Frequently Asked Questions
Why haven't the Save 3ABN websites been updated?
Our last update on the Save 3ABN websites was May 23, 2008. It is now August 18, 2009. Why has it taken so long
to post any updates? Simply put, the litigation has lasted much longer than it should have, and has required much
more effort and time than it should have.
All court papers filed thus far, except for items filed under seal, are available at
3ABNvJoy.com.
When Danny Shelton's cover up of the child molestation allegations against Tommy Shelton was reported on in
December 2007, Danny started threatening suit. (CCoG Board of Trustees Meeting
minutes
of December 14, 2006,
p. 2, and minutes of
December 31, 2006, p. 1). Rather than simply apologize, Danny Shelton filed
suit in April 2007, and by the end of that year, 3ABN had spent more than $752,000 on the two
law firms involved in that case. (3ABN 2007 Form 990
p. 2, Sched. A p. 1).
But the main point to note is that Danny never intended to take the case to trial. He never
really intended to litigate. This can be seen from the fact that Danny never produced key
documents requested by the defense.
For example, since Danny had put at issue in the suit whether he had biblical grounds for divorce
and remarriage (Complaint ¶ 50),
the defense requested Danny to produce the evidence he claimed he had that proved
that Linda Shelton had committed adultery.
(Requests to Produce #'s 40, 34).
But Danny never produced a single thing.
Danny's game plan was to drag things out as long as possible, to refuse to produce any substantive documents,
to object to various subpoenas, and to encourage his allies to do the same. Thus:
- Danny and 3ABN refused to produce any documents identified
in his initial disclosures until forced to do so by the court.
What they then produced was unindexed, requiring a lot of time
to separate and identify each individual document.
- Danny fought the defense's subpoena of his bank records.
These records were relevant to the question of whether Danny
had committed perjury in his July 2006 affidavit, whether he
had received royalty payments from Remnant Publications, and
whether he had siphoned money away from 3ABN.
- Danny and 3ABN fought the defense's subpoena of records
from their auditor and tax return preparer. In that instance,
Danny and 3ABN filed their motion to quash the defendants' subpoena
60 days after the deadline to do so had already passed.
- As far as the defendants can tell, Danny never produced
any documents in response to the defense's requests to produce.
3ABN produced nothing until after the defense had filed a motion
to compel in May 2008. What 3ABN finally produced was unindexed, requiring
a lot of time to sort through and identify everything.
- Danny encouraged Remnant to resist the defense's subpoena
of records of sales of Danny's books and royalty payments to
Danny. Therefore, when the defense's motion to compel Remnant
was granted, Remnant asked the magistrate judge to reconsider,
and, having lost that, appealed from the magistrate to the judge.
- Danny and 3ABN asked the court to prohibit discovery concerning certain topics,
including the child molestation allegations against Tommy Shelton, and to require the
defendants to seek leave of the court whenever they wanted to serve a subpoena.
All of these evasive maneuvers took considerable time and effort to combat.
Additionally, the defense asked the court for leave to serve four different subpoenas in order to
determine whether or not Linda Shelton had rendezvoused with Dr. Arild Abrahamsen in Florida in
April 2004, and whether or not the IRS had fully vindicated Danny Shelton and 3ABN.
Incredibly, Danny Shelton fought even these efforts at discovery, efforts which would
have vindicated Danny if he has really been telling the truth on these matters.
A whole lot more could be said, including regarding the defense's pending appeal in the
First Circuit Court of Appeals. We will continue to post updates on the current situation as time permits.
But before posting more information about the current lawsuit, we should first address the question
of who is the president of 3ABN.
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