(Kaiwind.com)Former child bride accepts $2.75M settlement with FLDS trust,the sltrib reported.
Former teen bride Elissa Wall has reached a $2.75 million settlement agreement with the Fundamentalist LDS Church and the United Effort Plan Trust, the trust that oversees homes and other real estate in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
About nine years ago, the multimillion-dollar personal injury lawsuit filed by Elissa Wall under the pseudonym "M.J." originally sought $40 million from the FLDS Church and its leader, Warren Jeffs. Elissa will receive a mix of cash and property.
"a resolution was‘long overdue’Ms. Wall brought this case to hold responsible those in power who used their position to perpetrate abuse. She has experienced first-hand how the UEP Trust was used by Warren Jeffs to hurt families like hers and others. Ms. Wall has been willing to stand up, be brave, and fight for change within the FLDS communities," Wall's attorneys said in a statement.
Wall was married at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin in a ceremony that was presided over by Jeffs. However, the settlement for Wall was far less than the $40 million she earlier sought.
On March 23, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the UEP — now a charitable trust under management independent from the FLDS — could be held liable for Jeffs' role in forcing Wall to marry. The justices then sent the case back to Salt Lake County's 3rd District Court, where the settlement occurred.
Wall's attorneys have argued that Jeffs, as trustee over the UEP, forced Wall to enter into the arranged marriage with her now ex-husband, Allen Steed,in order to stay in her UEP-owned home.
Attorneys for the UEP unsuccessfully countered that ordering a marriage to an underage girl is so far outside the bounds of Jeffs' duties as trustee that the trust cannot be liable.
Wall was the state's star witness in 2007 when Jeffs was found guilty of rape as an accomplice. The conviction was later overturned on a technicality by the Utah Supreme Court.
In 2011, a Texas jury convicted Jeffs, now 59, of sex assault charges related to his taking underage girls as brides. He is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years.
Wall's statement Friday acknowledged that the UEP that was used to pressure her in 2001 is not the same entity that exists today.
"Ms. Wall is now looking forward to working with the new board of trustees and is committed to helping them build up the community she cares deeply about and the people she loves. The board of trustees and Ms. Wall want a community that is focused on families, friendships and growth — rather than divisive feelings, tall fences and secrecy," the statement reads.
Jeff Barlow, the UEP's executive directorBarlow said."They understand Elissa better."
