantify the damage to 3ABN's reputation within the Seventh-Day Adventist community that has been caused by Defendants' campaign of willful disparagement. 3ABN has also suffered, as a direct result of Defendants' activities, an irreparable loss of confidence on the part of the official Adventist Conference, the South Pacific Division. . . .

See page 6

NOTE: On page 8 the Plaintiffs show concern that the defendants might submit documents to the Court that would contain statements by other people which would defame the Plaintiffs and thereby become available to the public.

Interesting!

This post has been edited by Observer: Jun 22 2007, 02:09 PM

[Pickle]

...

I am the first one to say that truth may not be an absolute defence.

But, the plaintiffs, in my opinon, have now opened up this lawsuit to issues such as the above. It will be interesting to see how this develops, and what happens when sworn testimony is presented.

I do not know.

Have Gailon and/or I actually made each statement and done each action the suit alleges that we have done? That must first be proven.

[PeacefulBe]

As a direct result of Defendants' conduct, 3ABN has experienced a substantial loss of goodwill within the Adventist faith community.. . . It is simply not possible to quantify the damage to 3ABN's reputation within the Seventh-Day Adventist community that has been caused by Defendants' campaign of willful disparagement. 3ABN has also suffered, as a direct result of Defendants' activities, an irreparable loss of confidence on the part of the official Adventist Conference, the South Pacific Division. . . .

I, personally, think their newly touted "non-denominational" status will have a far greater effect on the goodwill within the Adventist faith community world wide than anything done heretofore. Think they'd better start planning a lawsuit against themselves for "willful disparagement".

My mother, who has supported 3abn for years, is shocked, dismayed and ANGRY!

[watchbird]

I, personally, think their newly touted "non-denominational" status will have a far greater effect on the goodwill within the Adventist faith community world wide than anything done heretofore. Think they'd better start planning a lawsuit against themselves for "willful disparagement".

My mother, who has supported 3abn for years, is shocked, dismayed and ANGRY!

What I am trying really,.... really,..... REALLY,...... hard to understand is why anyone would be "shocked, dismayed, and ANGRY"... or even "surprised"... at the "news" that 3abn considers itself to be a" non-denominational entity", not affiliated with any church.

This has been discussed previous to this right here on BSDA. The website has openly made this statement on their website for years.... (Doesn't anyone ever read the "About Us" statements?)

Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) is the "Mending Broken People Network," a 24-hour Christian television and radio network. 3ABN’s focus is to present programming which will reach people right where they are hurting. 3ABN offers divorce recovery programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, cooking and health programs, stop smoking and weight loss, programs that deal with children and family issues, organic gardening, natural home remedies, gospel music programs, as well as a variety of inspirational themes from the Bible for children and adults.

Today, surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its television and radio programming to five satellites which carry it to every inhabited continent. 3ABN is the second largest Christian network in North America (in regard to numbers of owned and operated UHF stations). 3ABN's "down-home" approach and the absence of large fundraising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers.

3ABN is not owned, operated or funded by any church, denomination or organization, so people from all cultures and backgrounds appreciate 3ABN programming.

I will let others make guesses as to when they think this was first incorporated into the About Us page. (clue.... it was not recently).

The statement on their very first website was worded significantly differently from the one above ....

Three Angels Broadcasting Network is a 24 hour Christian Television Network with a mission to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN began in 1984 when Danny Shelton was impressed to build a television station that would reach the world. Today, unexpectedly surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its signal across North and Central America as well as Europe and North Africa.

Three Angels Broadcasting Network airs programs with a down-to-earth approach. Its blend of spiritual teaching, health and family oriented programming offers a wide variety of choices. Programming focuses on topics that meet specific viewer needs, such as stop smoking clinics and drug and alcohol recovery programs. Thousands of viewers take advantage of its toll-free prayer and pastoral counseling line each month.

3ABN's absence of large fund-raising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers. 3ABN is an independent, nonprofit, supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

After 3abn moved to Tagnet (which has as its basic requirements for having a web page there that the ministry be a member of ASI), most of the earliest statement was omitted, and the front page carried this very brief statement.

www.3abn.org is a 24-hour-a-day Christian satellite television ministry whose goal is to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a member of Adventist-layman's Services and Industries (ASI).

I do not know how soon this was dropped after they started using the TAGnet service, but I have seen nothing other than the first statement given above since 2001.

So... back to my original question... why is it such a surprise to everyone to find that 3abn is now claiming "non-denominational" status?

..................................

This post has been edited by watchbird: Jun 23 2007, 08:38 AM

[Richard Sherwin]

So in other words 3abn is just following the lead of what the SDA church has done for years, trying to deceive people into coming to our seminars, evangelistic meetings, cooking classes, etc by acting like we are not part of the SDA church until we've set the hook. (Shut up Richard before you rant on one of your pet peeves against the church. Thank you)

What I am trying really,.... really,..... REALLY,...... hard to understand is why anyone would be "shocked, dismayed, and ANGRY"... or even "surprised"... at the "news" that 3abn considers itself to be a" non-denominational entity", not affiliated with any church.

This has been discussed previous to this right here on BSDA. The website has openly made this statement on their website for years.... (Doesn't anyone ever read the "About Us" statements?)

Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) is the "Mending Broken People Network," a 24-hour Christian television and radio network. 3ABN’s focus is to present programming which will reach people right where they are hurting. 3ABN offers divorce recovery programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, cooking and health programs, stop smoking and weight loss, programs that deal with children and family issues, organic gardening, natural home remedies, gospel music programs, as well as a variety of inspirational themes from the Bible for children and adults.

Today, surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its television and radio programming to five satellites which carry it to every inhabited continent. 3ABN is the second largest Christian network in North America (in regard to numbers of owned and operated UHF stations). 3ABN's "down-home" approach and the absence of large fundraising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers.

3ABN is not owned, operated or funded by any church, denomination or organization, so people from all cultures and backgrounds appreciate 3ABN programming.

I will let others make guesses as to when they think this was first incorporated into the About Us page. (clue.... it was not recently).

The statement on their very first website was worded significantly differently from the one above ....

Three Angels Broadcasting Network is a 24 hour Christian Television Network with a mission to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN began in 1984 when Danny Shelton was impressed to build a television station that would reach the world. Today, unexpectedly surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its signal across North and Central America as well as Europe and North Africa.

Three Angels Broadcasting Network airs programs with a down-to-earth approach. Its blend of spiritual teaching, health and family oriented programming offers a wide variety of choices. Programming focuses on topics that meet specific viewer needs, such as stop smoking clinics and drug and alcohol recovery programs. Thousands of viewers take advantage of its toll-free prayer and pastoral counseling line each month.

3ABN's absence of large fund-raising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers. 3ABN is an independent, nonprofit, supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

After 3abn moved to Tagnet (which has as its basic requirements for having a web page there that the ministry be a member of ASI), most of the earliest statement was omitted, and the front page carried this very brief statement.

www.3abn.org is a 24-hour-a-day Christian satellite television ministry whose goal is to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a member of Adventist-layman's Services and Industries (ASI).

I do not know how soon this was dropped after they started using the TAGnet service, but I have seen nothing other than the first statement given above since 2001.

So... back to my original question... why is it such a surprise to everyone to find that 3abn is now claiming "non-denominational" status?

..................................

[Pickle]

No, Richard, I'd say there is a difference.

While Jesus on occasion told His disciples or someone healed not to say this or that about Him, while He didn't go around telling everyone through a megaphone that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, He never denied that He was.

To not tell someone up front that you're an Adventist, for Billy Graham not to disclose at his meetings what denomination he is a member of, if he is a member and doesn't disclose, is a different matter than denying that you're an Adventist.

It is unquestionable that 3ABN signed an agreement with the GC in 1997, that the agreement they signed is linked from their website, that they are a member of ASI, and that they are affiliated with Atlantic Union Media Services. To say that they are not affiliated with any denomination or organization when they are isn't true, is different than what Jesus did, and is different than what I've seen Adventist evangelist do.

WB,

The statement on 3ABN's website speaks of funding, but doesn't speak of affiliation. While it may give the impression to people that 3ABN isn't affilated with any church or organization, I would argue that, technically, the language doesn't deny affilations.

So I would say that the lawsuit goes beyond what the website says.

[Artiste]

Yes, a big difference!









**********************************

This post has been edited by Artiste: Jun 23 2007, 07:04 PM

[Richard Sherwin]

I've had people come up to me and ask why don't you put in your flyers who you are? I don't know what to tell them. I guess my feeling is that we should say "hi, I'm Richard from the SDA church would you like to come to some meetings about Bible prophesy at our church?". Instead we're told to say "hi, I'm Richard, how would you like to come to a prophesy meeting at the VFW hall?" I feel like a Jehovah's Witness since they do the same thing.

I once while hiking the AT in New York had a guy give me a piece of literature and I asked him if he was SDA, man did he ever do everything he could not to answer. Finally when I saw it was from Amazing Facts and told him I was SDA as well did he finally admit he was.

Why not go boldly proclaiming that we are SDA Christians?

I guess it's a good thing I'm not in marketing.

Sorry.

Richard

No, Richard, I'd say there is a difference.

While Jesus on occasion told His disciples or someone healed not to say this or that about Him, while He didn't go around telling everyone through a megaphone that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, He never denied that He was.

To not tell someone up front that you're an Adventist, for Billy Graham not to disclose at his meetings what denomination he is a member of, if he is a member and doesn't disclose, is a different matter than denying that you're an Adventist.

It is unquestionable that 3ABN signed an agreement with the GC in 1997, that the agreement they signed is linked from their website, that they are a member of ASI, and that they are affiliated with Atlantic Union Media Services. To say that they are not affiliated with any denomination or organization when they are isn't true, is different than what Jesus did, and is different than what I've seen Adventist evangelist do.

WB,

The statement on 3ABN's website speaks of funding, but doesn't speak of affiliation. While it may give the impression to people that 3ABN isn't affilated with any church or organization, I would argue that, technically, the language doesn't deny affilations.

So I would say that the lawsuit goes beyond what the website says.

This post has been edited by Richard Sherwin: Jun 23 2007, 07:41 PM

[LaurenceD]

It is unquestionable that 3ABN signed an agreement with the GC in 1997, that the agreement they signed is linked from their website, that they are a member of ASI, and that they are affiliated with Atlantic Union Media Services. To say that they are not affiliated with any denomination or organization when they are isn't true, is different than what Jesus did, and is different than what I've seen Adventist evangelist do.

WB,

The statement on 3ABN's website speaks of funding, but doesn't speak of affiliation. While it may give the impression to people that 3ABN isn't affilated with any church or organization, I would argue that, technically, the language doesn't deny affilations.

So I would say that the lawsuit goes beyond what the website says.

When the 3abn website is back in working order, see if the language is still the same as before. The timing would be right to modify the wording--just a little tweak--if you know what I mean.

[mikell]

What I am trying really,.... really,..... REALLY,...... hard to understand is why anyone would be "shocked, dismayed, and ANGRY"... or even "surprised"... at the "news" that 3abn considers itself to be a" non-denominational entity", not affiliated with any church.

This has been discussed previous to this right here on BSDA. The website has openly made this statement on their website for years.... (Doesn't anyone ever read the "About Us" statements?)

Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) is the "Mending Broken People Network," a 24-hour Christian television and radio network. 3ABN’s focus is to present programming which will reach people right where they are hurting. 3ABN offers divorce recovery programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, cooking and health programs, stop smoking and weight loss, programs that deal with children and family issues, organic gardening, natural home remedies, gospel music programs, as well as a variety of inspirational themes from the Bible for children and adults.

Today, surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its television and radio programming to five satellites which carry it to every inhabited continent. 3ABN is the second largest Christian network in North America (in regard to numbers of owned and operated UHF stations). 3ABN's "down-home" approach and the absence of large fundraising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers.

3ABN is not owned, operated or funded by any church, denomination or organization, so people from all cultures and backgrounds appreciate 3ABN programming.

I will let others make guesses as to when they think this was first incorporated into the About Us page. (clue.... it was not recently).

The statement on their very first website was worded significantly differently from the one above ....

Three Angels Broadcasting Network is a 24 hour Christian Television Network with a mission to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN began in 1984 when Danny Shelton was impressed to build a television station that would reach the world. Today, unexpectedly surrounded by the rolling farmland of Southern Illinois, 3ABN beams its signal across North and Central America as well as Europe and North Africa.

Three Angels Broadcasting Network airs programs with a down-to-earth approach. Its blend of spiritual teaching, health and family oriented programming offers a wide variety of choices. Programming focuses on topics that meet specific viewer needs, such as stop smoking clinics and drug and alcohol recovery programs. Thousands of viewers take advantage of its toll-free prayer and pastoral counseling line each month.

3ABN's absence of large fund-raising efforts or telethons holds a special appeal for its viewers. 3ABN is an independent, nonprofit, supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

After 3abn moved to Tagnet (which has as its basic requirements for having a web page there that the ministry be a member of ASI), most of the earliest statement was omitted, and the front page carried this very brief statement.

www.3abn.org is a 24-hour-a-day Christian satellite television ministry whose goal is to reach the world with the gospel. 3ABN is a supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a member of Adventist-layman's Services and Industries (ASI).

I do not know how soon this was dropped after they started using the TAGnet service, but I have seen nothing other than the first statement given above since 2001.View the "Joint Declaration of Commitment" document between the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist and Three Angels Broadcasting Network.

So... back to my original question... why is it such a surprise to everyone to find that 3abn is now claiming "non-denominational" status?

WB, question, did the 3ABN site, had these words added to what you already qouted, which I underlined. For what is below is what is NOW on the 3ABN site. It looks like they just restored the latter while being down or am I mistaken?:

"3ABN is not owned, operated or funded by any church, denomination or organization, so people from all cultures and backgrounds appreciate 3ABN programming. Many of 3ABN's employees and volunteers are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

"View the "Joint Declaration of Commitment" document between the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist and Three Angels Broadcasting Network."

This post has been edited by mikell: Jun 24 2007, 10:12 AM

[watchbird]

WB, question, did the 3ABN site, had these words added to what you already qouted, which I underlined. For what is below is what is NOW on the 3ABN site. It looks like they just restored the latter while being down or am I mistaken?:

"3ABN is not owned, operated or funded by any church, denomination or organization, so people from all cultures and backgrounds appreciate 3ABN programming. Many of 3ABN's employees and volunteers are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

"View the "Joint Declaration of Commitment" document between the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist and Three Angels Broadcasting Network."

The line "Many of 3ABN's employees..." etc.. was added a little over a year ago.

I don't have information on when the "View the 'Joint Declaration of Committment' document " line was added. I think that I recall seeing it on the site before it went down this time, but I do not have a record of it.

[Ozzie]

I don't have information on when the "View the 'Joint Declaration of Committment' document " line was added. I think that I recall seeing it on the site before it went down this time, but I do not have a record of it.

I DID see it there months ago WB and copied it to a SPD employee (or two or 3 or more). I can't find it in my files at the moment, but wonder if one of those people still has a copy of what I sent som time ago?

It will be interesting to see if the web site has been 'tweaked', a little bit here and a little bit there, when it's up and running again!

When the 3abn website is back in working order, see if the language is still the same as before. The timing would be right to modify the wording--just a little tweak--if you know what I mean.

I couldn't get 3ABN up before I went to bed last night and it's still 'down' for me this morning, Ozzie time!

This post has been edited by Ozzie: Jun 24 2007, 05:24 PM

[Richard Sherwin]

I just got on, no problem.

I DID see it there months ago WB and copied it to a SPD employee (or two or 3 or more). I can't find it in my files at the moment, but wonder if one of those people still has a copy of what I sent som time ago?

It will be interesting to see if the web site has been 'tweaked', a little bit here and a little bit there, when it's up and running again!
I couldn't get 3ABN up before I went to bed last night and it's still 'down' for me this morning, Ozzie time!