Scientology has filed a do-over demurrer against Bobette Riales, which it was compelled to do after Bobette and the other women suing Scientology and actor Danny Masterson filed an amended complaint and re-set the clock in their case.
For the most part, it’s a restatement of the first version of its demurrer against Bobette, but we were curious to see how Scientology handled the new allegations by Bobette and the other women that were part of their updated complaint, including the poisoning of Bobette’s dog Jet and the arson fire that damaged her Indiana home.
And Scientology did not disappoint.
Bobette, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, and two women going by the names Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 came forward to the Los Angeles Police Department more than three years ago with allegations that they had been violently raped by Masterson in incidents between 2001 and 2004. The LAPD investigation of those allegations continues, and in recent months we’ve reported that three additional women have come forward to the police. The LAPD initially forwarded its findings to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office in April 2017 for prosecution, but DA Jackie Lacey (now facing a November run-off election seeking her third term) has still not said anything about whether she plans to file charges.
Last August, the four women and Carnell Bixler’s husband, rocker Cedric Bixler-Zavala, filed their lawsuit over what they claim was the intense Scientology “Fair Game” harassment campaign they’d been subjected to because they had come forward to the police. So while they continue to wait for the criminal investigation to come up with rape charges, they are suing over the harassment they say they’ve been put through in a coordinated effort by Scientology, its leader David Miscavige, and Masterson.
Scientology responded to the lawsuit in a number of ways, and one of them was to file motions to compel the four of the five plaintiffs who had been former Scientologists — all but Riales — to submit to “religious arbitration,” derailing the lawsuit. Scientology claims that as church members, the three women and Bixler-Zavala had signed binding agreements promising to take any grievances to arbitration rather than suing the church in court.
But with Riales, Scientology has a different problem. Bobette was never a Scientologist. So instead, the church is coming at her with a demurrer, calling her allegations weak and also accusing her of joining a lawsuit she has no business being a part of.
The demurrer from the Church of Scientology International and the Celebrity Centre International (RTC has filed a similar document of its own) asks for a hearing on June 15. It then, like the last time, dismisses Bobette’s allegations as the annoyances of modern life…
The First Amended Complaint alleges that certain events have happened in Plaintiff Riales’ life: trash stolen, persons loitering in front of her house, computer difficulties, a shattered window. Most people understand these annoyances to be the price of modern, urban life. Plaintiff, on the other hand, charges that these commonplace events are part of a vast campaign against her by prominent religious organizations and the ecclesiastical leader of a religion. That argument is false and malicious.
Having thus dismissed her concerns out of hand, CSI then spends several pages focusing on the fact that Riales is in a lawsuit with four other people who are in another part of the country and who all experienced different incidents of what they consider harassment. Those plaintiffs are saying that this was all part of a coordinated campaign by Miscavige and the church, but CSI argues that it’s improper for them all to be in the same lawsuit. Is this a legit argument? We’d like to hear what our legal experts think, so please chime in down below.
But what surprised us was that Scientology was still referring to “trash stolen” and such things, when the new amended complaint has allegations that are more serious — the poisoning of Jet, for example, that the animal was fortunate to survive. And also that Bobette’s house was literally set on fire in an incident the local fire department considers an act of arson.
Scientology has decided, in its new demurrer, to handle those things in a footnote. Here it is:
Plaintiff Riales alleges other incidents – such as persons standing outside of her home, a supposed dog poisoning, and a supposed attempted arson – but such alleged conduct neither falls within the definitions of Civil Code Section 1708.8 or is alleged to have occurred in California.
This amuses us in part because when Scientology has been sued for fraud and harassment in Florida and Texas, it whines that it’s based in California and has nothing to do with those states. But this time, when it is being sued in California, it gripes that it can’t be sued in California for what is being alleged in another state.
It’s always something with these jokers.
Anyway, here’s the document itself. Please let us know what you find most interesting in it.
Bixler v. Scientology: CSI … by Tony Ortega on Scribd
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Bonus items from our tipsters
A South African municipality is defending itself after a “public outcry” over Scientology’s “Decon Seven Sanitation Team” going around spraying things…
“When the municipality was made aware of this programme and knowing the specific areas of focus of the district programme, we welcomed this cost-free partnership as a major support catalyst in mitigating and curbing the spread of the virus in our city.”
[Facepalm]
First New York and now SF puts on a “Sunday Service”? You know what that means: Miscavige must have put out the word…
…and Delphian puts out an “Introduction to Manners and Etiquette.” It’s like all of a sudden, Scientology is giving away everything for free!
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“One of the prime principles you must know about any universe to keep it in a good, messy, chaotic, solid, disordered form is to take no responsibility for ever having created it. Say, ‘God did it,’ you’ve practically got it made! And the more you say, ‘God did it,’ the more solid the universe is going to get — if you made it up. Get the idea? Listen, if God made it and that was the true ownership of it, it would disappear! Because that’s assignment of proper ownership; that’s taking a full responsibility for it. That’s understanding exactly what its source was. And it would disappear, just like that.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 9, 1959
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“How do you do a sort out when the man who made that game (LRH) isn’t here anymore? I will tell you. It is being done from the future. I find myself blowing huge amounts of charge and flashing through pictures so fast I can’t see them and I just know they are running something on me in the future. The way I see it we are just different timelines of the same spirit, so whatever is handled on one timeline cleans the other timelines too. I have been getting this all through my lifetime coming up with cogs of processes months before they are released and even wrote it up before the process came out like, why don’t you run the Dianetic Engrams to the thought itself that created it. Next comes out New Era Dianetics that does just that.”
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“So Miscavige quit doing processing right around the same time he assumed power? Sounds like he read OT 3, realized it was rubbish and went for the gold instead. That’s pretty much what I’ve always assumed.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Jay Spina: Sentencing was set for April 3 in White Plains
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members: Trial set for April 14 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Waiting for an appellate decision from the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Hearing on motion for reconsideration set for June 17
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: April 22 (plaintiff attorneys pro hac vice), May 1 (Masterson new demurrer due), June 15 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales), July 24 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe’s attorneys have asked for discovery, depositions (Warren McShane, Lynn Farny), April 20 hearing set (motion to compel arbitration)
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Oral arguments were heard on March 11 in Jacksonville
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Amended complaint filed.
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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] Scientology policy is to investigate rape victims seeking help, 1963 document reveals
[TWO years ago] Our prayers are answered — Freedom magazine is coming to Scientology television!
[THREE years ago] Scientology spends millions on its shiny new buildings, but its workers have to beg for food
[FOUR years ago] Scientology buys ‘.org’ and ‘.net’ sites to battle anti-disconnection billboard in Los Angeles
[FIVE years ago] Read the police report on the spies who kept tabs on the father of Scientology’s leader
[SIX years ago] Appeals court: Would deposing Scientology’s leader violate Texas law?
[SEVEN years ago] How Scientology’s “Study Tech” Turns Schoolwork Into Conditioning
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 1,902 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,406 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,926 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 946 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 837 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,144 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,012 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,786 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,560 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,906 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,472 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,391 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,559 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,140 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,401 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,439 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,152 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,677 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,207 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,767 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,907 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,227 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,082 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,202 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,557 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,860 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,966 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,368 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,240 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,823 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,318 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,572 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,681 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 9, 2020 at 07:00
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The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 14 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
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