Yesterday we told you that when we learned Scientology leader David Miscavige notified the Los Angeles Superior Court that he had been improperly served a lawsuit regarding rape allegations against Scientologist actor Danny Masterson, we took a stab at what we thought might be the argument his attorneys would be making.
We noticed that by California law you can do “substitute service” of someone like Miscavige if you deliver court papers to someone at the office which he uses as a mailing address.
And that’s when we noticed something interesting. We knew that the legal team behind the lawsuit had sent a process server to Scientology’s “Hollywood Guaranty Building” (HGB) at 6331 Hollywood Blvd. But we found letterhead from Miscavige showing that as the leader of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), Scientology’s nominally controlling entity and a defendant in the lawsuit, he used a different address: 1710 Ivar Ave, 11th floor.
Now, those two addresses — 6331 Hollywood Blvd and 1710 Ivar Ave — are actually two separate entrances into the same building, the HGB.
Could Miscavige, we wondered, argue something so petty as the process server coming to the wrong door?
Well, look for yourself…
Yes, they really went there. And in the entire 9-page document, RTC’s attorney Matthew Hinks of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell never mentions that 6331 Hollywood Blvd and 1710 Ivar Ave are entrances to the same building, and each lead to the same 11th floor where Miscavige and the RTC have offices. (Also, a former Sea Org member told us that this was set up purposely — the Ivar Ave entrance is simply a locked door leading to an elevator, with no one to drop off papers with.)
The motion written by Hinks goes on to list a number of reasons that the attempt to serve the lawsuit was “fraudulent.”
— According to Scientology the process server said he was there to serve Church of Scientology International (CSI) and said nothing about RTC.
— The process server company told the court that after dropping off the papers it mailed a separate set of them that RTC says never arrived.
— The paperwork from the process server referred to Miscavige as “director,” a title that doesn’t exist at RTC.
The document points out that although nine of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs are from outside California — the Philadelphia-based Brian Kent-Marci Hamilton team — it takes a subtle swipe at them for relying on an attorney in Burlingame, California to handle the service of a lawsuit in Los Angeles, a distance of some 370 miles.
As a result, Hinks calls for the service of RTC to be quashed, and asks for monetary sanctions for the “fraud” perpetuated by the plaintiffs, and also asks that its nine out-of-town attorneys not be allowed to participate in the lawsuit.
Motions to quash were also filed by defendants CSI and David Miscavige, and they have asked for hearings on their motions on February 4-6. We’re still waiting to get our hands on those documents, but we’re going to guess that they will also contain similar scorched-earth arguments. (As for Danny Masterson himself, as we mentioned yesterday, we believe that process servers are still trying to find him after they improperly tried to serve him at the HGB, where he neither lives nor works.)
We also have now begun to get some indication of the legal team that Miscavige is assembling, and it includes some very familiar names.
William Forman, of Scheper Kim & Harris in Los Angeles, has handled a lot of the Narconon lawsuits that sprouted up a few years ago. Attorneys who handled those suits characterized Forman as a bulldog.
And Miscavige has also brought in Jeffrey Riffer of Elkins Kalt, a colorful character who was hired to bark at Vanity Fair and try to scare it out of publishing its excellent 2012 story by Maureen Orth about Nazanin Boniadi and Tom Cruise. He later showed up on our radar when he was hired to fight a trademark dispute with a licensing agency.
Meanwhile, four women are suing Danny Masterson and the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige alleging that they were violently raped by Masterson and then endured years of pressure from the church to cover it up and then harassment from the church when they did come forward. (Plaintiff Chrissie Carnell Bixler is also joined by her husband, rocker Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who is suing over these recent years of harassment.)
And now, even before they can get their attorneys in place, the plaintiffs are learning that Scientology is not only trying to kill the lawsuit and bar their attorneys, but is asking for sanctions from the court, to be paid because these victims have merely tried to get Masterson and Miscavige into court to face these allegations.
We’d say it’s incredible, but having covered Scientology litigation for more than 20 years now, we can tell you that this is exactly what we expected — and we just hope those big-time out of town attorneys knew what they were getting themselves into.
Here’s the motion to quash from RTC…
Bixler v. Scientology et al… by Tony Ortega on Scribd
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Leaked document of the day
From the Valley Org release comes this item.
In 2017, Scientologists are still being checked to make sure they’re not psychotic, suicidal, or “promoting tax avoidance schemes” before they can go to the Flag Land Base for special training. Isn’t that heartwarming?
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“Though little progress has been made in the field of psychic phenomena in Dianetics, we have made enough progress to raise the hair of the whole society — just as we are doing on the subject of processing. But it is interesting to me that some of the past concepts of what life is seem to be very antique at this time. We haven’t had time to look up some of the confirmations thoroughly enough, but there is just a little bit more evidence in favor of immortality and the individuality of the human soul than there is against it….The preponderance of the evidence is in favor of individual immortality. I never thought that would be the case. All my life, I had supposed that when a person was dead, he was dead. He looks awfully dead! Actually, that was all the scientific evidence the society had on that basis a few short months ago: ‘He looks awfully dead’.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 21, 1950
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“If people really believed in their OT powers then they wouldnt worry about insurance and locking doors, and i kinda live like this. If something bad happens then ive gone a little pts and regardless of locking doors or not that something bad would have happened anyway. So probably avoiding suppressives is more important than getting insurance.”
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“It’s not a question of whether the Church of Scientology has ever been capable of world domination, obviously that’s absurd. It’s that Hubbard’s writings state this as his goal which lays the groundwork for banning Scientology and similar organizations by governments around the world, justifiably so, in my opinion. If you’re going to talk shit, don’t cry foul when people make you choke on it.”
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!
We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.
Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!
Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!
Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Things to be thankful for — the new Scientology holiday catalog is here!
[TWO years ago] Tonight: Leah Remini and Mike Rinder wrap up their 2nd season with questions from viewers
[THREE years ago] Shelley Duvall is ill, but is Scientology’s Vivian Kubrick the best person to step in?
[FOUR years ago] Scenes from the divorce of the second marriage that L. Ron Hubbard never had
[FIVE years ago] Swiss politicians sue Scientology for libel in battle over anti-drug front group
[SIX years ago] The “Ethics” of Political Power: Scientology’s Worship of Ruthlessness
[SEVEN years ago] No, Kelly Preston is Not Rebelling Against Scientology By Acknowledging Autism
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s ‘Super Power’ Building: Cash Cow for the Church
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 5,635 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 1,764 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,268 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,788 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 808 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 699 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,006 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,874 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,648 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,422 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,768 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,334 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,253 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,421 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,002 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,263 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,302 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,014 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,540 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,066 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,629 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,769 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,089 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 7,945 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,064 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,419 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,722 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,828 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,230 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,102 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,685 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,180 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,434 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,543 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 21, 2019 at 07:00
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