After nearly three years in the civil-court system, disagreements between Focus on the Family and the ministry’s former senior vice-president Gilbert Alexander-Moegerle will once again be the subject of private reconciliation efforts. Last month, Alexander-Moegerle’s lawsuit against the ministry came to an end when Pomona, California, Superior Court Judge Theodore Piatt granted the Focus motion for nonsuit, and Alexander-Moegerle instructed his attorney not to oppose the motion.
For two weeks prior to the dismissal, Alexander-Moegerle had presented to the jury his allegations that Focus and its founder and president, James Dobson, had invaded his privacy, interfered with his business opportunities, and inflicted emotional distress upon him and his family. Included in the plaintiff’s case was testimony by Alexander-Moegerle; his wife, Carolyn; and Dobson.
Before presenting its defense, Focus requested the motion for nonsuit, arguing the plaintiff had not presented enough evidence to substantiate the allegations. When Alexander-Moegerle’s attorney did not offer arguments to the contrary, Judge Piatt dismissed the case.
As a result of private negotiations between the attorneys, Alexander-Moegerle and his wife have agreed to pursue no further litigation against Focus. In exchange, Focus has agreed to pay most of the court costs and legal expenses of the trial.
From the outset, Focus maintained the lawsuit was “baseless.” A statement released after the dismissal said the “ministry is grateful and appreciative of the vindication of its position inherent in the court’s ruling.”
In Alexander-Moegerle’s view, his charges of invasion of privacy and business interference were still “very much alive” when his attorney did not oppose Focus’s motion. He said he took his action after “an agreement was reached between the parties to meet privately for the purpose of resolving the conflict.”
Parting Ways
The legal dispute arose in November 1988, when both Gilbert and Carolyn Alexander-Moegerle filed lawsuits against Focus charging wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress, and interference with economic advantage (CT, Feb. 3, 1989, p. 42). At root in the conflict was Alexander-Moegerle’s divorce from his first wife in January 1987 and his subsequent remarriage to Carolyn, also a Focus employee.
“Theologically, and in other ways, that [remarriage] crossed the line for our board, and they asked for their resignations,” Dobson told CHRISTIANITY TODAY in 1989. Gilbert had been at Focus since the ministry’s beginning and was cohost with Dobson of its popular radio talk show from 1978 to 1985. Focus said the resignations were “voluntary” and that the two left on “amiable” terms with the ministry. However, the Alexander-Moegerles said they submitted their resignations under protest.
Among other charges in their lawsuits, they claimed that Dobson intervened on behalf of Alexander-Moegerle’s first wife during the divorce proceedings, falsely implied Gilbert and Carolyn had committed adultery, and interfered with several business opportunities with other religious broadcasters.
In a September 1990 preliminary ruling, Judge Piatt threw out the wrongful termination charge of Gilbert’s suit, noting that “the services of our courts may not be invoked to resolve clearly ecclesiastical differences or conformity to standards of morality.” Carolyn’s entire suit was dismissed.
Last month, as the case went to trial, Piatt extended his earlier ruling to the remaining charges and said that Alexander-Moegerle could only introduce evidence that occurred after he left employment at Focus. Acknowledging that “this is a complex case in terms of the subjective nature of clerical versus secular,” Piatt ruled that because Focus is a religious organization, its employment practices are covered by the First Amendment’s protection of religious exercise.
Alexander-Moegerle said his counsel estimated the ruling left him with only about 15 percent of his original case.
Focus believes “a combination of legal rulings and lack of evidence” led Alexander-Moegerle not to oppose the nonsuit motion. However, Alexander-Moegerle said the decision was based largely on his perception that there was a new “openness and responsiveness” from Focus for private efforts to reconcile.
Focus maintains there was no change from its original desire to settle the matter privately. From the beginning, each side has claimed to be willing to participate in a conciliation effort while the other side was not.
Last month, Dobson said the only private effort Focus would not accept was binding arbitration because their attorney had advised him the process would not allow them to appeal a decision and to claim First Amendment protections and other legal arguments. “We just weren’t willing to abrogate our rights in that way,” he said.
Emotional Cost
At this point, no structured private reconciliation process has been developed. “We’re a little unsure at this stage how to get past some of the pain of the suit and the charges that were made against us, and yet we have a strong desire to do that,” Dobson told CT.
Alexander-Moegerle said he is hopeful the situation can now be worked out “in the context of the local church.”
Neither side disclosed a specific figure on the financial costs of the dispute. Dobson said he expects Focus insurance will cover about half of the expenses, and designated gifts from donors will cover the balance of the bill. “Essentially, it is our hope that ultimately it will cost the ministry nothing,” Dobson said.
Alexander-Moegerle said that while Focus will assume most of his court and legal expenses, no money will go directly to his family or for his lawyer’s professional fees. He said he fears the legal battle may have ruined his potential to get another job within religious broadcasting.
Nevertheless, Alexander-Moegerle says he and his wife stand by their decision to take their grievances into the courts. “To the extent that we believed that it was right to confront alleged wrongdoing for the sake of protecting ourselves and future employees, … we still think we did the right thing,” he said.
Both sides agree the dispute has cost the most in emotional pain. However, Dobson said the prevailing attitude now is: “It is over. Let’s get on with our lives, and let the Lord do his marvelous healing work.”
By Kim A. Lawton, with reporting by Kathleen Bowling in Pomona.
