last week? The verdict was handed down last night, and I was there. The story and my thoughts after the jump.
CROWN POINT -- A jury awarded two Dyer teens on Monday $107,000 for an incident at a New Year’s Eve Party sponsored by Living Stones Fellowship Church four years ago.
Cousins Manuel “Lee” Gomez, 17, and Brandon Gomez, 18, were given $8,500 each in compensatory damages and $45,000 apiece in punitive damages from the Crown Point-based church and Cause Youth Foundation, its corresponding youth group; its youth pastor, Pastor Ron Johnson Jr.; and defendants Derrick “DJ” Crofford and Ryan Voyles for their parts in a game played at the party. Brandon Gomez, Manuel “Lee” Gomez, Bryan Gomez, also of Dyer and Tomas Thain sued the church for battery, negligence, intentional infliction, fraud and false imprisonment. The jury did not award Thain anything, and a third defendant, Colin Adams, was not found at fault in the incident.
“I think the jurors reached the verdict because they concluded that Ron and Living Stones put the health and lives of two children in danger,” said Merrillville-based attorney John Bushemi, who represented the plaintiffs. “The defendants, including Pastor Johnson, testified that the event was 'entertaining, fun and humorous,’ but apparently 11 jurors felt no humor.”
Central to the case was a video tape that described the events over which the Gomezes sued. The tape showed Johnson engaging the crowd in a food-eating game, whereby audience members could volunteer to guess, for a $50 gift certificate, a mystery food fed to them. Brandon Gomez and Lee Gomez, then 14 and 13 at the time, volunteered as did two girls.
Once the four children were on stage, Johnson and an assistant unveiled the “Veg-o-matic,” which was church member Ryan Voyles sitting on a stool behind a counter. The assistant took food including eggnog, sardines, cottage cheese, dog food, sauerkraut, salsa and potted meat, and put it in Boyles’ mouth. Johnson then tapped Voyles on the head, and Voyles would chew the food and spit it back into a bowl.
Johnson asked the participants whether they wanted to proceed; the girls stepped down, while Brandon Gomez and Lee Gomez drank the mixture. The next day, the two boys were taken to the doctor, where they were both tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, strep throat, and tuberculosis and put on medicine for several weeks.
The Gomez family was thrilled at the verdict, saying justice was served.
“It’ll make him learn his lesson,” Brandon Gomez said. “He deserves every bit of it.”
A visibly shaken Johnson declined comment.
Jurors in the case said that watching the boys on film, they could see that Brandon was disturbed at drinking the concoction and for that, there was considerable emotional damage inflicted. The jury did not find, however, that the boys were confined in any way by Johnson, Adams or Crofford.
Defense attorney Richard Long, of Highland, said he and his clients feel that the evidence didn’t match up with the charges and will appeal.
I said it before, and I'll say it again: That video was absolutely disgusting, and I about lost my ramen watching it. No question. But a judgement of more than $50gs apiece!? Please. I didn't see testimony over the week, but I understand that the defense had a doctor testify that the strep the boys allegedly got couldn't have been from Voyles, because a) strep isn't passed through saliva, and b) it's got an incubation period that would've exceeded the time in which the boys got sick. If you're supposed to be looking for just the facts, like juries are supposed to do, that seems to me like a pretty big one to ignore. Simply put, the plaintiff's attorney had the jury -- which, by the way, was comprised of 10 women and 2 men -- by the emotional shorthairs: It was gross, and it
could've gotten the boys sick. Three of the (women) jurors I spoke to after the trial even said as much. "The boys looked unsure of themselves before they drank it, and that inflicted emotional damage." Well, Ok, sure, but $50gs!?! No way. (And yes, I AM going to go there about women being more emotional, because it's TRUE. I'm not saying it's bad or good; it just is.) Let's also not forget that the boys HAD A CHOICE to drink the crap. They were 13 and 14 years old. Young? Sure -- but not young enough to not know better. Would they have gotten harshed on for backing out!? The jurors seem to think so, although my guess!?!? Ain't NO ONE would've blamed them for not wanting anything to do with that crap.
Another thought that crossed my mind is that perhaps the jurors decided to take a piece out of the church because it's fundie. That's true, but I'm not sure it's as big or wealthy a congregation as
others in the
area. I mean, I'm no fan of the fundies, but I'm not down with $50gs for this.
Good thing the dollar amount will likely never get past appeal.
Oh, whatEVER. 
