We’ve been telling you about the way that Scientology attacked Leah Remini’s lawsuit, with a massive motion to strike and anti-SLAPP in an attempt to cripple the suit before it really gets going. We’ve been looking forward to Leah’s reply, but it turns out we’re going to have to wait a little longer.
Yesterday, the two sides notified the court that they had worked out a new schedule that will allow more time for both camps to make arguments about Scientology’s motions, and Judge Randolph Hammock has signed off on the new schedule.
Leah first filed her lawsuit on August 2, alleging that she’s been the target of years of harassment, defamation, and interference of her ability to make a living from Scientology’s “Fair Game” campaign against her. After she initially filed the suit, she then added more allegations that the harassment has only gotten worse since she took the church to court, and she also asked for a preliminary injunction from the court that would end Scientology’s antics.
As we told you in a number of posts, Scientology fired back with more than 1,000 pages of motions and exhibits claiming that it was Leah who had started the war of words, that Scientology could investigate her with private eyes as a form of “pre-litigation,” and that any complaints to her media companies was just protected speech by a religious organization.
Both sides have taken some pretty vicious shots at the other in these early exchanges, and it’s been exciting to watch.
But now, the two sides, recognizing perhaps how large these claims and counterclaims are, have worked out this schedule going forward:
Leah will file her opposition to Scientology’s anti-SLAPP motion on or by Friday, December 1.
Scientology will then file its reply to her opposition on or by Wednesday, December 22.
And the two sides have asked Judge Hammock to move his hearing on the motion from November 28 to Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
Leah’s motion for a preliminary injunction will then be heard on Friday, January 19.
Mark your calendars, people!
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Technology Cocktail/
“All cases, sooner or later, have to be run on engrams, no matter what else has to be done. For it is in engrams that the bulk of the charge on the Time Track lies. And it is therefore those parts of the Time Track called engrams which overwhelm the thetan. These contain pain and unconsciousness and are therefore the record of moments when a thetan was most at effect and least at cause. In these moments then the thetan is least able to confront or to be causative.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1963
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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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?
[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH
— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see
[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
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“We understand God because of the Devil; we understand this, we understand that. These are double data. The basic unit of the universe is two, not one. And we suddenly announce, ‘Theta has as its potentiality the location of matter and energy in space and time, and can, as well, create space and time.’ Well, once we say that, and the same time we say it has no wavelength, it — boy, we’re really describing a beast here. This thing couldn’t possibly have any position in the real universe. And sure enough, it doesn’t.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 14, 1956
“At Group Muster last night the FSO was not satisfied that the requirements were met by S. Moreau, A. Tabayoyon, C. Varga and E. Hayes, so the above are still restricted to the ship and given 24 hrs to: Get all shore passes of those restricted to ship removed from QM desk and given to AMA. Run a series of drills on QMs to ensure they won’t goof again. Draw up a proposed watch stat for QMs which includes a heavy penalty for watch goofs. Get a list of all QMs given to Dept 13 so that gangway QMs be post purpose cleared.” — Lt. N.F. Starkey, Captain, November 14, 1971
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“Aliens used 1/4 of earth animal DNA, and 3/4 theirs from another planetary race. This may explain the wild disparity between different pictures — different places….LRH collected data from Dianetics sessions for a couple of years before he wrote History of Man. A lot of this material was amazing just for the reason that the people had not communicated to each other and had the same incidents. Hubbard really thought he had all of these things correct. It turns out that some of these were in error because of people’s concept of science (their personal belief in ape-man-evolution and use of the faked Piltdown model). Hostile authors like Russell Miller and Jon Atack seized on this to make Hubbard look bad.”
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1996: A message from Dennis Erlich was posted this week in which he described the situation with his child support lawsuit, in which his ex-wife is funded by Scientology. He also reported that he has a new job, despite Scientology’s efforts to Dead Agent him. “There is no doubt in my mind that the scientology cult, with the help of a vindictive ex-wife has and will continue to attempt to have me incarcerated. I have made every required support payment and more. She came out of hiding to give the scienos a declaration they needed to satisfy the federal statutes permitting them to kick down my door and rape my privacy without letting me tell my side of the story in court before the court ordered the seizure. The scienos helped her in return by giving her my bank account # from my bank statement information stolen from me during the unconstitutional raid. And by paying, I am certain, for the Century City lawyer who has appeared against me in San Diego at least half a dozen times. They managed to get me found guilty of 8 counts of contempt. The violation was for paying my child support ~later~ than the date the court ordered, though still in the same month. In the other hundred or so counts where I had ~not paid child support at all~ due to not knowing where my ex wife was hiding the child, I was found NOT guilty. I have a new job. I am working for Tribune Broadcasting as assistant to the producer of the Hollywood Christmas Parade and Rose Parade telecasts on KTLA channel 5 in LA. They’ve already tried to have me fired. Offered a DA pack to my employers. They declined.”
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“Hubbard had it wrong from the very beginning. Man is an animal and nothing more. Detachment from the material world is one of the main reasons humanity is destroying the material world. Spiritualism is our get out of jail free card.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing October 30.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, Scientology submitting anti-SLAPP response Oct 26.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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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?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] PODCAST: Leah Remini joins us to talk Scientology, the LAPD, and Shelly Miscavige
[TWO years ago] DOCUMENT LEAK: Did the ‘Chase Wave’ cause a blacklisting of Scientology?
[THREE years ago] Jon Atack quizzes Mike Rinder: Scientology’s former spy chief on L. Ron Hubbard’s paranoia
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s David Miscavige served again: This time in a sick case alleging child abuse
[FIVE years ago] Records of Scientology leader David Miscavige’s speeding tickets contain a small surprise
[SIX years ago] Tonight on ‘Leah Remini’: L. Ron Hubbard gets the Russell Miller treatment
[SEVEN years ago] At an early age, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard learned how to captivate the press
[EIGHT years ago] Jeffrey Augustine: Just a friendly reminder — Scientology prices are outrageous
[NINE years ago] Classic Scientology shenanigans as class action lawsuit is filed against legal opponent NAFC
[TEN years ago] Jefferson Hawkins Drops In To See What Condition Our Scientology Condition Is In
[ELEVEN years ago] Lawrence Wright’s Book on Scientology — Going Clear — Hits Bookstores January 17
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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 3,213 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,728 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,278 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,268 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,149 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,453 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,324 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,429 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,876 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,218 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,784 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,703 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,870 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,452 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,713 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,749 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,465 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,029 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,344 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,519 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,070 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,201 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,539 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,394 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,513 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,869 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,172 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,278 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,676 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,552 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,117 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,630 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,884 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,993 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 14, 2023 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), 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
