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 We’re in Los Angeles this morning for a crucial hearing in Laura DeCrescenzo’s lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. DeCrescenzo is suing over the abuse she says she suffered while a member of Scientology’s “Sea Org,” including, she alleges, being forced to have an abortion by the church at 17.
The hearing comes less than two weeks after DeCrescenzo filed explosive new evidence gleaned from thousands of pages of documents that Scientology was forced to turn over after the church appealed all the way to Supreme Court to try and keep the material hidden. Please see our story about the contents of those files, which describe Laura’s struggles as a homesick 12-year-old working 98-hour weeks for pennies an hour. Continue reading LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES: Summary Judgment Hearing in DeCrescenzo Forced-Abortion Lawsuit
 In August, the Church of Scientology set some very important dates on its calendar. The church told the City of Clearwater that it would be holding a grand opening for its Super Power Building on October 6, and its annual IAS gala in a large tent near the Super Power Building on the weekend of November 8-9.
Scientology claimed that 10,000 people would show up for the Super Power event, implying that it would require permits for plenty of street and sidewalk closures, perhaps for Fort Harrison Avenue that separates the new building from the Fort Harrison Hotel itself. But as a deadline for such a permit application neared, the church stunned everyone by putting off its Super Power opening indefinitely. Continue reading Scientology Has No City Permit for IAS Gala or Other Events: Is It Keeping The Party Private?
 Steve Sloat. Or Greg Sloat, depending. Now that we’ve had a couple of days to absorb Scientology’s surprising new motion in Monique Rathbun’s harassment lawsuit against the church, a few things are becoming more clear. First, this really is a remarkable legal strategy by the church, which now admits that it was behind outrageous behavior aimed at Monique and her husband, Mark “Marty” Rathbun, who was once a top Scientology official. But that behavior, the church asserts, was a form of legitimate religious expression that should not be silenced by Monique’s lawsuit. To that end, the church has filed an anti-SLAPP motion, which we explained previously is traditionally used by an outgunned opponent trying to derail a nuisance lawsuit. Continue reading The Flaw In Scientology’s Religious Outrage Theory: A Man Named Steven Gregory Sloat
 Judge James D. Whittemore On Friday, federal Judge James D. Whittemore issued an order in Luis and Rocio Garcia’s fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. Whittemore has given Scientology until Thursday to produce a 5-page memo explaining its arbitration system as this case approaches its next hurdle. On October 3, Whittemore dispensed with Scientology’s attempt to disqualify the Garcia legal team. That failed church motion had put the lawsuit on hold for some six months and was, for the most part, a non-starter. (Here’s our report from the courtroom.) But even before it moved to disqualify Garcia attorneys Ted Babbitt and Ronald Weil, Scientology had filed a motion that would have the effect of dismissing the lawsuit. Continue reading Next in the Garcia Fraud Lawsuit: Scientology Is Asked to Explain Its Arbitration System
—————-Church files an Anti-SLAPP motion in the lawsuit, arguing that its 199-day intimidation of the Rathbuns was protected free speech —————- Scientology’s chief private investigator now claims he is a Scientologist and was personally offended by Marty Rathbun’s apostasy —————- Mike Bennitt, an ex-Scientologist who has been filming proceedings, reports that he’s now being tailed by private investigators, and two local reporters are also being surveilled Advertisement
 Ricardo Cedillo presents Judge Waldrip with the church’s stunning new motion
By Tony Ortega The Church of Scientology International (CSI) filed an Anti-SLAPP motion Friday in Monique Rathbun’s harassment lawsuit against the church and its leader, David Miscavige. And that motion includes stunning admissions by the church as it attempts a major gamble to stop the lawsuit in its tracks. Continue reading SCIENTOLOGY DROPS A BOMB ON MONIQUE RATHBUN’S HARASSMENT LAWSUIT
 Drug rehab centers affiliated with the Church of Scientology have become the focus of multiple government investigations and civil lawsuits in the last two years, and one of the most disturbing cases involving those facilities is the one of Richard Teague in Michigan.
On January 15, 2011, while being held in the “withdrawal unit” of Narconon Freedom Center in Albion, Michigan, Teague, while exhibiting symptoms of severe benzodiazepine withdrawal, set himself on fire with the use of a cigarette lighter and a spray cologne bottle. With flames engulfing him, he ran outside and extinguished the fire by plunging into the snow. Continue reading Scientology Drug Rehab: New Evidence in the Disturbing Case of Richard Teague
 Yesterday, France’s highest court laid down an historic decision, upholding a verdict that found the Church of Scientology’s Paris Celebrity Centre had fraudulently harmed people simply by applying Scientology’s normal processes.
It was the culmination of years of prosecutions, countered by the usual circus-like Scientology court shenanigans in appeals, but ultimately, France held fast. In that country, Scientology is not a religion, it’s a business that harms people. One more conviction, pointed out a member of the parliament, and Scientology could be dissolved utterly in France. Then, just a day later, a very different verdict a few hundred kilometers to the north in the country of the Netherlands, which granted tax-exempt status to Amsterdam’s Scientology “org.” News organizations here in the United States are treating both verdicts as if they were of equal import. (Meaning, they’re running short wire stories with no real details about either case.) But treating these two verdicts equally is a big mistake. Continue reading Day After French Defeat, Scientology Handed A Friendly Verdict From The Dutch
 Jefferson Hawkins was once the top marketing executive for the Church of Scientology and helped it reach its greatest extent with the famous “volcano” TV ads in the 1980s. He’s told his tale of getting into and out of the church with his excellent books Counterfeit Dreams and Leaving Scientology, and he’s helping us understand the upside-down world of Scientology “ethics.”
Jeff, we’re thrilled that you’ve offered to help us slog through L. Ron Hubbard’s book Introduction to Scientology Ethics. If there’s one subject we’d like to have a better understanding of, it’s the complex system of control that Hubbard invented. One of the things that non-Scientologists have trouble understanding is how Scientologists can talk so much about “ethics” and yet do things that a normal person would consider unethical — such as disconnection, the RPF, participating in shady business deals, and a host of other questionable actions. Do they have a different definition of “ethics” than the rest of us? Continue reading Starting Today: Jefferson Hawkins Helps Us Get Our Scientology Ethics In!
 Scientology doesn’t want Monique Rathbun to share information with her husband Marty The next phase of Monique Rathbun’s harassment lawsuit against Scientology leader David Miscavige will involve some blockbuster depositions from the likes of actress Leah Remini and former church spokesman Tommy Davis, but for now the two sides are stuck on a question of confidentiality. And surprisingly, Scientology is trying to make an argument it just lost in the same case. As we reported earlier, Judge Dib Waldrip moved the next hearing in the lawsuit to December 11, giving both sides more time to schedule depositions as they gather evidence to argue over jurisdictional issues. Miscavige has asked to be removed from the suit, saying that he has only a limited role in the church and has had nothing to do with activities in Texas. Monique’s side disagrees, and at the December 11 hearing, both sides will be presenting evidence that should make for another fascinating day in court. Continue reading Scientology Asks for Protection in Texas; ALSO: Lawrence Wright a Finalist for Nat’l Book Award
 Scientology in France — still a fraud Our man in Paris, British journalist Jonny Jacobsen, is on the scene and tells us that French media have just reported that Scientology’s fraud conviction has been upheld. Jonny’s been all over this case for years at his blog, Infinite Complacency, where he had recently put together a four part series of background leading up to this decision. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). He’s also kept a close watch on the prosecution of the church in Belgium, and was one of the first to report on violence at Scientology’s International Base in California. Continue reading SCIENTOLOGY’S FRAUD CONVICTION UPHELD BY FRANCE’S HIGHEST COURT
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We’re in Los Angeles this morning for a crucial hearing in Laura DeCrescenzo’s lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. DeCrescenzo is suing over the abuse she says she suffered while a member of Scientology’s “Sea Org,” including, she alleges, being forced to have an abortion by the church at 17.
