LSM tries to Exterminate SCP

Prelude to Extinction

SCP's debts and expenditures mounted as the time of trial approached. The trial, set to begin on March 4, 1985, was expected to last up to sixty court days, a three-month period. Because the evidence in this case is so complex, the testimony that establishes it is far-flung and expensive to as-semble. The trial alone was expected to cost SCP up to $200,000, including legal fees, witness fees, travel expenses, court transcript fees, and additional administrative costs.

Beyond that lay the real possibility that the Local Church would appeal a defeat, thus setting off a new round of legal maneuver and expense. Even in the short range, the lawsuit was making financial demands which simply could not be met. SCP's existence was threatened.

At this point we were required to attend a mandatory settlement conference with the Local Church. We spent an entire day, surrounded by attorneys, negotiating with Witness Lee and Local Church leaders to see if a mutually agreeable settlement could be reached.

During the conference, the Local Church handed SCP a strongly worded statement that they wanted us to sign as a condition to end the suit against us. In effect they were asking SCP to give them an unqualified endorsement.

We knew that the plaintiffs' demand was unacceptable. We knew we could not sign their statement.

We also knew that our convictions might be costly, and that standing by them might mean the end of SCP. But expressing our convictions is central to SCP's existence and an integral part of our calling.

SCP was a few days from the start of a long, expensive trial, and we had to make a decision. With $84,000 in legal bills and no money to pay them, we were clearly insolvent. The lawfirm representing us withdrew from the case. We were unable to settle with our opponents. Without money or an attorney, we were unable to proceed to trial. What other options were available?

After much prayer and wise counsel from others, SCP decided to seek protection under Chapter Eleven of the Federal Bankruptcy Act. A Chapter Eleven bankruptcy is called a "reorganizational" bankruptcy because its purpose is to permit a business experiencing financial difficulty to reorganize its financial affairs without interrupting its operations.

On March 4, the day the trial was to begin, SCP filed a Chapter Eleven petition in the U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland, California. That move imposed an immediate stay on the plaintiffs' action against us, thus ending the financial drain of litigation. On that day, SCP, while continuing its larger ministry, officially dropped out of the lawsuit. Four and a half long years of libel litigation had ended for us.

In this way, SCP preserved its existence without making the unconscionable concessions and endorsements that the Local Church demanded.

Edmt