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Photo: West Linn City Hall; via Wikipedia.
A legal battle over subpoenas may soon force the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to turn over internal records in a high-profile civil lawsuit involving a former Oregon physician accused of widespread sexual abuse, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported yesterday.
Dr. David Farley, who practiced in Clackamas County for over three decades, is being sued by more than 170 former patients. The lawsuits claim Farley used his role as a trusted family doctor—and his position as a leader in the LDS Church—to abuse patients under the guise of medical care. Many of the plaintiffs say they met Farley through the Wilsonville LDS ward or were referred to him by church members.
Farley served as a stake high councilor and member of a local Bishopric. Plaintiffs allege that church leaders either knew or should have known about his conduct. Some girls were reportedly encouraged to see Farley for pre-missionary or sports physicals and were unaware of appropriate medical boundaries due to limited sexual education.
Legacy Meridian Park Hospital, one of the facilities named in the nearly billion-dollar lawsuit, is seeking to compel the LDS Church to produce documents related to Farley’s roles within the institution and any reports or complaints about his behavior. The church has filed a motion for a protective order to block the subpoena, arguing that Oregon courts lack jurisdiction over records stored in Utah and that clergy privilege protects the requested materials.
The legal fight is unfolding ahead of a hearing in Multnomah County Circuit Court scheduled for July 31. All defendants in the case, except Farley, have joined in asking for church records.
Farley, whose medical license was revoked in 2020 following findings of inappropriate conduct, has not commented on the lawsuit. After retiring from practice, he relocated to Idaho and then Utah. A two-year criminal investigation by local authorities concluded with no charges filed, a decision that survivors have criticized as deeply flawed. The Oregon Attorney General’s office has been reviewing the case for over two years.
Plaintiffs argue that Farley’s roles in both medical and religious institutions gave him repeated, unsupervised access to minors. One attorney noted that without full transparency from the church, the extent of institutional knowledge about Farley’s actions remains unclear.
Police communication with the LDS Church during the investigation appears to have been minimal. According to public records, local police reached out to church representatives only once, receiving a reply that the church had no knowledge of any misconduct on its property or during official activities. No documented follow-up occurred.
Similar allegations have been raised in other cases involving the LDS Church, including a 2023 Associated Press investigation and recent lawsuits in San Diego and other California cities, further amplifying calls for accountability and transparency from the institution.
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