"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is." Sir Winston Churchill
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At the end of this chapter of the Ergun Caner Evangelical Crisis, the truth is finally exposed.
Yesterday the Honorable Judge Norman K. Moon of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down a scathing indictment of Ergun Caner and his frivolous and harassing lawsuit of Jon Autry, demanding that Ergun Caner pay the entire $34,389.59 of Jon Autry's legal expenses.
Not only did the judge rule that this lawsuit never should have been filed, but he pointed out contradictions of Caner's own testimony, the bad faith with which Caner negotiated after filing the suit, and the abuse of our legal system perpetuated by Caner under the guise of copyright protection claims. If one bothers to read Judge Moon's entire ruling - which is below - you will get a complete glimpse of the dirty rotten scoundrel known as Ergun Mehmet Caner. Caner has played the SBC pew sitters as a bunch of fools for a decade, but Caner couldn't fool Judge Moon.
The truth of Ergun Caner is not just now on the blog sites of a few recalcitrants or Calvinists or bloggers - it is now filed by Judge Moon with Case 6:14-cv-00004.
The truth is incontrovertible.
Peter Lumpkins and Ergun Caner and Tim Rogers and Norman Geisler have attacked the truth, and derided it and denied it, but in the end, as Sir Winston Churchill said, the truth is there. And Judge Norman K. Moon's ruling serves to forever document the truth of Ergun Caner and his frivolous lawsuit, his abuse of our legal system, and his terrible harassment of Jon Autry and his family.
Some quotes of Judge Moon describing Caner in his ruling yesterday:
"..acted with improper motive..." (page 7)
"those like Caner should be deterred from exploiting the court system for their own purposes." (page 8)
"....cared more about...harassing his critics than protected his alleged copyrights." (page 9)
"On factual issues, he [Caner]...cast unsupported assertions or asserted boldface contradictions..." (page 12)
"[Caner] filed a copyright infringement suit to stifle criticism..." (page 15)I wonder if Bucky Kennedy and the Brewton Parker trustees view this recent ruling by Judge Moon as another of the "pagan attacks" that serves to confirm their selection of Ergun Caner. I am sure that it does.
One can only hope that Georgia Baptists will come to their senses and take immediate action to save Brewton Parker from Ergun Caner and Peter Lumpkins.
Here is the entire ruling of Judge Moon:
47 comments:
If you are not familiar with the legal world, you probably don't appreciate just what a smack-down Judge Moon delivered with this opinion. In the legal world "frivolous" is not a word that is tossed around lightly, especially by judges. The judge could have easily awarded the fees with a brief opinion which simply said in essence, "I find that defendant is entitled to fees." But he obviously felt it necessary to expose the egregious conduct of Caner and his counsel David Gibbs and deter others from following the same course. Federal judges are very busy and for the judge to allocate this amount of time to this opinion says something.
If I can offer a New Living Translation of the Judge's opinion: Caner is a bully and a liar.
That was, indeed, a "smack-down."
I wonder now if the fees will be paid, or if the Court will be forced to somehow compel payment.
Is there any kind of fallout that goes to Caner's attorney for pursuing this frivolous case in such a way? The Court is clearly perturbed with the whole thing.
Wow is all I can say. Anon 9:55 is totally correct. In my 30 years as a paralegal I have read many decisions and this is one of the most powerful. It is my prayer that Caner will learn from this however I will not hold my breath. People like him and even Steve Flockart are great motivational speakers that have found a more lucrative way of making money.
This judge not only dressed down Caner, he spanked him. But I suspect his defenders will say this judge is liberal, appointed by Clinton so he must be bad, etc. They can say whatever they want but Caner must now fork over some serious cash. Justice can be sweet at times.
Dog,
Caner will not pay a dime.
When you consider that EC could have gotten what the claimed to have wanted from Mr. Autry (videos taken down and no criticism) simply by agreeing to drop the suit--well, this is especially appropriate.
When you add the (apparent accurate) statement by Mr. Autry that this would likely bankrupt him and EC still did not drop the suit--well, it is even more appropriate.
I still wonder if Mr. Gibbs did not advise EC to quit while he was ahead and EC chose not to take the advice.
Can Ergun appeal this decision?
Wonder which churches collection plates will be chosen to pay his fees from all his Ga Baptist Mafia Buddies?
GA Baptist are so blinded and have the best propagandist
We live near Brewton-Parker College, but we are NOT from this area - THANK GOD.
As I've said before, this is a corrupt.....a very corrupt area of Georgia. To understand why the trustees and local pastors still support Caner, you must understand the degree of corruption in this particular area.
Drug trafficking has greatly increased. Highway 280 that runs in front of BPC is a known route for drug dealers. To understand the ignorance and downright stupidity down here, you must understand the ungodly spirits that rule and reign over this place. And why do the locals stay quiet? Because the drug dealer is usually someone else's cousin, so they turn their heads and pretend it isn't happening.
Of course, there is always the much-loved Aunt Bessie Jane on every corner who attends the local church and makes a pot of dumplings for the church homecoming, but her type is quickly and sadly fading away.
Aunt Bessie Jane is being replaced by another drug dealer or unethical bank employee. Uncle Billy Jack is being replaced by thugs and uneducated bums who steal copper wiring from empty houses.
This is the land of slavery. People owned other people years ago. Slavery may be a thing of the past, but the sharecropper mentality is still alive and well. Do you think that you're going to experience a pot full of integrity, brilliance and kindness in an area like this?
Look at how the landed gentry treats his farm workers:
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-06-24/vidalia-onion-farmer-settles-suit-filed-workers
Need more proof about the Montgomery County and Toombs County area?
Again, Google Aubrey Lee Price and Montgomery Bank & Trust.
http://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2014/aubrey-lee-price-former-bank-director-who-faked-his-own-death-pleads-guilty-to-bank-wire-and-securities-fraud
Why don't you read about a former BPC trustee and state senator.....AND adjunct Political Science Professor from BPC?
http://atlantaunfiltered.com/2009/09/30/ex-rep-roger-byrd-20-years-probation-210k-restitution/
I posted the following on the City-Data forum. Just look at some of the rude and ignorant responses. People live in 24/7 denial and refuse all manner of spiritual discernment.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/2137332-south-georgia-breaking-bad.html
To understand why the pastors and trustees are OKAY with Ergun Caner is to understand WHAT GOES ON in Montgomery and Toombs counties, to include a 50-mile radius of this specific area.
Given the judge's ruling contains language that basically calls Caner a liar and a bully -- literally!!! -- I do not think any attorney worth his salt will file an appeal. And if Caner were to file, that would result in additional award of fees to Autry to defend the appeal.
Collecting on attorney fee awards is difficult, but the attorney can file liens on any property or account owned by Caner. And transferring the property to avoid the lien is generally insufficient, depending on the timeing.
There are not many judicial rulings in civil cases that clearly state that a party lied, not only in court, but in his life before the suit was filed.
Debbie yes he can appeal but his grounds are extremely limited. He cannot attempt to bring in new evidence, etc. His appeal would be with regards to any "legal errors" that he claims may have occurred. Simply because he disagrees is not grounds for appeal. The judge laid in great detail why he was ruling the way he did and backed it up with the law. Caner can appeal but somewhere he is going to run out of attorneys who are not getting paid. That well may already be dry.
As was stated earlier this Judge was very reflective. I don't remember seeing a decision explained in such detail as this one was. If Caner appeals he will lose again and incur even more attorney fees and costs.
Justice can be sweet.
Watchdog,
Will HTML code work to provide live links to an article? Is so, I'll try to provide live links.
Thanks.
Wow, if some of you obsessed over the life of Jesus as much as you do Caner you could walk on water.
anonymous 3:14: It's my obsession with Christ that turns into an obsession to clean up the SBC of con-artists and liars among other riff raff that is corrupt. I am also obsessed with waking up people such as yourself to stop trying to defend Ergun. It's not helping him as can be seen by his crazy behavior which the judge as laid out and we have all seen for years.
Will the trustees who blindly elected him also help him find the means to pay the defendant, if only to salve over the hurt their collective denial of the facts has caused and will continue to for some time? IOW, they now know deep-down they've made a huge mistake, but they will never admit to this publicly -- only begrudgingly to the silence of their minds. And for Caner not to pay the defendant at this point would be the unethical capstone to the whole truth-evading matter!
12:04 I bet EC pays, or winds up in jail for contempt.
2:12 I assume it's okay for a so-called SBC academic and administrator to just act like a con-man....
If EC was an actual man, he'd resign and get an actual job. But he's not. He is an embarrassment to the denomination, Christianity....
"Wow, if some of you obsessed over the life of Jesus as much as you do Caner you could walk on water."
Wow, if some of you (TROLLS) weren't so obsessed with defending behavior that Jesus condemns, the world wouldn't be so disgusted with the church.
Was Jesus obsessed when he consistently condemned the church leaders of his day?
Where is your scriptural precedent of ignoring sin in ministry?
You know, when I think about the whole Ergun Caner situation, when I think about just how simple it would have been for Ergun to get this whole monkey off his back by just coming clean, it really is sad that someone could be so prideful as to continue such arrogant refusal to do so. I don't think there's anyone out there who thinks Ergun is unfit for ministry because he fabricated a testimony. That's not why he has drawn criticism. If he'd just publicly come clean back in 2010 when all of this broke, then I truly believe it would have for the most part been forgotten soon thereafter. It is his refusal to publicly repent and his arrogant and defiant words and actions which have caused people to call his character and motivations into question, and rightfully so in my opinion.
Erguns actions demonstrate his unbelief. He is not truly a believer but a bad moralist
We need to pray for the salvation if his soul.
Bill.
Romans 5:1
It is not too late now.
If EC were to come clean and then just find a small college to try and teach at in the SBC world and do the best he can as an teacher, but you know he can't.
His ego, his overhead, but mostly his ego is now his god.
The sad part is, he doesn't nor do his followers understand.
I wonder if EC has become a god to some people?
Mr. EC, stop it. Resign from BPC. Allow an actual administrator come in and try and save the college. Go and find yourself a job. Downsize your life. Sell your home if your can't afford it. Get out of the limelight. Humble yourself and pray.
I've been following a case of Judge Moon's for a couple of years where the person is a litigious lying crazy woman who constantly lies....and Moon is far more gracious in his wording of his opinions of her than he is of Caner. He certainly sounds ticked off! Maybe the transcripts of the testimony of Caner will be available one of these days.
Caner is so egotistical and arrogant, that I would be that it will take the court to "compel" Caner to pay.
He is so defiant and arrogant and thinks he is above law/rebuke and I wonder if he would actually sit in jail over pay? Of course he may continue to just lie and claim he is broke to try and get out of it.
I wonder what his wife thinks of all this , or even if she knows?
This situation is really sad and I hope that we all have Caner on our daily prayer list. I ask that everyone pray that God works in this mans life and that he will heed the call and make the changes God needs/wants him to make.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, SACSCOC posted the Brewton Parker Disclosure Statement to include a statement from BPC.
http://tinyurl.com/puok4nk
Not sure the link will work with my previous note to you RE: SACS's BPC Disclosure Statement and the BPC response. This one should.
http://www.sacscoc.org/june2014actionsanddisclosurestatements.asp
Debbie,
Ergun let the deadline to appeal on substance pass. Now he can only appeal on the fees. Judge Moon's ruling is extremely tight and my brother asked for the going rate in 2007 to avoid challenges. There are two reasons to appeal. Tying it up in the appeals court would buy him a 1/2 year to a year to come up with the money. Also, it would give him more time to try to settle for a smaller amount.
PS - I am not that smart, I just have a lawyer for a brother.
But if he appeals, and does not have good grounds to do so, the appellate court will award additional fees!!!!
Moses Model,
It would also earn him another judicial smack-down from the appellate court who would likely also award attorney fees to you for the cost of having to defend a frivolous appeal. If Ergun does decide to appeal I predict it will be pro se. I don't think attorney Gibbs would file the appeal for him. I imagine he's through with Caner and rues the day he ever met him.
There is a good article on this in the Associated Baptist Press.
Looks like a pure case of free speech.
Moses Model:
Congratulations on a well-deserved win. If he appeals the fee judgment and loses on appeal (which seems likely since the judge has wide discretion), wouldn't your brother be entitled to appellate fees as well? You have the upper hand on appeal as well - not much incentive for you to settle, except to make the whole ordeal end.
@Moses Model said: "PS - I am not that smart, I just have a lawyer for a brother."
Nonsense! You *are* that smart, and your brother is one fine lawyer. (And to be honest, EC makes one fine plaintiff, bless his heart.)
I'm not a lawyer, but over the years I've spent a fair amount of time working with lawyers on First Amendment and civil rights issues, so I've had occasion to read a goodly number of decisions.
I am positive I could hear the judge alternatively laughing and growling at EC as he wrote his decision. It was wonderfully entertaining to read, and I congratulate you, Mr. Autry, for the work you did in unmasking EC and sticking with the matter all the way through to the District Court decision. It's always a pleasure when the good guy wins, but it's a special sort of victory when a bully gets served a defeat seasoned with well deserved, carefully worded disdain.
There is a good article on this in the Associated Baptist Press.
And I'm just speculating here, but there's probably not been a peep about it in the Baptist Press. Anyone know?
Wow, if some of you (TROLLS) weren't so obsessed with defending behavior that Jesus condemns, the world wouldn't be so disgusted with the church.
Where is your scriptural precedent of ignoring sin in ministry?
read Galatians 6:1
I posted earlier " Wow, if some of you obsessed over the life of..."
I never actually defended Caner but made a statement and got attacked for it even called troll.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Heavy-you are correct, AFTER they have repented
"I never actually defended Caner but made a statement and got attacked for it even called troll."
Sure you did - by attacking those who are following Christian principles. The notion that it is wrong to deal with sin (in a Biblical way) comes from the culture - not the Bible.
Your "statement" is also logically flawed. Implying that you can't both hold a Christian leader accountable and love and follow Christ at the same time.
I read Galatians 6:1 and did not see where it states we should ignore sin in the lives of believers.
Try again.
You can not "restore" someone AFTER they repent and btw you are not Jesus and EC goes NOT have to repent to you. It also says GENTLY!! there is nothing gentle about cyberstalking a man trying to point out any flaws you can find. If Jesus would have done this to the Pharisees he would not have had time to do anything else.
Some of you really need to ask yourself why you are so angry all of the time. Sad so sad. Jesus loves. Why don"t you try to love and let God condemn?
"You can not "restore" someone AFTER they repent and btw you are not Jesus and EC goes NOT have to repent to you."
Burn that straw man!
"It also says GENTLY!! there is nothing gentle about cyberstalking a man trying to point out any flaws you can find."
You would be the expert on that subject. Your critiques are indeed gentle and kind.
"If Jesus would have done this to the Pharisees he would not have had time to do anything else."
Not sure it would have been possible for Jesus to cyberstalk the Pharisees. Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet yet. But Jesus was very critical of the Pharisees and rebuked them often. Yet he still had time to fulfill the Father's will. How was that possible?
The Streisand Effect is kicking in: Ken White at Popehat has written an article about Caner's defeat.
For those of you unfamiliar with Popehat, it's a very popular law blog with a heavy focus on free speech and censorship issues.
"Some of you really need to ask yourself why you are so angry all of the time."
Now here we go again with the judging of motivations. Shame.
"Sad so sad. Jesus loves. Why don"t you try to love and let God condemn?"
Perhaps you should take your own advice and not condemn those commenting on this blog.
Still waiting for a verse that teaches us to ignore sin in the assembly.
"Some of you really need to ask yourself why you are so angry all of the time."
Marines are lied to. SBC officials are fine with preschoolers signing NDAs. Why are you not angry?
"Sad so sad. Jesus loves. Why don"t you try to love and let God condemn?"
Because it does not work. I waited for God to condemn. Ergun kept lying. I decided to tell people, still waiting on God to condemn. Ergun unlawfully sued me. I waited for God to condemn. I contacted Ergun and offered to never criticize him for the rest of my life. I waited for God to condemn. Ergun served me anyway. While God had not condemned, two law firms that my brother worked for took pity on me and let my brother represent me pro bono. Ergun lied and lied about me and about him. I waited for God to condemn. The judge condemned Ergun twice. So far, I am still waiting on God. If God wants to condemn, nothing is stopping Him.
Moses Model,
Caner still owns a house in Lynchburg (big one sold but a smaller one left) in case he doesn't list it as an asset.
The Streisand Effect is kicking in: Ken White at Popehat has written an article about Caner's defeat.
That was epic. The latest chapter in the tale of Ergun Caner describes this "effect" to a tee:
Caner has failed utterly, has been exposed for his censoriousness, and has had his dishonestly much more thoroughly documented and widely publicized than it would have been if he had not been such a vindictive jackass.
Baptist Press has not had one line about Caner's being proved a liar. They did have a little item about the college.
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