Eilers v. Coy

Facts

P and his pregnant wife Sandy were abducted from outside a clinic in Winona, Minnesota by their parents and relatives and by the defendant deprogrammers who had been hired by the parents of P and his wife. P and Sandy Eilers were members of the religious group Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is ample evidence that this group is an authoritarian religious fellowship directed with an iron hand by Brother Rama Behera. P who was on crutches at the time due to an earlier fall was grabbed from behind by two or more security men, forced into a waiting van, and driven to the Tau Center in Winona, Minnesota. P forcibly resisted. He was put in a room with the windows boarded over with plywood. He was held against his will for five and one-half days and subjected to Ds' attempts to deprogram him. P was handcuffed to a bed for at least the first two days of his confinement. P was allowed out of the room only to use the bathroom and was heavily guarded during those times. P attempted to escape but was forcibly restrained and taken back to the room. At no time during the week was P free to leave the Tau Center, nor at any time were reasonable means of escape available to him. P eventually escaped when being moved. Local residents attracted by P's calls for help assisted P in making his escape and the police were summoned. Sandy stayed with the deprogrammers and has not returned to the group Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ of which P is still a member. She has since divorced P and has sole custody of the couple's infant son. Prior to this incident, Ds attempted unsuccessfully to have P civilly committed. It was determined that no legal grounds for such commitment existed. Ds were fully aware of these facts when they abducted P and held him against his will. P sued and then motioned for a directed verdict for the false imprisonment and the 1985 violations.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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