A woman who recently won a $28.7 million legal judgment against a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Dutchess County is suing to collect $13 million from two companies that insured the religious community.
The Vermont woman referred to as Jane Doe 1 in court records sued Eastern Mutual Insurance Company and Nautilus Insurance Company on April 15 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
In 2023, Jane Doe 1 and two other women accused Kagyu Thubten Choling monastery in Wappingers Falls of negligence for failure to protect women from its leader, Lama Norlha Rinpoche.
Norlha, who founded the monastery in 1978, is depicted in the 2023 lawsuit as a powerful leader whose followers believed was all-knowing. He allegedly exploited his followers reverence by luring vulnerable women to the monastery for years-long retreats, isolating them, subjecting them to harsh conditions, and manipulating them into trusting his judgment over their own and to letting him make all decisions in their lives.
The monastery’s board members were aware of his sexual practices, according to the lawsuit, and failed to protect women.
Norlha died in 2018, and the monastery was renamed as Palpung Thubten Choling.
Jane Doe 1 joined the monastery in 2009, claims that sexual abuse began in 2010, and was removed by her mother in 2016.
Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 previously resolved their claims against the monastery.
On Jan. 6, James Streit, a trustee and authorized representative of the monastery, executed a confession of judgment that awarded $28.7 million to Jane Doe 1, based on findings by a mediator, Buffalo attorney Michael Menard.
Menard found that Norlha sexually abused Jane Doe 1 thousands of times from 2010 through 2016. She has been diagnosed with complex PTSD, experiences severe depressive episodes, suffers from anxiety disorder, and has been undergoing comprehensive treatment by numerous healthcare providers.
He assessed $20 million for past pain and suffering, $7.5 million for future pain and suffering, $472,542 for past economic loss, and $718,000 for future economic loss.
Now Jane Doe 1 is trying to collect from the companies that insured the monastery during some of the years she was abused. She is seeking $8 million from Eastern Mutual Insurance, Greenville, New York, and $5 million from Nautilus Insurance, of Scottsdale, Arizona.
The insurers have disclaimed responsibility, according to the lawsuit, citing, for example, insurance exclusions for criminal activity.
Jane Doe 1 is asking the court to declare that the insurers are violating New York insurance law and make them pay monetary damages based on the coverage limits of the insurance policies.
Eastern Mutual did not reply to a request for comment. Attempts to contact Nautilus Insurance for its side of the story were unsuccessful.
