Josh Duggar’s claims that he has suffered “emotional distress” over the release of documents detailing how he infamously molested his sisters as a teen have fallen on deaf ears yet again!
The disgraced former 19 Kids and Counting star saw the privacy lawsuit he filed against the City of Springdale, Arkansas, as well as the state’s Washington County, dismissed (again!) by a judge last week, according to Radar Online. Josh filed the suit earlier this year, claiming that his privacy was breached when authorities “illegally” released documents alleging he sexually molested his sisters.
As The Ashley previously reported, Josh charged that the City and County violated Arkansas law when they released the documents to In Touch Weekly in 2015. In the suit, Josh claimed the incident caused him “shocking degradation and egregious humiliation.”
In his lawsuit, Josh also stated that, because of the release of the documents, he suffered “severe emotional distress, mental anguish and substantial loss of income.”
(The “loss of income” is undeniable, as Joshy is not allowed to appear on his family’s TV show, Counting On. Before the scandal, he was collecting money for doing speaking engagements and was the executive director of the Family Research Council. He immediately resigned from the FRC after the scandal went public.)
The judge in the case, however, did not agree. Radar reports that the judge threw the case out of court on November 30, one month after the City of Springdale filed the motion to dismiss the case and called Josh’s claims “absurd.”
After the city filed the motion, Josh was supposed to file a response, but he failed to do so, causing the judge to dismiss the case altogether.
“The time afforded by the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure for the Plaintiff to respond has passed and Plaintiff has made no responsive filing,” the court documents stated. “In therefore, considered, ordered and adjudged, that this matter shall be dismissed with prejudice as to the re-filing of any claim, counterclaim, or filed herein.”
This is not the first time the Duggars have tried to sue in regard to the release of the sex abuse scandal documents. In May of 2017, the four Duggar daughters who were outed as Josh’s victims– Jessa Seewald, Jill Dillard, Jinger Vuolo and Joy-Anna Forsyth– filed a lawsuit of a similar nature against In Touch Weekly’s parent company, Bauer Publishing. (Josh sued the publisher in his own lawsuit a month later.) The Duggar girls and Josh also sued the City of Springdale, Washington County and various officials from the city.
In October 2017, both the Duggar girls’ lawsuit and Josh’s lawsuit were dismissed. Josh then re-sued the City of Springdale and Washington County.
Josh has kept a (mostly) low profile since the molestation scandal broke in 2015. He is still married to his wife, Anna, and is the father of five children. While Anna and the couple’s kids have been featured on ‘Counting On,’ Josh has never appeared on the show. He has occasionally popped up on the family’s social media accounts and in various Duggar-made videos, though.
Josh has never spoken on-camera about the scandal.
(Photos: TLC, Instagram)
13 Responses
The saddest part #6, #7, etc. kids will follow because she will never leave him. But it’s not like she had nowhere to go. Her brother Daniel gave her support if she left him, her sisters Suze and Rebekah would have prob helped her too since all of them are divorced or have a child out of wedlock. But she is prob afraid which fundie guy would love her with four, now five kids.
If his sisters wanted to sue the person who truly hurt them, they should have sued him. I don’t know how his wife has managed to stick with him through everything. He is a horrible person!
Brainwashed. They are all brainwashed into forgiving him. Not to mention victim blaming is real in the circles so they prob made his sisters feel bad.
If any of his sister’s wanted to really make bank, they would have spoken up against him and the abuse. Unfortunately, they have all forgiven him or think that it is not worth speaking up about as they don’t want to be disowned from the family. Jill would rather try to pass along gross recipes, Joy-Anna do all the intensive household labor, Jinger wear pants and shoot guns, and Jessa’s birthing advice. All of the victims are married with children and are probably trying to focus on that.
Boo hoo
Wow a pedophile attempted to sue for emotional distress because documented revealed what he did to his sisters how disgusting
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Couldn’t happen to a better guy
PIG!!!
He should have been required to register as a sex offender. Instead of trying to file frivolous lawsuits, he should be thankful that he is not registered and up until the release of this document had collected massive paychecks for TV and speaking appearances. His reaction shows just how out of touch with reality this man is, how poorly his parents raised him to be accountable. It is frightening to think of those children in his home.
I don’t know how his wife stays married to him and comfortably has her children around him. I just can’t imagine that… I feel bad for his sisters and this guys own children. Everyone will always know he molested his own sisters and I couldn’t picture growing up and knowing my dad did that.
And she has to sleep with that pig, how gross.
And has had more kids with him after this came out!!! I mean seriously, Anna, I will take you in.