Ahead of next week’s hearing, Danny Masterson’s accusers blast his attacks on their lawsuit

On Friday next week, a hearing is scheduled at Los Angeles Superior Court that will consider Scientologist actor Danny Masterson’s “demurrer,” a legalistic attack on a lawsuit filed by four women who allege that they were raped by Masterson, and after they came forward to police with those allegations they were subjected to an ongoing harassment campaign by Masterson, Scientology, and Scientology’s leader David Miscavige.

In response to the lawsuit, Masterson filed his demurrer, accusing the women of filing their lawsuit as a publicity stunt, of citing incidents that were too random to be examples of a concerted harassment campaign, and for improperly putting together unrelated issues in a single lawsuit. He’s also asked that references to a criminal investigation be taken out of the lawsuit, and Scientology has its own demurrer filed against one of the women, Bobette Riales, with similar arguments against her inclusion in the suit.

Since those demurrers were filed, however, Masterson has been charged criminally for raping three of the women and is facing a possible prison sentence of 45 years to life. And while that criminal case naturally takes center stage and will likely lead to a stay of this lawsuit as we discussed on Monday, there’s still a lot at stake for next week’s hearing, which will be the first really substantive hearing in this lawsuit since it was filed a year ago.

Three documents were filed by the women (and one man) who brought this lawsuit, and we’ve embedded all three of them below. First, we have their opposition to the demurrer that Masterson filed, in which he sneered at their allegations, said they had no evidence he was involved in their harassment, and is trying to get himself out of the lawsuit.

Here’s the introduction to their response…

Dead pets. Home security breaches. Strangers in your windows, surveillance teams watching you. A focused campaign of harassment and intrusion upending your life. Defendant Masterson wants this Court to believe that such occurrences are “every day inconveniences that are common in all large cities.” Daniel Masterson did not inconvenience the Plaintiffs; Daniel Masterson sexually assaulted each of the female Plaintiffs, conspired with agents of Institutional Defendants [Scientology] and David Miscavige to cover up his crimes, and then set forth a ruthless campaign of harassment, stalking, and intrusion against each Plaintiff. Masterson falsely claims that the Plaintiff’s truth had been “thoroughly investigated and rejected years ago” only now to find himself staring down the barrel of criminal charges that could net him a life sentence.

In the ensuing argument, plaintiffs’ attorney Bobby Thompson takes on Masterson’s assertion that Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 (whom we refer to respectively as Victim B and Victim C) should not be anonymous but should identify themselves in court papers. Not only was Masterson’s reasoning weak to begin with, but now that he’s facing life in prison for raping these two women and Chrissie Carnell Bixler, there’s even more reason why they should remain nameless if they choose, the document says.

A demurrer doesn’t question the facts of a case, it questions the legal basis of the pleading. And Thompson argues that they have sufficiently laid out what is being alleged and the causes of action.

As to Masterson’s argument that these separate plaintiffs have improperly combined their experiences in a single lawsuit even though they are alleging acts that happened in separate places and at separate times: “Facts common to each Plaintiff are properly pleaded. Daniel Masterson sexually assaulted each Plaintiff, and then, working with common agents, ‘conspired to and systematically stalked, harassed, invaded their and their family’s privacy, and intentionally caused them emotional distress to silence and intimidate them’.”

And from the document’s conclusion:

“SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist…May be tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed.” L. Ron Hubbard, HCO Policy Letter of 18 October 1967. “Fair game” does not translate to random, unconnected coincidences. “Fair game” means conduct. It means planning and conspiring to stalk, surveil, invade privacy, and inflicting emotional distress. Plaintiffs set forth sufficient facts showing Masterson engaged in such conduct. Based upon the foregoing factual allegations, Plaintiffs respectfully request that Defendant Masterson’s demurrer be denied in its entirety.

Another demurrer was filed by Scientology against Bobette Riales. Because Bobette was never a Scientologist, the church can’t argue that she is obliged to take her grievances to Scientology’s internal “religious arbitration” like they’re trying to do to the others. So instead they’re arguing, like Masterson, that her claims are insufficient, and that she should not be paired with the other plaintiffs. And like in their opposition to Masterson, her attorneys are saying that the church has cherry-picked examples to ridicule from the lawsuit, and that Bobette has properly pleaded her case and that her harassment does arise from the same campaign that’s being waged against the others.

And as long as Scientology and Masterson are going to keep arguing that these women have nothing to do with each other, it only gives the plaintiffs the opportunity to point out what they do have in common: They were each raped by Masterson, they allege.

In the third document, Thompson responds to Masterson’s motion to strike references of a criminal investigation from the lawsuit. And now that he’s actually been charged for raping three women, Thompson’s job is really not very hard:

These matters are not included to “garner media attention.” Media attention has long since been garnered through no action of the Plaintiffs but rather, Defendant Masterson’s own conduct and public comments. The allegations of sexual assault by Masterson, and the subsequent police investigation of Masterson, underlie, frame, and impact each of the Plaintiffs’ claims. These allegations are in fact pertinent to Plaintiffs’ claims for stalking, invasion of privacy, IIED, and loss of consortium, because the sexual assaults and police investigations lead to the existence of the other causes of action. The assaults, and the police investigation of the assaults, provoked Masterson to stalk and harass each Plaintiff. To strike these allegations would be to deny the Plaintiffs the ability to put their claims into a factual context.

So how will things go in next week’s hearing? We’ve seen this legal team stumble in its two other lawsuits, one filed by Valerie Haney, and the other by another Jane Doe, in Miami. But in this case so far, Judge Steven Kleifield has acted cautiously and conscientiously. This will be the first real test of how he sees the case.

THE DOCUMENTS

The opposition to Masterson’s demurrer:

Bixler v. Scientology: Oppo… by Tony Ortega on Scribd

The opposition to CSI’s demurrer against Bobette Riales:

Bixler v. Scientology: Oppo… by Tony Ortega on Scribd

The opposition to Masterson’s motion to strike material referring to the criminal investigation:

Bixler v. Scientology: Oppo… by Tony Ortega on Scribd

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

Haven’t heard from Dublin org for a while…

 
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Source Code

“I toured around the empty ship and it looked lonesome. The galley was kept going by deckhands. Vixie had some trouble towing the ship out to anchor but made it. (The Commodores Messenger couldn’t find the Main Engine throttles as the engineers evidently took them on liberty.) Six new X trainees came aboard and were quickly trained up and fired by Dimples the man-eating shark — at least she said they had been fired. All in all it was quiet and restful.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 26, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“This is what Justin Craig left to clean up after he was given free rent for 6 months at the property I am staying at. It has taken me one and a half days to clean it up and haul to the dump. This is inside a giant RV garage and he bought two old motor homes and then gutted them and threw it in a pile for the owner to clean it up. I helped her by doing the work in exchange for some storage space.”

 
In response to the Bunker’s inquiry about the photo, Craig sent us this: “I should have taken a shit on top and wrapped everything up with a little red bow.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Hubbard was making the whole thing up as he went along, and the ‘tech’ is nothing but mumbo jumbo. Until these people realize that LRH was the flim flam man, they will never be truly free.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for August 27 in White Plains, NY, but attorneys are asking it be moved back. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 4 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— 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, trial set for Nov 9, 2021. Plaintiffs granted permission to file changes to amended complaint by Sept 4.

 
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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] Tonight, Leah Remini ends ‘Scientology and the Aftermath’ with a hard look at Danny Masterson
[TWO years ago] Scientology keeps pushing for ‘Ideal Orgs’ in places where it’s pure madness
[THREE years ago] DOX: The FBI’s 2008 investigation of Anonymous and its attacks on the Church of Scientology
[FOUR years ago] Is the Enquirer’s ‘exclusive’ on Scientology’s ‘hooker orgy’ a David Miscavige backfire?
[FIVE years ago] So much for tabloid rumors: Tom Cruise visits Scientology’s ‘Ideal Org’ while he’s in Bogotá
[SIX years ago] More trouble for Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon — this time in Florida
[SEVEN years ago] ANETTE IREN JOHANSEN: “I Auditioned To Be Tom Cruise’s Wife”
[EIGHT years ago] (2012’s) Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, Nos. 14-16
[NINE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 16: Marc Headley

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 26, 2020 at 07:00

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