DOX: The appeal to restore the class-action lawsuit against Scientology’s rehab network

We’ve been telling you about numerous lawsuits aimed at Narconon, Scientology’s drug rehab network, in various parts of the country. In Oklahoma, former prosecutor Gary Richardson is handling more than ten lawsuits against Narconon Arrowhead, the network’s flagship facility. In Michigan, an attorney named Jeff Ray is suing rehab centers there that are owned or run by a man named Per Wickstrom. In Nevada, California, and Oregon, seven federal lawsuits have been filed in a short amount of time by Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton.

But one of the most intriguing legal salvos against Narconon came from an attorney in Georgia named Jeff Harris. After he handled a wrongful death lawsuit regarding the overdose of a patient at an Atlanta-area facility (that suit was settled) Harris then went looking for other people who said they were harmed by Narconon Georgia (which has since been closed in a deal with a county prosecutor).

The lawsuit appeared to be one of the most far-reaching, which was reflected in a lengthy, detailed complaint. But Judge Steve C. Jones disagreed that Harris had followed the proper guidelines for the lawsuit, and granted Scientology’s motion to dismiss.

Harris vowed to appeal, saying that he felt Judge Jones had dismissed the suit on technical grounds that could easily be addressed in an amended complaint. Now, in a detailed pleading, Harris explains that Judge Jones erred in several ways, and he’s hoping the appellate court will restore the lawsuit.

Lawyer types in the Bunker: We’d love to hear your analysis of this document.

 

Burgess et al v Narconon: Appeal Brief

 
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Marc Headley talks escaping Scientology with J. Swift

Another great entry in the podcast series by Karen de la Carriere and Jeffrey Augustine

 

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 13, 2014 at 07:00

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