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"Lost Boys" Go from Pariahs to Property Owners

Warren Jeffs

The plaintiffs in two lawsuits against a polygamous Mormon church could have won millions of dollars in default judgments. But the settlement of the litigation shows they were not motivated by money.

The Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints never defended the suits and its “prophet,” Warren Jeffs, went into hiding after they were filed in August 2004. One of the cases alleged he sexually abused a nephew, the other that he excommunicated six youths known as the Lost Boys to reduce competition for wives.

The plaintiffs could have taken default judgments against the United Effort Plan Trust, which holds all FLDS assets including the homes of church members in the neighboring towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.

But Brent Jeffs and the Lost Boys said they were primarily concerned with "protecting their loved ones and others who have an interest in the UEP Trust from religious coercion by preserving and protecting their interests in their homes and property."

To that end, they deferred default proceedings and worked out a settlement agreement with the special fiduciary who was appointed by a Utah judge to replace Warren Jeffs and the other trustees.

Under the settlement announced last week, the trust will transfer ownership of 21 acres of land in Hildale to the plaintiffs and donate $250,000 to establish the Lost Boys Assistance and Educational Fund for those “who have been displaced from their communities and/or families.”

“Although the Trust denies any liability ... the Trust recognizes and acknowledges that Plaintiffs unilaterally opted not to take default judgments against the Trust and have worked to reform the Trust and arrange for benefits to be distributed to Trust participants, regardless of religious affiliation,” the agreement says.

The plaintiffs have now gone from pariahs to property owners. And they should also take satisfaction from the fact that their suits cost Warren Jeffs his control of the trust, the key instrument of his power.

The settlement does not cover claims against Jeffs himself and the FLDS church. "The trust has benefited from the intervention of the Lost Boys," the special fiduciary, Bruce R. Wisan, told the Salt Lake City Tribune. "The courts would never have had the opportunity to intervene if the Lost Boys hadn't filed that lawsuit."

Jeffs, who essentially exposed his followers to what could have been disastrous default judgments, is now awaiting trial in St. George, Utah, on child abuse charges.

Polygamous Church Lawsuits

By Matthew Heller
4/13/07