A maintenance worker at the Beni Kedem Temple in Charleston alleges he was defamed and has suffered from anxiety and other issues after being caught up in a conflict of power among members of Beni Kedem in 2012 and 2013.
A jury on Monday heard arguments and testimony in the case of Mark Mullins, who still is a maintenance worker at the temple and says Beni Kedem members, including current and former Beni Kedem officials intimidated, threatened, and spied on him as part of an ongoing clash among certain factions of the organization.
In addition to the Beni Kedem organization, current members Martin Castleberry, Lawrence Bolling, and Larry Brannon are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Former Shriner Denver Earl "Skip" King and Shriners International are named as defendants in the lawsuit that is being tried in the courtroom of Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Tuesday was the first day of the trial.
Mullins alleges the defendants violated the West Virginia Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act and committed intrusion, libel, defamation, slander, assault, invasion of privacy, and false imprisonment while engaging in a civil conspiracy against him.
The timeline of case begins prior to Mullins's involvement in a 2012 incident involving King and Thomas Black, the recorder at the temple at 100 Quarrier St., in Charleston.
The exact quarrel that occurred between King and Black was unclear, but testimony Tuesday indicated it had something to do with Black's use of the kitchen. Black and King both testified that a verbal argument ensued between them.
Black and King both alleged the other attempted multiple times to get the other expelled from the organization.
Black also appealed to the Grand Lodge of West Virginia about the 2012 incident, and on Oct. 15, 2013, Grand Lodge officials voted to expel King, who subsequently was expelled from the local organization in Charleston, according to a letter from the Grand Lodge that Mullins's attorney, John Alderman, submitted as evidence.
This is when Mullins claimed he was dragged into the conflict between the men.
When the ruling was issued, Black testified he instructed Mullins to post the ruling in the building, per an order from the temple's provost, and Mullins complied.
In his testimony, Castleberry said King was upset that the ruling had been posted, and King was authorized by Larry Bolling, who was Illustrious Potentate of the organization at the time, to put together a committee to find who posted the letter. They saw Mullins posting the letter using the facility's surveillance cameras.
After King was expelled in October 2013, he and other members of the organization were investigating a claim they made against Black, and Mullins and King testified that King contacted him on a Friday evening that October, saying Mullins needed to come to the temple.
Mullins came from his home in Elkview to the temple, where he said King, Castleberry and two other members were present and asked him for a key to an office that was used by Black and at least three other people.
Mullins told King he didn't have a key, and King became angry, called Mullins a liar and aggressively yelled and pointed at Mullins until Mullins gave him his keys, Mullins testified Tuesday. When Mullins' keys didn't work for the office, King contacted another temple employee to get a key, according to testimony from both men. King and Castleberry left to get the key, but Mullins said he felt intimidated by the remaining two men. Mullins said he managed to leave the building by telling the men he had to use the restroom and leaving through a nearby door.
Following the Friday evening event, Mullins, King, and Castleberry met the next day at the law office of Larry Kopelman, where Mullins says the men coached him in giving a statement against Black, under threat of his job.
The men's testimony regarding who set up the meeting and whether Mullins was coached was inconsistent Tuesday. King and Castleberry said Mullins contacted them and wanted to give a statement, and Mullins said the men contacted him.
Mullins also claimed there were two West Virginia State Police troopers present at the law office when he arrived, leading him to believe he couldn't leave the facility. King and Castleberry said no troopers were there.
The recording of Mullins' statement has since been destroyed, but it was transcribed by Kopelman's then-secretary, Sonya Springsteen. Springsteen said Tuesday she transcribed the interview and did notice at least five points where it seemed the recording had been paused and re-started.
Mullins signed the statement after it was transcribed the following Monday, according to testimony Tuesday, but he said at least 90 percent of the statement was false when he testified Tuesday.
Mullins's statement was taken to Bolling, and Mullins said it also was shared "with ill will and malice" to other parties within the organization, leading to distrust toward him among members of the temple where he works.
Reach Lacie Pierson at 304-348-1723, lacie.pierson@wvgazettemail.com or follow @LaciePierson on Twitter.