Federal court finds Jeffs in default in Fischer lawsuit
 
The Eldorado Success
myeldorado.net
Workers were painting an ornamental cupola Monday atop the temple building at the YFZ Ranch

Workers were painting an ornamental cupola Monday atop the temple building at the YFZ Ranch where FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs is relocating part of his flock from the Utah/Arizona border region.

Warren Jeffs, the leader of a polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was found to be in default last Friday in a federal civil lawsuit that accused him of blacklisting a former church member.

The news came when the clerk of the court entered a certificate of default against Jeffs, indicating that he has failed to respond to a summons to appear. The ruling means Jeffs has forfeited the right to defend himself and could be held liable for damages in the case.

Shem Fischer, who was once employed by a cabinet company in Hildale, UT, alleges in the lawsuit that he was wrongfully terminated from his job because he no longer adhered to the town’s dominate FLDS faith.

Fischer’s attorneys were unable to locate Jeffs to serve him with the lawsuit, so they published notices earlier this year in three newspapers in areas where the FLDS Church owns or controls property — the Spectrum in St. George, UT, the Cortez Journal in Colorado and here in the Eldorado Success.

The certificate of default was issued because Jeffs failed to respond within 20 days of the publications.

Fischer, who worked as a salesman for the Forestwood Co., alleged in the lawsuit that church officials interfered with his relationship with his employer and blacklisted him.

Almost all of the 10,000 residents in Hildale and adjoining Colorado City, AZ., belong to the FLDS Church, which teaches and preaches the practice of polygamy.

The lawsuit further alleges that Fischer was forced out of his job when he protested the firing of a fellow employee based on the co-worker’s lack of belief in FLDS doctrine and because Fischer himself rejected certain tenets of the religion.

Fischer claims that Jeffs and other FLDS leaders ordered the firings and directed church followers not to associate non-believers.

A blacklist then stopped him from finding another job, Fischer claims

The certificate of default against Jeffs mans that Fischer can now request a hearing or submit an affidavit to argue the amount of monetary damages due him. Jeffs still has the legal right to dispute the amount but can no longer defend himself against the allegations in the suit.

A similar certificate of default was issued late last year against the church’s governing bodies: the Corporation of the President of the FLDS Church and the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the FLDS Church. Forestwood still is contesting the suit.

Jeffs and the FLDS Church also are named as defendants in two lawsuits in Utah State Court. One was filed in July 2004 by Brent Jeffs accusing three of his uncles, including Warren Jeffs, of sexually assaulting him when he was a child.

A month later, a group of young men who call themselves the Lost Boys sued saying that they had been banished from the community. Brent Jeffs also has attempted to serve Warren Jeffs with the lawsuit through publication. The plaintiffs in both state lawsuits have requested default judgments.

The Eldorado Success invites Warren Jeffs and/or other leaders of the FLDS church to comment on this or any other story surrounding the FLDS and the YFZ Ranch.
 
myeldorado.net
Originally published March 17, 2005
 
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