In Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses v. BXB,(EWCA, March 15, 22021), Britain's Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's conclusion that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses were vicariously liable for the rape of a woman congregant by a church elder. Justice Davies said in part:
Elders were integral to the organisation, the nature of their role was directly controlled by it and by its structure. The judge was entitled to conclude that the relationship between elders and the Jehovah's Witnesses was one that could be capable of giving rise to vicarious liability....
UK Human Rights blog has a long analysis of the decision.
