Last month’s stunning appeals court ruling in Bixler v. Church of Scientology International that reversed a win for Scientology’s ‘religious arbitration’ continues to have reverberations.
Yesterday, longtime Scientology opponent and California attorney Ford Greene let us know that he had filed a request with the appeals court, urging it to formally publish its opinion so that its effects will reach other courts.
Scientology had been on a six-year winning streak with its “religious arbitration” legal strategy, derailing lawsuits in Florida and California by convincing judges that former Scientologists couldn’t sue the church but instead, because of contracts they had signed while they were church members, were obliged to submit their grievances to Scientology’s internal brand of arbitration.
Those plaintiffs have appealed on various grounds, including the argument that Scientology’s arbitration is inherently unfair because it is not independent but instead requires an arbitrating panel of three church members in good standing. Anyone suing the church is considered a “suppressive person,” so such a panel would never be able to consider their claims fairly, they have argued.
But in the Bixler case, it was another argument that won the day: Scientology is accused of harassing and stalking the Danny Masterson accusers years after they left the church. The appeals court found that holding these plaintiffs to contracts they had signed earlier was a violation of their First Amendment rights to leave a religion, and overturned the lower courts ruling. Now, the Masterson accusers won’t have to go through arbitration and the lawsuit can continue.
But that opinion, issued on January 19, was “non-published,” and we know that caused some confusion for our readers.
“Non-published means it is not precedent and has no controlling influence over cases in the trial court,” Greene explains. “Published means trial court must obey.”
Greene has a long history of litigating against Scientology and has also found himself the target of intense Fair Game campaigns. He knows what a major advance this ruling is, and wants to see it have a greater effect in other courts.
He’s submitted an eight-page letter for the court, hoping to convince them to publish the opinion. (At the same time, the attorneys for the Masterson accusers also submitted their own request that the opinion be formally published.) Rather than try to summarize Greene’s missive, we thought we’d post it here in its entirety. Please go through it and let us know which parts stand out for you.
Ford Greene Request to Publish by Tony Ortega
——————–
Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.
Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.
——————–
“You know girls are pretty high-toned ordinarily. You can never quite tell about a girl. You’re liable to meet her on Wednesday and her name is Elizabeth, and you’re liable to meet her on Monday and her name is Jessie, see. She changes her name very easily. Not only that, they get married and change their names. They do change their names. We do know that. Girl, up to the time she’s seventeen, has been very, very well — nicely known as Clarissa, you see, and she didn’t like that and you meet, next time you meet her she’s twenty-two and she calls herself Butch. There’s no telling what’s going to happen on it. Women do this, probably which accounts for their ability to hold on to a better-looking mock-up than men, because men become factually themselves. At whose assignment?” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 9, 1956
——————–
“We are auditing now at a volume higher than that of any org in the world with a completion rate far in excess of any other 3 orgs. The bruised elbows in getting lines in, the bruised tempers, the hard work is really paying off with the finest auditing ever done anywhere. We are also averaging two or three Clear OTs a day! Come on, other departments and divisions. You’re only expected to be the greatest division or department of your kind anywhere in the world. So fly, you guys, fly!” — The Commodore, February 9, 1971
——————–
“OT III is an incredible level — of all the gains I got in Scientology, OT III was my biggest one. Better than the L’s. OT III is fantastic. There are only two problems with OT III, either the student can’t audit, or he’s not quite ready for it. And if he does well on OT II, then he should do fine on OT III as OT II is part of one of the major incidents we run on OT III. I hope you know that.”
——————–
1997: Andreas Heldal-Lund reported a relocation of his Operation Clambake web site when his Internet provider suddenly removed access to the pages. “Operation Clambake is removed by the ISP today, without consulting me first! PS TO KOBRIN: I’m surprised it took so long for you to do something that forced me to put in some effort. You want to play it hard? OK, I’ll make sure this will get out. You just made a lot of new enemies on the Net!”
——————–
“The difference is real religions admit their beliefs are based on faith, whereas Scientology claims nothing in it is based on belief or faith, but is based on 100 percent proven scientific fact.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference March 25 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Next hearing February 15.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
——————–
THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] The pandemic isn’t over, but Scientology leader David Miscavige is ready for his bow
[TWO years ago] One sure sign a new Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ is on the way: the Central Files mayhem
[THREE years ago] Thinking of leaving Scientology? Jefferson Hawkins has your roadmap.
[FOUR years ago] Tory ‘Magoo’ Christman, and how Anonymous went from online war to in-real-life pickets
[FIVE years ago] We have your invitation to Scientology’s holiest celebration of the year!
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s thug life, documented: Aaron Smith-Levin shares a record of Sea Org violence
[SEVEN years ago] Mark Ebner finds Scientology’s rubbish again as Narconon International vanishes!
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s continuing plans for its Super Bowl ad, and more Sunday Funnies
[NINE years ago] Scientology Mythbusting with Jon Atack: Original Spin
[TEN years ago] Scientology, Deep in the Heart of Texas: The Voice at the Debbie Cook Hearing
——————–
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 2,570 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,075 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,595 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,615 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,506 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,813 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,681 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,455 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,786 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,259 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,575 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,141 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,060 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,228 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,809 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,070 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,106 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,821 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,346 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 701 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,876 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,427 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,576 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,896 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,751 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,870 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,226 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,529 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,635 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,033 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,909 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,492 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,987 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,241 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,350 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on February 9, 2022 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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, 15 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
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
