Early Wednesday morning, in the Nicholas Anderson versus Sarah Anderson divorce/custody case, attorney Robert Denton, representing the plaintiff, Nicholas Anderson, filed a “Withdrawal of: Motion to Compel Richard Matthew Fenner, III (to) Attend Deposition & Subpoena.” This turn of events occurred just slightly less than forty-eight hours after he filed a “Motion to Compel” Matthew Fenner to attend a deposition.
Monday’s Motion to Compel contained this statement about Matthew:
“Counsel seeks to depose (ask under oath) Mr. Fenner for the purposes of ascertaining Defendant’s (Sarah Anderson) character traits, propensities (tendencies), and the like, for violence.” [(- ) added ]
What happened to change his course? Without asking Mr. Denton directly, we do know he deposed Sarah Anderson on Tuesday for a lengthy session. What did he hear to change his mind? Apparently, he learned enough to reverse course and decide against putting Matthew under oath. He includes the following in his Withdrawal:
“…the undersigned (Denton) took the deposition of the Defendant on today’s date (Tuesday) and determined based on her testimony that at this time there is deposition necessary of Richard Matthew Fenner.”
Withdrawal of Motion to Compel
He heard Sarah and she gave him something which changed his mind. The content of the extended deposition much have been choice. We may never know, but for certain Matthew again escapes another effort to put him under oath and ask intimidating questions meant to discourage him.
As a review, Matthew Fenner appeared before a grand jury in January 2015 after filing a complaint resulting from events on January 27, 2013 in the sanctuary of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). During a “deliverance” session, the signature practice of WOFF; Fenner alleges he was physically assaulted and held against his will. These allegations resulted in five members of WOFF being indicted for simple assault, second degree kidnapping and one defendant, Sarah Anderson, for assault inflicting serious injury by strangulation. The other four defendants include Brooke Covington, Justin Covington, Robert Lewis Walker, Jr. and Adam Bartley. For now, Sarah and Adam are no longer members of WOFF. Upon Sarah’s exit WOFF withdrew her bond and forced her to replace it. The same plight could happen to any of the other four defendants at any time.
As of Wednesday, there was no scheduled date for the next hearing in either the Fenner case or the Anderson vs. Anderson divorce/custody case. The Anderson case may come up again in the October session of family court. For now, Denton has more depositions to conduct as his WOFF education continues.
Will he continue representation of Adam Bartley and Nicholas Anderson while the cases run simultaneously leaving him open to speculation at each point in which he has opportunity to gather evidence from one case at the benefit or in conflict of the other? For instance, will there be a conflict if Assistant District Attorney Garland Byers has reason to call Nicholas Anderson to the stand in the trial of Adam Bartley? How will Denton defend the best interest of each client at the risk of hurting the other? Should he make his choice now and allow one of the defendants choose alternate counsel? Conversely, is there any possibility of attorney Jack Stewart calling Adam Bartley to the stand if there is found a connection between Bartley and/or Nicholas or Sarah? How will this play out? We shall see.
It seems prudent for each present or ex-WOFF member to obtain separate counsel. Do we suffer another avoidable lengthy delay in either of these cases or the cases which are sure to come? Yes, there are more cases to follow. Have your chosen your attorney, yet? I can suggest a few good ones.
2016 continues as the year for changes!
Follow this blog on Twitter- @religiouscults and
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/johnhuddleauthor
Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Jane told me and Josh confirmed it.
Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.
Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.
Guest posts reflect the opinions of the writers. Their opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of John Huddle or any other persons affiliated with this blog.
Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, for posts written by John Huddle, any information about WOFF is from his memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be.
Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 576.