Ryan Hamilton hit with setback as Narconon motion to dismiss prevails on some issues

Since January, we’ve been reporting on the 24 lawsuits filed by Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon. And in that time, Hamilton’s batting average has been remarkably high — in some cases, defendants Narconon International and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) have thrown in the towel, settling to get out of the lawsuits as Hamilton has fended off the usual tactics by Scientology’s attorneys.

Hamilton’s suits focus on Narconon’s deceptive practices, which are well established. Narconon makes a lot of promises to prospective clients about drug counseling, medical personnel, and effectiveness, but as Hamilton demonstrates in his pleadings, each of those promises are broken. Narconon patients actually get Scientology training rather than drug counseling, staff is made up of former patients not medical personnel, and the advertised rates of success can’t be backed up with any scientific evidence.

But now, one of the early lawsuits has hit a snag. Federal District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel has granted some parts of a motion to dismiss against one of the early suits that Hamilton filed in March on behalf of Angelo Amato.

Judge Curiel, for example, agreed with Narconon and dismissed the lawsuit’s count of breach of contract. However, looking at it closely, the judge’s dismissal appears more technical than substantive…

“[Amato] argues that he ‘paid $31,000.00,’ however nowhere in [Amato]’s complaint does he allege that he paid that sum to Fresh Start.”

Judge Curiel also dismissed Narconon International and ABLE from the suit.

Other counts, such as fraud and negligence, were not dismissed. And most importantly, Judge Curiel granted Hamilton leave to amend his complaint — and that includes another shot at Narconon International and ABLE.

We’ll also note that the Amato case was one of the first that Hamilton filed, and if you’ve been following along as we’ve reported on the 22 that he’s brought to court, you know that the more recent ones contain much more detail about how Narconon International and ABLE control local Narconon facilities, for example, as well as many other pieces of crucial evidence that leave no doubt about the connection between Narconon and Scientology.

So while this is a setback for Hamilton, we suspect that he will respond with a new amended complaint that includes the material he’s been submitting in his newer suits, and then Narconon will file a new motion to dismiss and it’s back to the judge.

Here’s the order…

 

Amato v. Narconon: Order Regarding Motion to Dismiss

 
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Another opportunity to give Scientology your money

How much do you think Scientologists at the Pasadena or OC or Los Angeles orgs like being told they need to go help the Valley raise more money for its white elephant Ideal Org in a “LA United” event?

 

 
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Scientology and its homophobia

Mike Rinder has an interesting item this morning that grew from something in our Sunday Funnies feature. A reader spotted that the Mountain View org, which is working to raise money for the new “Silicon Valley Ideal Org,” celebrated a donation by two men who appear to be a couple.

Rinder asks the question, does this mean Scientology is finally getting friendlier to the gay community?

Before anyone gets too hopeful about that, we’d ask them to read our story about Keith Relkin. Keith, a gay man in West Hollywood, worked hard to give the impression that Scientology was welcoming to LGBT members, but privately, to friends, he said the opposite. And Keith’s story also illustrated that in some local missions and orgs in places like West Hollywood, there might have been some openly gay church members — but they weren’t welcome to pursue the higher levels on the Bridge at places like Flag in Clearwater until they had “handled” their homosexuality with auditing. In other words, Scientology still believes that its processes work as a “gay cure.”

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 24, 2014 at 07:00

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