Victoria Osteen Found NOT Guilty

The wife of Pastor Joel Osteen did not assault a flight attendant during an angry tirade over a stain on her first-class seat, a jury ruled Thursday.

Jurors rejected Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown's claims that Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast while attempting to rush the cockpit because she was angry that a stain on her seat's armrest was not quickly cleaned up.

"I'm glad it's over," Victoria Osteen said afterward. "I expected it because it's the truth and I know the truth always stands firm."

Joel Osteen said he and his family hold no ill will toward Brown.

"It's a great vindication and shows us the faithfulness of God," he said.

Brown was suing for at least $405,000 for physical and mental pain suffered as a result of the attack she alleged had occurred before takeoff aboard a December 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colorado.

Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, said afterward, "We're disappointed in the verdict."

Victoria Osteen and her husband, who also was aboard the flight, testified that the alleged assault never happened. Three first-class passengers and a pilot aboard testified Wednesday they never saw or heard anything that indicated Victoria Osteen assaulted Brown.

Another flight attendant, Maria Johnson, supported Brown's claims. Both flight attendants testified they had to block the cockpit door to prevent Victoria Osteen from getting inside.

Brown's side earlier sought an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her lawsuit. Victoria Osteen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, has declined to discuss her finances. It was unclear what percentage of her net worth the $405,000 might be.

Victoria Osteen told jurors she went up to Brown after no one helped her clean up the spill. She said it was Brown who became angry during their discussion. Victoria Osteen denied ever touching Brown or trying to get into the cockpit.

Hardin tried to cast doubt Brown suffered any physical or mental injuries. Under cross-examination, Brown acknowledged that doctors found no physical injuries on her and she delayed getting psychiatric treatment.

Claudia Hall, a former Continental flight attendant, testified by video deposition she was falsely accused by Brown of hitting and pushing her into the bathroom wall of a plane in November 1995.

Passengers Say Victoria Osteen is NOT Guilty

Passengers and a pilot testified Wednesday they never saw or heard anything that indicated the wife of renowned pastor Joel Osteen assaulted a flight attendant before the start of a 2005 flight.

Flight attendant, Sharon Brown, is suing Victoria Osteen, claiming the co-pastor of Houston's famed Lakewood Church became verbally and physically abusive before the start of a flight from Houston to Vail, Colo.

The flight attendant claims she suffered physical and psychological injuries after Victoria Osteen got angry that a spill on the armrest of her first-class seat was not cleaned up. Brown says Osteen got so upset, she threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast while attempting to rush into the cockpit.

But three passengers on the plane, one of them called to the witness stand by Brown's attorney, testified Wednesday they were sitting in the first-class section but never heard or saw anything that would have led them to believe Victoria Osteen assaulted the flight attendant.

"There wasn't anything that occurred that she could be suing over," said Laura Knoppe, who was sitting in the first row of first-class seats, closest to where the alleged attack took place.

Knoppe, who was called by Victoria Osteen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, told jurors she never heard Osteen yelling or screaming. She also testified that she had a good view of the bathroom door that Brown claims Victoria Osteen threw her against.

"Did that happen?" Hardin asked

"No," Knoppe responded.

Another passenger, Barbara Shedden, who had been called by Brown's attorney, described the interaction that Brown and Victoria Osteen had on the plane as "just a power of the wills. It was very authoritative on both parts."

A third passenger, James Steele, testified he never heard any yelling or sounds of a physical altercation.

William Burnett, the captain on the flight, told jurors, "There was nobody fighting the flight attendants."

"You had a duty as the captain of this plane to call the police and you didn't do it?" McKamie said. "I didn't see a threat," Burnett said.

Both Victoria Osteen and Joel Osteen, who was on the same flight, testified last week that no attack took place.

Brown wants to be compensated for "anxiety, sleeplessness and public humiliation." She also wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth.

The Osteens are co-pastors of Houston's Lakewood Church, which draws about 42,000 people each week for services. Joel Osteen's weekly television address is broadcast in the U.S. and internationally and his books are sold around the globe.

Victoria Osteen Denies Assualting Flight Attendant

The wife of Pastor Joel Osteen has testified that she did not assault a flight attendant.

Victoria Osteen said Friday she was dumbfounded that Continental Airlines attendant Sharon Brown accused her of assault before a 2005 flight to Colorado.

Brown claims in her lawsuit that Victoria Osteen attacked her when she didn't clean up a spill in Osteen's seat. Her description of the "attack" is that Osteen brushed up against her and Osteen's elbow hit Brown's breast. As a result, Brown claims to have suffered hemorrhoids and mental and spiritual trauma.

But Osteen testified it was Brown who became upset.

Joel Osteen testified earlier Friday. He supported his wife's claim and called the incident a misunderstanding.

The flight attendant has a history of law suits. In this one, she is asking for 10% of Osteen's total assets.

Flight Attendant Sues Joel Osteen's Wife

A jury was seated Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging the wife of nationally known pastor Joel Osteen assaulted a flight attendant.

Opening statements were set for Thursday in a case Victoria Osteen's lawyer called "silly." But Reginald McKamie, attorney for Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown, said he hopes the trial will show "that celebrity status doesn't take precedence."

Brown accuses Victoria Osteen of assaulting her before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston 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.

Joel Osteen was at his wife's side Wednesday in court. McKamie said he expected to call the couple as witnesses.

Will the public or the jury hold Victoria Osteen to a higher standard because she is a pastor's wife? Do people have an unrealistic expectation of clergy? Is it open season on clergy and their families?

Joel Osteen pastors Lakewood Church in Houston where about 42,000 people attend each week and where Victoria Osteen is co-pastor. His weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.

Some potential jurors during questioning admitted to being star-struck by the Osteens and that their respect for them might affect their judgment.

"He has gotten me through a lot of tough times. I would believe what he has to say. I have a lot of respect for him," one female in the jury pool said.

Other potential jurors said they didn't like preachers or televangelists and that ministers can lie.

Is the flight attendant using this incident to go after deep pockets? Does she have a bias against clergy?

Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.

Victoria Osteen's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said before jury selection began Wednesday that Brown's claims are false and that what happened was a "minor incident." Hardin also asked a judge to throw out an FAA report detailing the alleged incident, saying the agency's investigation was "incredibly incomplete."

"This is a very silly case," Hardin told reporters.

According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.

EXTRA: Did you know that Brown has previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case? Does this effect your feelings about this case?

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