HOUSTON (AP) - A flight attendant's assault accusations against the wife of renowned pastor Joel Osteen are simply a money grab, Victoria Osteen's defense attorney said Thursday.
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(Photo: AP Images / Pat Sullivan)Victoria, center, and Joel Osteen, right, talk with their attorney Rusty Hardin outside a courtroom Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008 in Houston. Victoria Osteen, co-pastor of Lakewood Church, is being sued by Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown who says Osteen assaulted her on a plane.
"This is nothing more than an attempted extortion," attorney Rusty Hardin told jurors during opening statements.
Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown sued Victoria Osteen, accusing the co-pastor of a Houston megachurch of assaulting her before the start of a 2005 flight to Vail, Colo.
Brown alleges Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast during an angry outburst over a stain on her first-class seat. Brown claims Victoria Osteen became so upset she tried to get into the cockpit and had to be physically restrained.
Brown's suit claims the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Hardin told jurors Victoria Osteen and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2 1/2 hours.
The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.
Hardin admitted that Victoria Osteen can be a "very excitable and expressive person," but she never got out of control while trying to get a flight attendant to clean up the spill.
"Victoria Osteen never touched her, never screamed at her, never attacked her, never tried to get in the cockpit," Hardin said. "The aggressor and the person who was out of control, who flipped out, was Ms. Brown."
Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, told jurors that it was Victoria Osteen who became enraged and attacked Brown when flight attendants didn't immediately clean up the stain.
"Sharon was attacked by someone in the community who supposedly represents a higher degree of human decency. That had an affect on Sharon," McKamie said.
About 42,000 people flock to Lakewood Church every week to hear Joel Osteen, whose weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally and whose books have been sold across the globe.
The Osteens were both expected to testify during the trial.
Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.
"They will say this is about money. But that is the only remedy a jury can offer," McKamie said.
McKamie said Brown, who had undergone reconstructive surgery before the incident on her breasts due to illness, was injured when she was hit on her chest. Brown also suffers from anxiety because of the incident and that her faith was affected, her attorney said. Brown is also suing Victoria Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.
But Hardin told jurors there is no evidence Brown sustained any injuries, including claims she now suffers from hemorrhoids.
The jury of seven men and five women was chosen on Wednesday after a couple of hours of questioning of a jury pool of 130 people. The questioning touched on religious beliefs, celebrity and the public's perception of preachers and televangelists.
According to an FAA report, Victoria Osteen pushed and elbowed Brown in an attempt to get to the plane's cockpit after two other attendants had not cleaned a liquid on her first-class seat armrest.
Hardin told jurors Victoria Osteen paid the FAA fine not because she was guilty but as a way to conclude the matter and avoid any embarrassment for her church.
Brown had previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.
Hardin asked that the FAA report's findings not be allowed in the trial, saying the agency's investigation was incomplete.
State District Judge Patricia Hancock said she would make a decision later on the report's fate.
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I still am puzzled why it took 3 years to bring this up. Ant ideas?
Now, with all that said, I'm just not into the 'happy clappy' myself. They tend to have issues with denial. God will make problems go away. How can we learn and grow without problems in life?
"Why don't they want the FAA report admitted as evidence?"
The FAA would not allow it. Just like Social Services records are not allowed in divorce cases here in SC.
"Brown had previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case."
So, just how many times and places did this gal get beat up?
As for the stewardess witness...just how much of the money is she going to get if Brown wins. That kind of money can make immoral people lie to beat the band!
It is unfortunate that this sort of thing happens. Please note none of the passengers have testified at this point. I wonder why? This sounds way to much like what I have to deal with from the schools. The SRO (police) hears what the principle has to say and the teacher and then arrests the student. Guilty until proven innocent.
Also, if you haven't noticed...some of those stewardesses are far less 'polite' then they use to be.
Let's just wait and see what happens.
i would rather be pastor of a small Church and get a modest salary then be in a mega Chruch. Thats me.
I dont know all the Truth of this but let God be Glorified in that it is a Fair Trial and Justice is served so his name is Glorified as one who delights in Justice. God be Praised!
Maybe if they speak faith to the situation, it'll go away. hehehe
On CNN they are reporting that the other flight attendant, who was there and witnessed the events, has testified that Brown's (the flight attendant)version of the events is correct. Therefore, you have a witness corroborating the facts as stated in Brown's complaint.
Even Princess Olsteen's own attorney has stated (in legalese)that she is an "excitable" and "expressive" person. So, I guess her actions on the plane were just an "expression" of her disappointment at less than the royal treatment she thinks she so richly deserves because of who she is married to.
Did anyone besides me catch the fact that Pricess Olsteen's own attorney has all but admitted that she put her hands on a member of a flight crew?
Why don't they want the FAA report admitted as evidence? Hmmmmmm.
By the way, what theological/seminary training does Princess Olsteen possess. How about Joel? Just wondering....
jirehdesign - You could very well be right, however, Ms Brown has on a different occassion complained that an airport employee pushed and hit her too. When investigated they found that it was a false accusation. Ms Brown tried to sue in that case as well. Perhaps a pattern for Ms Brown?
There are passengers on the flight that witnessed the incident and they say that it didn't happen like Ms Brown claimed it to have happened.
At the very least, I think Mrs Osteen got angry. Mrs Osteen's reaction to water on her arm rest,her reaction to it not being immediately attended to, and how she interacted with the flight personnel was unbecoming for a Christian but then Ms Brown, who also claims to be a Christian, is out of place as well.
I don't think Ms Brown's problems of hemorroids, anxiety, and loss of faith in religion is ligit. I think she is exagerating in order to get some easy money from some very wealthy people. If her relationship with God was as affected as she claims I rather doubt she had much of one to begin with. If she is saved at all, and only God knows for sure, then I think Ms Brown needs to be counseled to repent, forgive, and get her eyes off of man and get them on Jesus. Man will fail you but God never will. We all need to forgive the failures of others in their relationship with us and ask God to help us deal with whatever difficulities that comes our way. Ms Brown needs to learn that.
Mrs Osteen pride has certaintly gotten the best of her. She needs to learn that she is no better than anyone else and she needs to stop acting like she is some kind of primadona. She might be high society by virtue of her wealth and her husband's status and national popularity but we are all on equal ground at the foot of the cross.
Becoming physically aggressive towards someone over a "stain" on an armrest is plain evidence of a character defect. Minimizing it and blaming the other person when you've been caught red handed is evidence of an even greater character defect. I don't care who you are, there's no excuse for that kind of behavior, especially for someone in her position. I could forgive her if she recognized her sin and confessed it; we all make mistakes, but when she turned it around and accused the flight attendent, she has revealed an unrepentant and arrogant heart.
By the way, calling Joel Osteen an "evangelical" pastor is something of a joke, yes? You have to preach the "evangel;" Joel does not.
I guess Joel's positive confession theology doesn't extend to air line travel.