Two weeks ago, we told you that we had confirmed something we’ve suspected for months, that high-profile litigator David Boies was interested in getting in on the action of suing the Church of Scientology.
We had received an acknowledgment from his firm that it was now representing some of Danny Masterson’s accusers for purposes of protecting their rights during Masterson’s criminal trial.
But we figured this was only part of the story, and that the Boies firm was actually going to be taking over representing those accusers in their civil lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology.
Last night, we received confirmation from the firm that this is, in fact, the case.
“I can confirm that myself, John Kucera, and Simon Leen of our LA Office have been retained to represent Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 3’s husband, and Ms. Riales in the civil lawsuit,” said attorney Alison Anderson of the Boies Schiller Flexner firm in an email to us.
The civil lawsuit we’re talking about is separate from the criminal rape prosecution of Masterson that is going on right now in Los Angeles and that will begin its third day of jury deliberations this morning. The lawsuit actually predates the criminal charges that were filed against Masterson in June 2020, accusing him of forcibly raping three women who are going by the names Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2, and Jane Doe 3.
In August 2019 those same three women, along with Jane Doe 3’s husband Mars Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and another woman, Bobette Riales, filed their lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology for harassment and stalking. The suit accuses Masterson and the church of disrupting their lives since the women came forward with their rape allegations to the LAPD in late 2016. They are not suing over the rape allegations themselves, but over what they characterize as an ongoing harassment campaign that has included the poisoning of their pets and even a house being set on fire.
When the lawsuit was filed, the five plaintiffs were represented by a nationally-known legal team that was based in Philadelphia. But after the lawsuit was derailed by Scientology motions for arbitration and then restored by a stunning appeals court ruling in January, Jane Doe 1 decided to go her own way and hired Brad Edwards, an attorney known for taking on billionaire predator Jeffrey Epstein.
We had heard that the remaining plaintiffs were similarly looking to change lawyers, and that the Boies firm was interested. And now it’s confirmed that Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and Bobette Riales will be represented by the Boies firm in the lawsuit.
The suit is currently on hold while the criminal case is going on, but it’s expected to resume on December 13. Scientology has already indicated that it plans to file an anti-SLAPP motion at that point.
The civil lawsuit seemingly received a huge boost when it was revealed on November 8 that Lisa Marie Presley was prepared to testify in the criminal case that she had been asked by Scientology to dissuade Jane Doe 1 from going to the LAPD in 2004, evidence of the kind of interference in law enforcement that the lawsuit alleges. We’ll be very interested to find out how the plaintiffs can take advantage of that revelation as the civil lawsuit resumes.
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Yesterday’s wrap-up of day 2 of deliberation
Again the Danny Masterson jury left us hanging after another day of deliberations. But at least Mark Bunker saved us from a complete washout. We released our end-of-the-day video to everyone here at Substack, but we’re linking to it here in case you haven’t seen it. And here’s also the version at our YouTube channel.
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Technology Cocktail
“It is a certainty that the three universes exist in terms of perceptions: one’s own universe, the MEST universe and the other fellow’s universe. When we have established these, we will find that an individual can assume viewpoints which are not dependent upon the body and can perceive these universes as an analytical mind directly. We don’t ask anybody to be certain of this until it happens. Thus from these three certainties with MEST eyes, we go into these three certainties on a direct level. What we will call a “stability” for want of a better word at this time and to replace the word “clear” about which there is a tremendous amount of confusion, would be one who can, without the assistance of MEST eyes, perceive with complete certainty the three universes from many viewpoints.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1953
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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?
— The Underground Bunker Podcast
[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
— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial
[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen [22] Nov 3: Day Fourteen [23] Nov 4: Day Fifteen [24] Third week in review [25] Nov 5, Saturday special [26] Nov 6, Sunday special [27] Nov 7, Day Sixteen [28] Lisa Marie Presley breaking news [29] Nov 8, Day Seventeen [30] Nov 9, Day Eighteen [31] Nov 10, Day Nineteen
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“Space opera used to be a lot of fun, you know. You’d spend two hours getting into your suit, and you get all this equipment and you get it all here and there and you stuff it and fill up your pockets, and then you climb up with this two hundred pounds of stuff, up a ladder that’s about 30 feet tall, to get into some kind of an airport. And you get inside this ship, you see, and then you regulate about 500 switches and you have to repair four or five electronic circuits and you patch some things together with chewing gum and you strap yourself down in a seat and take off. And then you navigate like mad, going three times the speed of light, trying to navigate by stars that are invisible for some days. And then you land someplace for the skin of your teeth, and boy, you really knew you did something. That’s right. You really knew you did something.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 18, 1953
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“TIME MAG: Probably the bitterest news opponent to Dianetics in the US was TIME MAGAZINE. It started lying loudly in 1950 in its flip entheta style and gave me more space that year than it gave the president. All lies. We did not identify Why until last year. Their ‘medical health’ editor (Keller) is a member of the World Federation of Mental Health and in their pay. It is TIME policy to enturbulate America, cause riots and disaffection. If you read it in Time it isn’t true. A movement such as ours is the death knell of Fascist fear masters. As much US press is Communist, and as the active Communists organization numbers 400,000 in the US, I am very happy to see Time making a false claim about ‘having Krushchev’s memoirs.’ Time would forge same, get Russia to deny it for publicity. World press is full of this dispute and has been for some time now. So Time has bitten off too big a bite, told too big a lie. It is in financial trouble already. It would be a happy day if they crashed. The more WFMH network collapses the better chance man will have to survive. What a PR trick! Forge ‘memoirs’ get the author to deny it — all for big publicity — typical Time tactics. There’s no bitterness involved. It is always amusing to see a biter bit.” — The Commodore, November 18, 1970
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“We have a society drugged up, low toned, out of comm, and who now hold the fear of easy drone or satellite assassination and surveillance, and today’s peeps are much more interested in MEST tech than theta tech. Sad. I see no advantage to continue to dumb us down further or an advantage for AI running things. Even just using AI for collecting data isn’t advantageous for those of us who obtain full OT — not necessary and counter-intentioned to theta goals.”
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1998: Picket report from Gregg Hagglund in Toronto: “Attendees: Xenubat & Wulfen, Elrond, DeepWog Deep Wog, Seanster and his S.O., Android Cat. Artemis for the last hour only. Flyer Count: Approx 650 of all types. “I started off the Picket by entering the Org Lobby and serving Legal Notice declaring my home and property off limits to Scientology Staff, Members and Agents. One day I expect they will do the same to me. I walked in the doors and up to the desk and asked the lackey sitting there if he was on staff. He said he was so I then slapped the No Trespassing Notice on the desk and said, ‘You have been Served!’ Then this guy lamely says ‘we refuse service’, to which I replied, on my way out, ‘You can’t dummy. Wog Law rules.’ Next I set up my new Cold Weather Sigh Tech. I brought along my artists tripod and affixed my Picker Sign to it : ‘Canada has only one Criminally Convicted ‘Church’: Scientology!’. Since the sign is a two sider, I was able to add two inside slot/pockets to hold flyers so as to have the flyer tops exposed for access by myself or by the public. The Police Officer was somewhat informed on Hubbard’s racist writings, steadfastly refused to accept little gratuities like doughnuts and coffee from the Org. Basically he blew off the Org’s ‘Suck Up Tech’.”
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“Scientologists spend decades on staff and in the Sea Org and never come close to reaching Clear. The number one stated goal of Scientology is to ‘clear the planet’ i.e convert everyone to Scientology either by taking their money or making them indentured servants. Staff and S.O are told not to worry about course work, they can do that in their next lifetimes. The bottom line in Scientology is UPSTAT vs DOWNSTAT. Everything else is window dressing.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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.
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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] Evidence that Scientology is still taking Sea Org women to clinics for forced abortions
[TWO years ago] What’s it like at Scientology’s ‘Hogwarts’? This 14-year-old vlogger will show you!
[THREE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY DOCUMENT LEAKS: Stunning new revelations span the 1960s to 2017
[FOUR years ago] Leah Remini kicks off 3rd season with emotional toll caused by Scientology’s ‘aftermath’
[FIVE years ago] Sinar Parman, 1954-2017: Chef to Scientology’s celebs who escaped to dish on L. Ron Hubbard
[SIX years ago] Even the local Scientology mission is hiding a horror show of abuse: Kelly Jordan tells her tale
[SEVEN years ago] Lisa McPherson’s last opportunity for standard care ended 20 years ago today
[EIGHT years ago] What Adrian Chen got wrong about Anonymous and Scientology
[NINE years ago] EXCLUSIVE: First Interview with the Principal of Will & Jada Smith’s Shuttered Scientology School
[TEN years ago] Marty Rathbun: Scientology’s Secret Agreement With Joan Wood to Change Lisa McPherson’s Cause of Death
[ELEVEN years ago] L. Ron Hubbard Christens the Apollo 43 Years Ago Today
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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 2,852 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,357 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,907 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,897 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,788 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,093 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,963 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,068 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,541 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,857 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,423 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,342 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,510 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,090 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,352 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,388 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,103 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,668 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 983 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,158 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,709 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,840 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,178 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,033 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,152 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,508 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,811 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,917 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,315 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,191 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,774 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,269 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,523 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,632 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 18, 2022 at 09:00
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
