Our legal helpers have been working overtime as it gets tougher and tougher to keep an eye on everything going on in Scientology litigation around the country.
Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton keeps plowing away, and has filed yet another federal fraud lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon.
Once again, an unhappy former customer of Scientology’s Nevada rehab facility — Rainbow Canyon Retreat, also known as Narconon Fresh Start — is the plaintiff, in this case Ronald McClure and his son Jason, of Arizona.
Ronald called Narconon on May 19, 2013, and spoke to Dan Carmichael, who “made numerous material false representations” about the rehab center.
Ronald was told that his son would get drug counseling and would be treated by medical professionals. He was also told that the facility had a better than 76-percent success rate, and that Jason would go through a sauna program.
Ronald paid $33,000 up front to get Jason started, and when he got there, he realized that his father had been lied to. As we’ve seen in so many other lawsuits, patients at Narconon facilities receive Scientology training rather than drug counseling, there are no medical professionals on hand, and the sauna program is straight out of Scientology and has no scientific basis.
“Jason left Fresh Start early because he did not feel safe and the program bore no resemblance to what Plaintiffs had been promised. Jason left Fresh Start in worse condition than he entered.”
Here’s the complaint…
McClure v. Narconon: Complaint
By our count, that’s fourteen federal lawsuits Hamilton has filed against Narconon in California, Nevada, and Colorado.
Angelo Amato (San Diego)
Christy Estrada and Branden Chavez (San Diego)
Cathy and Michael Tarr (Nevada)
Harry and Lauren Geanacopulos (Nevada)
David, Stacy, and Jack Welch (Nevada)
Bryan and Nikki Mott (Colorado)
Charles and Tyler Matthys, and Linda Phillips (Colorado)
Kenneth and Jered Mowery (Watsonville, CA)
Robin Jones, James Ramirez Sr. and Jr. (Watsonville, CA)
Charis Yates, Beret and Dean Pugh (Nevada)
Lori, Ryan, and Jilliene Winchell (Nevada)
Ben Levy (Colorado)
Monica and Sean O’Connell (Watsonville, CA)
Also, perhaps a minor point, but in one of the suits, Amato, Narconon didn’t bother to oppose Hamilton’s request to file a fourth amended complaint, and so the court ordered that he do so.
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The Georgia class-action Narconon lawsuit: Scientology counters
Last month, we told you that Atlanta attorney Jeff Harris is trying to resurrect his federal class-action lawsuit against Narconon by appealing its dismissal by a district court.
Now, Scientology has answered his appeal brief with three of its own. US District Judge Steve C. Jones had dismissed the lawsuit because it didn’t properly present plausible claims for relief, so in Scientology’s briefs, they’re hammering that same point. In other words, Judge Jones was right, they say. In addition, the Religious Technology Center (RTC), Scientology’s nominally controlling entity, is saying that the district court doesn’t have jurisdiction over it (a common Scientology refrain). If you spot anything unusual in these documents let us know, but they seem pretty standard to us. The burden is really on Harris to convince the appeals court that Jones erred when he dismissed the lawsuit.
— Appeal brief of Narconon Georgia
— Appeal brief of Narconon International and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE)
— Appeal brief for the Religious Technology Center (RTC)
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First motion to dismiss in the giant NAFC lawsuit
With 82 defendants, there’s a lot to keep an eye on in the big National Association of Forensic Counselors lawsuit against Scientology and Narconon, filed in federal district court in Oklahoma. As we pointed out before, numerous defendants are choosing local representation, out-of-state defendants are filing “special appearances” to object that the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over them, and still others haven’t been heard from (including Scientology leader David Miscavige). And now, one defendant, David Lee, has already filed a motion to dismiss. Lee says that he did no business in Oklahoma, and does not operate any websites that the NAFC says were misusing its logo and certifications.
Lee has also been mentioned by our commenters, who say that a couple of years ago he became a whistleblower against Narconon and so they’re surprised to see him in this lawsuit. We’ve also included his affadavit to go along with his motion to dismiss.
A REMINDER to our great tipsters: We’d love to get our hands on the video of the 2002 LRH Birthday Event, which was referenced in this lawsuit.
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Scientology members agree to be kidnapped by contract
Another fascinating video by Karen de la Carriere and Jeffrey Augustine, this time on Scientology’s draconian contracts.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 21, 2014 at 07:00
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