Shortly after his departure from Peoples Temple in mid-1977, Tim Stoen joined with his former wife Grace to regain legal custody of John Victor. It was not the only case that placed Tim Stoen in opposition to Peoples Temple, though. Within a year, he had become the Concerned Relatives’ attorney in three lawsuits which he filed on behalf of former members and family members of Jonestown residents against Jim Jones and others in the Temple leadership.
The three cases were:
• Steven A. Katsaris v. Jim Jones, Sandra Bradshaw, Peoples Temple, Paula Adams et al.
• James Cobb v. Peoples Temple, Jim Jones, Teresa Buford, Jean Brown, Pamela Moton et al.
Most of the defendants in these three cases, as well as Maria Katsaris and many members of the Cobb family, died in Jonestown on November 18, 1978.
The three suits were pending when Temple lawyers filed for dissolution of the Peoples Temple corporation in December 1978, as was a countersuit that the Temple filed against Stoen. In the petition seeking dissolution, Temple attorney Charles Garry asked for guidance in how to proceed in all four suits. They were eventually dismissed.