Duggar Sisters Getting Large Lawsuit Windfall after Mortifying Leak?
Counting On sisters Jill Duggar Dillard and Jessa Duggar Seewald may soon get a large financial windfall. Their lawsuit looks like it will be an out-of-court settlement.
If this happens, it keeps them from sitting in a courtroom telling their story. This is something both ladies wouldn’t mind avoiding.
Counting On: Have Jill Duggar Dillard & Jessa Duggar Seewald Been Through Enough?
It looks as if Jessa and Jill Duggar decided not to add more to their injury. Reports put them ready for talks to settle the lawsuit.
It started in 2006 when the Duggar’s appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show was cancelled because of rumors of Josh Duggar molesting his siblings. Allegations circulated for years, but nothing was corroborated until a 2015 report by In Touch Weekly.
The magazine had received copies of police reports that indicated Josh confessed to the allegations.
Although the reports were obtained with a Freedom of Information Act request, the victims were minors. Therefore, the records were supposed to be sealed and not released to the press. In other words, it was illegal to release the reports.
The leaked reports included personal information about the Counting On sisters. This made the information about Jessa and sister Jill Duggar public.
Arkansas State Senator Bart Hester reported that “the law to protect minors’ identities is not a suggestion”. Hester said that Springdale Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley re-victimized the girls and called for his firing
There May Be No Trial – Duggar Sisters in Settlement Talks After Lawsuit Filed
The four Counting On sisters (Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth and Jinger Duggar Vuolo included) filed suit against both In Touch Weekly and the City of Springdale Police Department. In 2017 the lawsuit against In Touch was dismissed as the magazine didn’t break any laws and was factual in their reporting.
Josh Duggar has filed his own suits as he was also a minor. But, his cases were dismissed.
So, a federal trial is scheduled for April 2022 against Springdale Police Department. The trial has been delayed due to Josh Duggar’s other legal problems.
The basis of the lawsuit is that the release of the police reports invaded the privacy of the sisters. All the girls were minors at the time.
Now, according to The Sun, the Duggar sisters are in settlement talks. Legal experts say that the settlement will probably be very large.
Fading Away in Public for Jessa & Jill
So, now it looks as if Jessa Duggar Seewald and her sister Jill Duggar Dillard may avoid a courtroom trial. A trial could only open old wounds and perpetuate Josh Duggar’s scandal in the news. Fans wish both Jessa and her sibling Jill the best in this endeavor.
Still, Jessa Duggar as well as Jill Duggar intended to follow this through into a courtroom. But it may fare better for them if they settle out of court.
Wow am I ever out of the loop. I hadn't realized this Josh Duggar molested four of his sisters and the worst part is he was once the Executive Director of the "conservative" Family Research Council. Talk about putting a Fox in the hen house huh?
— Richard Caslon (@CaslonRichard) December 10, 2021
Up until Josh Duggar’s scandal, the family made up a popular TV series, 19 Kids and Counting. But when the Duggar son faced the horrendous allegations, things changed. The network canceled 19 Kids and Counting.
Counting On, a spinoff of the old show, featured the Duggar kids starting their own families. But that too played out and saw the chopping block after several seasons. Still, the Duggar family remains popular and people follow them on social media.
Counting On Family Feels Residual Effects:
Fans of the Duggar family remember how awful this was for the family. Fingers pointed at the parents. Even the sisters involved became targets of mortifying comments online. But after the original show was canceled they came back strong with Counting On.
Then there’s Josh’s wife, Anna Duggar, who stood by her husband and still does.
She was there for him when the accusations emerged and also when he faced other legal challenges.
In unrelated charges, Josh Duggar was convicted by a jury on December 9th, 2021 or possessing child pornography. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Anna Duggar said they worked to save their marriage through these hard times.
Josh does have some family supporting him while he’s in prison. But not everyone does. Some of his siblings can’t see their way through this to forgive him, according to reports.
The siblings who do and do not support him aren’t named. But his parents, Michelle Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar try to stay strong. They also pray for Josh, his wife, and their grandchildren.
Josh has reached out to some family members from prison. But that does not include the four Duggar sisters who filed these lawsuits.
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