The eldest Duggar daughters have been part of a lawsuit against their Arkansas town of Springdale for releasing information that they had been molested at the hands of their eldest brother, Josh Duggar, as minors. The Duggar daughters are upset that information about the sexual assault was released to "In Touch Weekly," and thus information about their molestation became public knowledge. The report that was sent to "In Touch Weekly" was redacted to not include the names of the minor victims, however, the girls stated that because of their celebrity status, people knew who they were due to their ages being named.
As such, they are seeking damages from the city, in what the city has been calling a "misguided" lawsuit and an attempt to make money.
The city of Springdale seeks immunity
A huge roadblock for the Duggar girls is the fact that the city of Springdale, Arkansas is seeking immunity from being sued, Pagesix reported. This would mean that the case would be dismissed, and the case would be immediately thrown out. They argue that because the information given to "In Touch Weekly" was already public knowledge, they should not have to face the lawsuit. And while when dealing with issues as sensitive as molestation, it seems really bizarre to let a city off the hook for being so reckless with the information, they may prove to be in the right when it comes to legalities.
This would mean that the young Duggar women would not be able to claim any money from damages that occurred after their molestations as children became public.
Strained relationship with Josh Duggar?
The perpetrator of the abuse was, unfortunately, the girls' eldest brother, Josh Duggar. Although Jinger Duggar Vuolo has been photographed visiting Josh and his wife, Anna, many fans notice a strained relationship between the girls and Josh.
It has been noted that while Anna Duggar, his wife, has been invited to be in their weddings, Josh is often not present in the wedding party. Josh is also often not present on the show, "Counting On" which focuses on the lives of the older Duggar children as they marry and have children themselves. TLC dropped the original show, "19 Kids and Counting," when it was revealed that Josh was, indeed, guilty of molesting his sisters.
At one point, Josh also tried to join the lawsuit and claim that the city of Springdale had impacted his life negatively by revealing sensitive information about himself as a minor, but he later dropped his involvement. #CelebrityTV
