The Montreal Gazette reported on a ruling by a Quebec Superior Court judge who “has authorized a class-action lawsuit for current or former Jehovah’s Witnesses in Quebec who were sexually abused by other members as minors” citing a “hierarchy that ‘encourages a culture of silence.’”  According to the article, “[t]he lawsuit targets the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, the parent company of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country, and another society based in Pennsylvania that’s responsible for the church’s communications and publications.”  At issue in the “class action is whether the church failed to protect its members when they tried to denounce sexual abuse.”

Experience Matters

Sauder Schelkopf has a nationally recognized litigation practice.  Our former prosecutors have extensive experience representing victims of all ages.

  • Sauder Schelkopf, and co-counsel, recently reached a $215 million settlement on behalf of female patients of Dr. George Tyndall, a gynecologist at the University of Southern California accused of sexual misconduct since the 1990s.
  • We have represented survivors of clergy sexual abuse in dioceses throughout the country.
  • We have a class action lawsuit pending on behalf of males who were victims of sexual misconduct by Dr. Richard Strauss, the Ohio State team doctor, while they were students and student-athletes at Ohio State University.
  • Sauder Schelkopf filed a class action lawsuit against Dr. Patrick Sutton and Huntington Memorial Hospital located in Pasadena, California on behalf of women who were subjected to sexual misconduct by Sutton, a gynecologist at the hospital.
  • We have been court-appointed as Interim Co-Class Counsel to represent former students of the University of Michigan who were victims of sexual misconduct by Dr. Robert E. Anderson, former director of University Health Service, and a former athletic team physician, who worked at the University of Michigan from 1968 until his retirement in 2003.

We Want to Hear from You

If you are a survivor of physical and/or sexual abuse, you can confidentially contact the lawyers at Sauder Schelkopf by filling out the form on this page or calling 888.711.9975