Thomson v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of N.Y.
| Decision Date | 10 January 2023 |
| Docket Number | Index No. 523464/2021,Mot. Seq. No. 5 |
| Citation | 2023 NY Slip Op 30090 (U) |
| Parties | ANDREW THOMSON, Plaintiff, v. WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
Unpublished Opinion
The following e-filed papers read herein: NYSCEF Doc Nos.:
Notice of Motion/Order to Show Cause/ Petition/Cross Motion and Affidavits (Affirmations) Annexed 82, 84-85
Affidavits/ Affirmations in Reply 89-91
1984 Edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures[1]
Upon the foregoing papers, in this action by plaintiff Andrew Thomson (plaintiff), pro se, against defendant Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (defendant) defendant moves, under motion sequence number five, for an order, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (2), (3), (4), (5) and (7) dismissing plaintiff's second amended verified complaint (NYSCEF Doc Nos. 75, 77 and/or 81) on the grounds that plaintiff lacks standing, the second amended complaint fails to state a viable cause of action, the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, and plaintiff's second amended complaint involves the same parties and issues as plaintiff's 2012, 2013, and 2017 complaints in earlier actions which were dismissed.
Defendant is a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York with offices in Patterson, New York. Defendant's primary corporate purpose is the promotion of religion and includes supporting the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. Defendant is the top organizational body of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In the late 1940s, the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses which is the highest ecclesiastic body of Jehovah's Witnesses, appointed the New World Bible Translation Committee, a committee without legal form, to prepare a translation of the Holy Scriptures from the original Hebrew Aramaic, and Greek languages into English. The entire work of the New World Bible Translation Committee was released in six volumes between the years 1950 to 1960 under the title "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures." Under the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses' direction, revised editions of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures were released in 1984 and 2013.
Defendant prints, publishes, and distributes the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures for use by the general public and the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is commonly used by the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses and is currently available to the general public, in whole or in part, in more than 180 languages.
Plaintiff is an Australian citizen. Plaintiff personally researches linguistics, history, and anthropology. For many years, plaintiff was involved in an Australian legal proceeding known as the Native Title Act proceeding. After contacting staff at the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia, plaintiff began a letter writing campaign with the branch office in New York. In 2012, plaintiff wrote to defendant and requested that the New World Bible Translation Committee "consider [his] research with respect to [the] interpretation of certain Biblical passages which differs from that of the . . . New World [Bible] Translation Committee." In 2013, plaintiff requested that defendant forward to the New World Bible Translation Committee an invitation that it appear as an expert witness before the Australian Tribunal of Aborigines in the Native Title Act proceeding and to hear his complaints about cross-references provided for Isaiah 46:11. The New World Bible Translation Committee is no longer in existence.
This is the fourth action filed by plaintiff against defendant. The first action was filed by plaintiff on March 12, 2012, alleging breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, and fraud against defendant, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (WTBTSPA) (which owns the copyright to the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures), the New World Bible Translation Committee, and Don Adams (who was then the president of WTBTSPA) (Thomson v New World Bible Translation Comm., Sup Ct, Kings County, index No. 5656/12) (the first action). Plaintiff's fraud claim in the first action alleged that there was fraud based on the fact that the back page of each copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures contained the text, followed by addresses for offices in more than 100 countries. Plaintiff claimed that when he wrote seeking information about the process of translating the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, he was not given the information sought by him.
By a decision and order dated April 3, 2013, the court dismissed the first action based upon the ground that plaintiff's complaint failed to state any viable cause of action. The court, in dismissing plaintiff's fraud claim in the first action, determined that there was no material fact that plaintiff justifiably relied upon and that plaintiff did not sustain any damages. On April 25, 2013, plaintiff filed a notice of appeal with respect to the April 3, 2013 order but did not perfect his appeal in a timely manner.
Plaintiff filed a second action against defendant, the New World Bible Translation Committee, and Don Adams, for breach of contract and fraud on October 18, 2013 (Thomson v New World Bible Translation Comm., Sup Ct, Kings County, index No. 18571/13) (the second action). The second action stemmed from the same purported offer on the back page of each copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures inviting readers to contact their local branch office if they wanted additional information, and the failure by defendant, the New World Bible Translation Committee, and Don Adams to provide him with information about the process of translating the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. By an order dated March 6, 2014, the court granted a motion by defendant, the New World Bible Translation Committee, and Don Adams to dismiss plaintiff's complaint against them in the second action based upon the grounds that it failed to state a cause of action upon which relief could be granted and that the same legal issues were already fully adjudicated between the parties and determined in the first action. The dismissal of the second action was affirmed by the Appellate Division, Second Department (Thomson v New World Bible Translation Comm., 127 A.D.3d 731 [2d Dept 2015], lv denied 26 N.Y.3d 902 [2015]).
Plaintiff's third action was filed by him on December 11, 2017 (Thomson v Watchtower Bible & Tract Socy. of N.Y., Inc., Sup Ct, Kings County, index No. 523758/17) (the third action). It alleged a sole cause of action for fraud as against defendant on the basis that the 1984 revision of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures removed the signed name of the New World Bible Translation Committee from the foreword of its online version, and that the New World Bible Translation Committee's name was made to reappear on the foreword to the 2013 revision of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Plaintiff claimed that defendant's online publication of the 1984 version of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures failed to specify that the New World Bible Translation Committee was responsible for the translated text.
Plaintiff requested an order directing defendant to restore the signed the New World Bible Translation Committee name to the foreword of its 1984 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures online. Plaintiff also requested an order requiring defendant to rename the committee that worked on the 2013 revision of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures to clarify that it is not the same translation committee that was responsible for the 1984 edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. In addition, plaintiff sought damages because an article that he submitted to the Journal of Law, Religion and State was not published for the alleged reason that defendant's website did not refer to the New World Bible Translation Committee's work in the electronic version of the 1984 edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
By a decision and order dated February 7, 2019, the court dismissed plaintiff's amended complaint in the third action (Thomson v Watchtower Bible & Tract Socy. of N.Y., Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 33317[U] [Sup Ct, Kings County 2018]). The court found that there was no allegation that the parties were in a fiduciary relationship or that there otherwise existed a duty to disclose, and there was no allegation that reliance on the alleged misrepresentation was justifiable under the circumstances or that defendant's conduct resulted in damages. That decision and order was affirmed by the Appellate Division, Second Department on October 27, 2021 (Thomson v Watchtower Bible & Tract Socy. of N.Y., Inc., 198 A.D.3d 996 [2d Dept 2021]).
On September 15, 2021, plaintiff filed the instant action against defendant (NYSCEF Doc No. 1). Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on September 21, 2021 (NYSCEF Doc No. 3).
On October 5, 2021, defendant moved, under motion sequence number one, to dismiss plaintiff's amended complaint (NYSCEF Doc No. 4). On May 5, 2022, defendant, by an amended notice of motion, moved to supplement the record in connection with its motion to dismiss to include the supplemental affirmation of its attorney (NYSCEF Doc No. 64).
On May 8, 2022, plain...
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