[UPDATE: Judge Barber has granted Miscavige’s request, and the Scientology leader can put off answering the lawsuit itself until his objections to the ruling naming him a defendant can be heard. Isn’t American justice grand?]
We’re looking forward to the two sides in the Baxter v. Scientology labor trafficking case to turn in their 10-page answers to Judge Thomas Barber’s question about “duress” today.
We expect each of those answers to include arcane legal references to past US Supreme Court rulings about arbitration; Judge Barber is trying to decide if he even has the right to rule on whether former Sea Orgers Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter were forced to sign contracts that would derail their lawsuit.
While we’re waiting for that legal catfight to ensue, we noticed that Scientology leader David Miscavige is up to his usual legal shenanigans.
If you remember, the big news recently was that Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed had ruled that Valeska and the Baxters proved to the court’s satisfaction that Miscavige has been evading their attempts to serve him the lawsuit. She ruled that he has been properly served by substitution, and that he is an official defendant in the case. She gave him 21 days to make his first answer to the lawsuit’s amended complaint.
But hold on, not so fast, Miscavige says.
He’s asking the court for more time to answer the complaint, because in the meantime he says that he doesn’t accept Judge Sneed’s ruling, he doesn’t believe he’s been properly served, and he is going to be filing objections to her ruling and wants the court to rule on it by tomorrow!
Sheesh. The nerve of this guy.
Mr. Miscavige currently faces a situation in which he must prepare a response to the First Amended Complaint without knowing whether the Court will sustain the Objections and set aside the Order deeming him served…Without the enlargement of time, Mr. Miscavige will be required to participate in these proceedings, with all attendant burdens, including answering or moving to dismiss the Amended Complaint, as though he has been properly served and made a litigant, though he contends he was not.
(Emphasis ours.)
So Dave is saying that it’s too much a burden on him to answer a lawsuit that was filed last April, and that his fellow defendants (CSI, RTC, etc) answered long ago, because he is objecting to Magistrate Judge Sneed’s ruling, and wants the court to drop everything it’s doing and rule on Dave’s objection by tomorrow.
See how they are, judge?
Most likely this is just a forgettable speed bump in the case, and the real action will come later today as the two sides turn in their 10-page arguments for whether Judge Barber can rule on what is before his very eyes, that these plaintiffs were forced to sign ridiculous contracts that would put them into a Scientology star chamber.
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Technology Cocktail
“I once had a bomb go off in my face with some authority some time or another, because I was standing in a place where I shouldn’t have been standing at all, a total miscalculation on my part. The startlement that I could miscalculate to this degree did me in. After that I couldn’t see. Finally my eyesight turned on a bit and got way up to 3/20, 4/20 — that in the Service is ‘what wall?’ I was doing combat service and navigation and every other thing I was supposed to do, with that kind of eyesight, clear through until 1946. After the war was over I was still wearing black glasses. I was trying to write books, and ‘what piece of paper’ in ‘what typewriter.'” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1957
Derek Lambert and Karen de la Carriere
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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
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“Look at the laudable withholds of a lady. She withholds herself from drinking. She withholds herself from swearing. She withholds herself from rowdy companions. She withholds herself from dirt, you know, and getting dirty. Withholds herself from getting sweaty. See, all the things a lady withholds herself from. Withholds herself from sex, from pleasure, from pleasurable excitement. This starts to look like a very interesting series of withholds. And we finally find out that a lady’s primary mission was to hold herself from living. Not that that’s — things I have mentioned are the total composite of living.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 27, 1962
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“The trick in books is the ‘stock book.’ Whenever a title in stock gets low through sales you reorder before you are out. You don’t just sell it all the way out of stock before reordering. Once youve let a title vanish off the shelves you’re in trouble as it takes a while to reprint. Meanwhile backorders and complaints swamp the comm lines and there goes the old ball game. A pubs activity can’t remain solvent on paperbacks or bulk discount sales! Theres a special skill to the mail order book business. The keynotes are promote, have them on hand, deliver within 24 hours and order receipt. It will take a lot of work by the SO to get this back in.” — The Commodore, February 27, 1971
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The curb you sometimes trip over on your way to work each day — you think that curb rings true simply because you skinned your knee on it? No, it is formed from lies. One day we will want to dispense with that curb. It has served its purpose. Now we want to move on to another universe or simply create a different kind of curb. On that day you want to dispense with that curb, you will need to track it back to its source. When you find the source you will have the complete truth about the curb and it will as-is. It’s the same with every piece of mest in this universe – including Scientology. The reason it is such a problem is that the individual pieces are not easily tracked back to source. So we are stuck with the mass and the garbage tips are getting bigger and bigger. The real truth is, at the end of the day the only thing we can take with us is our knowingness because it isn’t made out of mest.”
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2002: A Scientology press release promoted the work of celebrity Anne Archer against Psychiatry. “Actress Anne Archer joined the growing list of celebrity mothers who are speaking out against the psychiatric labeling and drugging of school children, by releasing a new Web site at the 33rd annual celebration of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a psychiatric watchdog organization. The Web site, www.FightForKids.com, is designed to educate parents about the labeling and drugging of children, and inform them about the necessary reform of Congress’s next major educational project, Special Education. Helping to release the new Web site with Anne Archer, was CCHR 2002 Human Rights Award winner, Sheila Matthews. Matthews, a Connecticut mother, was awarded for her year long battle to get psychiatry out of the public school systems.”
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“The ‘church’ had to admit to TR-L in the Canadian trial when they questioned the veracity of the prosecution’s ex-Scientologist witnesses by stating to the judge their testimony couldn’t be trusted because they had been specifically trained to lie while in the church.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Retrial scheduled, jury selection begins March 29. Next pretrial hearing: Feb 16.
— ‘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 Mar 27.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next status conference Feb 13.
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 November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: March 15, 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 February 7.
— 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] Clark Carr, 75, who gave up comedy dreams to become Scientology’s drug rehab mouthpiece
[TWO years ago] Another Scientology OT jumps from a tall building
[THREE years ago] Balloons? Here’s what Scientology should really be apologizing for
[FOUR years ago] A letter of surrender, written from the basement of Scientology’s ‘Big Blue’ HQ
[FIVE years ago] New memoir ‘Flunk. Start.’ richly illuminates the appeal — and betrayal — of Scientology
[SIX years ago] Keep your Oscars, we won a Scientology ‘bigot’ award!
[SEVEN years ago] Augustine: How Scientology makes it so hard to get your money back
[EIGHT years ago] Gerry Armstrong’s full 1997 ‘Secret Lives’ interview about L. Ron Hubbard
[NINE years ago] Is Ukraine’s proposed new prime minister a Scientologist? Says his niece: ‘That’s crap’
[TEN years ago] Lori Hodgson Appeals to Scientology’s “Spin Doctor,” Michael Sitrick
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Secret Behind “Ideal Orgs” Revealed At Last
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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 2,953 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,458 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,008 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,998 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,889 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,193 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,064 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,169 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,646 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,958 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,524 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,443 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,611 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,192 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,453 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,490 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,205 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,769 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,084 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,259 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,810 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,941 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,279 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,134 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,253 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,609 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,912 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,018 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,416 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,292 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,875 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,370 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,624 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,733 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 27, 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, 1995-2021 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
