In Rutherford County Superior Court, on December 21, 2015 at 11:47AM, concerning file number 15 CVS 32; an order for dismissal with prejudice was entered by Judge Tommy Davis. My understanding is the decision can be appealed, but the exact same allegations cannot be pursued against Mr. Cooper in the future by these plaintiffs. Judge Davis offered the opinion of the Court that there was “no genuine issue of material fact.” This opinion came just four days after a session last Thursday in which Judge Davis offered several pointed questions toward Mr. Josh Farmer, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Rccatalyst.com posted news of the dismissal on Tuesday. In this article, Judge Davis is quoted from Thursday’s hearing as saying to Josh Farmer, “Why are you picking on this individual? Do you have a grudge against him?” Also, Judge Davis asked why Farmer was not suing the other involved parties such as the AP or the reporter, Mitch Weiss who wrote the article upon which Mr. Cooper commented with the statement-“True story.” Mr. Farmer said his clients still may have recourse against other parties. In brief, this lawsuit alleges damages from Jerry Cooper posting the comment “True story” in relation to an AP article stating the facts surrounding the Matthew Fenner criminal case. The Fenner case has five defendants from Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) facing charges including second degree kidnapping, assault. In addition, Sarah Anderson also faces a charge of assault by strangulation. These charges stem from incidents on January 27, 2013 in the sanctuary of WOFF.

The dismissal came to my attention around midday Tuesday. After attending to some required tasks, I made my way to the Rutherford County courthouse to obtain a copy of the dismissal. About 4:45PM, I entered the courthouse and witnessed several employees scurrying about getting ready to leave. The courthouse will be closed for the rest of the week and many were giddy in their preparation to enjoy their time off. A courteous employee in the civil clerk’s office offered the case file for my review. I found the dismissal on top and the Josh Farmer’s “Brief in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment.” I asked for a copy of this entry as well as the “Affidavit of Andra Lynn Prince.” The attached Exhibits for this document included the AP article and screen prints of the Facebook posting in question.

My time being limited, I also received copies of the “Notice of Deposition for Matthew Fenner”, which I had heard about. This was set for December 30th. Two other documents caught my eye. I only obtained a copy of one of them. This was the “Third Amended Notice of Deposition” for Richard Trey Hopper. This name was new to me. If my research is right, Patrolman Trey Hooper works for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s office on the Interdiction team. The term “K-9” is beside his name. (here) This deposition was to happen on November 23rd at 10:00AM at the Tomblin, Farmer, Morris office. His relationship to the “True story” allegation is unclear. Did he assist in the Fenner criminal case in any way? I don’t see him working for WRAL or Facebook or the AP. What could Farmer possibly have wanted with Mr. Hooper? Was this another tactic to covertly obtain information for the five defendants in the Fenner criminal case? Maybe I am wrong, but there is a lot of smoke yet to clear to understand the true motives for filing this case against Jerry Cooper. It is hard to reconcile the ORDER of Dismissal against Josh Farmer, Mark Morris and their associates in the Fenner case with their actions in this case against Jerry Cooper.

Another document which caught my eye was a subpoena for Joey Sisk, the details of which I did not have time to read. Again, I don’t believe Joey Sisk caused Jerry Cooper to type “True story.” Is this another attempt to bypass the spirit of the ORDER of Dismissal in the Fenner case? I do not know for sure, but from outward indications, it seems as such.

When I first heard of the dismissal on Tuesday, I considered it good for Jerry, for Matthew and Danielle Cordez. Now, I also believe Judge Davis did Josh Farmer a favor by closing this door. Yes, it appears as if at least some of the players in the investigation of the Fenner case may have been deposed. Those steps cannot be undone. However, if Josh Farmer had successfully been able to depose Matthew Fenner about the details of January 27, 2013 without any restraints, the fallout could have been disastrous for both Josh, his law firm and for Matthew. The results would be detrimental from different perspectives, but still not positive for either.

Judge Davis did Josh Farmer a favor. He did Josh a kindness in upholding the law and recognizing there was no genuine issue of material fact. The lawsuit was in essence –baseless. Davis did not make any further public comments. Josh and his team may have fifteen days to appeal. I am not sure what an appeal would gain for them, but more public scrutiny and more peering eyes watching their motions and their moves. Will Jane again say, let it go? This was her reply on May 29th of this year in response to her criminal charges against Jerry Cooper being dismissed. Will this contention over “True story” be dropped? We shall see. It is true; the story of Word of Faith Fellowship is not over. Many chapters have yet to be written.

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Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 556.