Duggar Family Can Continue Lawsuit Against Arkansas Related to Josh Duggar Scandal

The Duggar family is free to proceed with their lawsuit against the state of Arkansas regarding the release of information about sexual abuse allegations involving Josh Duggar to the media. USA Today reported that a federal appeals court rules that the family can continue with legal action, as they had an expectation of privacy.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision on Friday, ruling that 19 Kids and Counting stars Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy Duggar did not expect the investigation, which involved each of them, to be made public. Per USA Today‘s reporting, officials in the city of Springdale and Washington County, Arkansas investigated allegations that Josh molested the aforementioned Duggar girls.

The sisters sued officials after the city and county released information identifying them as the victims to In Touch Weekly. Officials were appealing after having a lower court refuse to dismiss the case against them.

When In Touch Weekly published the report, Jim Bob Duggar appeared on Fox News to address the situation. He revealed that they were thinking about suing to “protect juvenile records because mistakes juveniles make when they’re young should be sealed.”

TLC pulled the plug on 19 Kids and Counting in May 2015 in response to backlash it received over the allegations against Josh, which he later confessed to. The network replaced the show with Counting On, which Josh did not appear on.

The family has moved on since the scandal, but it hasn’t been easy. Anna Duggar in particular has struggled to overcome her husband’s transgressions. She recently opened up about moving on in the wake of the drama in an Instagram comment.

After posting a photo of her family, including Josh, at the St. Louis Zoo, one commenter said they were thrilled to see him in family photos. The Instagram user wrote, “I love seeing more pictures with Josh in them!” adding, “Your family is such a beautiful example of the love of Christ! I know your journey has been hard but it looks to me like you have come through with grace!”

Anna replied, “Thank you for your kind words. Redemption is a beautiful thing!”

Josh, 31, found himself at the center of another scandal around the same time news broke that he’d molested five young girls when he was a teen. He also admitted to being unfaithful to Anna. Josh spent six months in a faith-based rehab facility and in March 2017, he and Anna revealed that they had “quietly worked” on rebuilding their relationship.

In April, Anna announced that they were expecting their sixth child together.