A man has lost his courtroom attack on leaders of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his wife's decision to divorce him and become the plural wife of another man.
A federal court dismissed Jason Miles Williams' claim against the estate of the late Rulon Jeffs, leader of the church. Jeffs' denomination is separate from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is anti-polygamy.
Williams, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church, sued for $20 million, claiming his former wife was counseled by Jeffs and other church elders to leave their Colorado City, Ariz., home and divorce him. He also wanted church leaders to stop "unlawfully influencing" his children's beliefs.
But U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball said Williams' arguments were identical to those rejected by another federal judge. A state appeals court also rejected his claim.