“MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL” FILED BY WESTERN DIOCESE ACCUSES JUDGE FOR “SIDING WITH TAGLYAN” DENIED
Posted on June. 7. 2019
BREAKING NEWS — JUST IN: MONDAY JUNE 3
BY APPO JABARIAN
Friday June 7, 2019
EXCLUSIVE TO
USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE
On Monday June 3, a hearing was held on a “Motion For New Trial” filed by the Western Diocese to reverse an earlier verdict against them dated April 2, 2019.
In order to railroad him out of millions of dollars, in late 2018, plaintiff Western Diocese/St. John Garabed Hollywood initiated a lawsuit against Mr. Petros Taglyan, a major benefactor of the Western Diocese.
I have discovered in recent court documents of Los Angeles Superior Court of the State of California a key court document (page E3) that clearly shows the nature of the June 3 proceedings — “Plaintiffs’ Hearing on Motion for New Trial.” The document indicates: “For reasons stated on the record, Plaintiffs St. John Armenian Church and The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church’s motion for new trial is denied.”
“Unlawful Detainer” case (no. 18STCV02144) was originally heard in early January 2019 by Superior Court Judge Randolph M. Hammock. After listening carefully to both sides Judge Hammock found Arch Derderian’s main representative in court Pastor Markaryan to be a blatant liar and “not a credible” individual at all. Judge Hammock issued a verdict against Western Diocese and ordered Arch. Derderian, Pastor Markaryan and Diocesan Council to pay all the legal expenses incurred by Defendant Mr. Taglyan.
Now that the Diocese has lost yet again, instead of honoring their original agreement with Mr. Taglyan allowing him to pay down the multi-million-dollar bank loan through a stream of income created by him, they have just announced that the Diocese intends to file a new motion “appealing the April verdict.” Last week they had filed a motion for a “new trial” claiming that Judge Hammock had sided with Mr. Taglyan in his original verdict. “Derderian and co. must be feeling delusional in obstinately pursuing one legal embarrassment after another,” said a legal observer.
Greed and lack of gratitude seems to have become the main driving force behind Arch. Hovnan Derderian and Pastor Manouk Markaryan’s perverse actions and legal harassment against Mr. Taglyan who was only toiling to help the church ultimately become the recipient of a major source of income and an ultramodern complex after the payoff of the multi-million-dollar loan.
Because of lack of audited financial statement at Western Diocese and St. John Garabed, the bank had denied loans. Then newly arrived Derderian and Markaryan could not succeed to raise funds either. As a result, in early 2000’s Arch. Derderian had repeatedly begged Mr. Taglyan to stick his neck out for the church and secure a multi-million-dollar bank loan for the successful construction and operation of the future entertainment complex to be built next to the old church building. At the time, the church was in a dire financial situation and could barely survive. (Now the old church building is destroyed to make way for a new church building. But construction has halted because a number of potential donors are holding back for lack of transparency and accountability at the church and the Diocese.)
Mr. Taglyan who has already donated over $1.5 million to various Western-Diocese-related projects had also pledged an additional $2 million donation for the new church building. Now as a direct result of gross mistreatment at the hands of the Derderian-Markaryan duo, Mr. Taglyan has withdrawn his new-church construction-related donation pledges.
The multi-million-dollar elegant and ultra-modern Taglyan Complex, located next to St. John Garabed church quasi vacant land in the heart of entertainment capital Hollywood, has become a source of pride for Southern California’s bustling Armenian American community. Thanks to its beautiful and modern setting and highly successful operation and management Taglyan Complex is now ranked as no. 1 in Southern California and 5th throughout United States as “a most favorite venue for marriages and entertainment events.” Under the able management of Mr. Taglyan, it has also become a financially successful enterprise facilitating the paydown of the loan.
“It could have become a source of major financial windfall for St. John Garabed and Western Diocese had the current spiritual head Arch. Hovnan Derderian not turn out to be such an ungrateful liar, and forgery and fraud artist,” recently confided a longtime member of the church and the Diocese to USA Armenian Life Magazine.
A diocesan insider who is highly critical of the way this case was mishandled and continues to be mismanaged, stated: “Diocese lawyer has to be very ignorant or he just took their money. Where are the past Diocesan Council chair attorney Joseph Kanimian and the new Diocesan Council leader attorney Adrienne Krikorian? They should be looking out for the Diocese!” Or are they behind all the forgery and extortion?
What is St. John Garabed Parish Council thinking or doing to stop their church’s legal hemorrhage? Is the Parish Council’s main advisor attorney Armen Tashjian in agreement with what is being perpetrated by Pastor Markaryan?
We should all learn from our own life experiences and achieve Wisdom. We all make mistakes, learn from our and other people’s mistakes and move on. But it seems there are individuals like Arch. Derderian and Pastor Markaryan who add layers upon layers of lies and mistakes in a futile attempt to be proven ‘right.’
A high-ranking supporter of the Diocese recently stated: “It’s highly doubtful that Derderian and Markaryan will come to their senses anytime soon. They have become delirious.”
A fool who refuses to learn from his own mistakes and digs his own pit deeper cannot save himself from himself. Others have to step in to save them from themselves and ultimately save the Western Diocese from further damage and destruction.
Now the question of the day: Can Western Diocese save itself from dictatorial Derderian’s misguided and damaging way of handling day-to-day business at the Diocese by continuously trespassing beyond his jurisdiction as a spiritual leader?
Derderian’s effective hijacking of the authority of the governing body — Diocesan Council is now coupled with a character defamation campaign against Mr. Taglyan by way of spreading lies and false propaganda. Their primary purpose seems to be, misguiding the public opinion in their favor. They mis-portray themselves as ‘victims’ and unfair target of law suit ‘initiated by Taglyan’ when in fact as court documents show, the Western Diocese was the Plaintiff (See p. E2).
Looking forward to the new governing body of the Diocese, Diocesan Council, led by Chairperson Adrienne Krikorian to take full charge of their authority and govern the Diocese and bring law and order by fully carrying out their fiduciary duty; by upholding the Constitution/By-Laws of the Armenian Church.
If governors-elect are intending to ‘serve’ as puppets of dictatorial Derderian and continue to project the image of failed elected governors of the Diocese, then why aren’t they honestly stepping forward and resign and stop giving the parishioners of Western Diocese the false sense of security?
Afterall, Western Diocese of Armenian Church is not a theocracy. It is a democracy. It deserves democratic governance.