Judge Randolph Hammock clearly didn’t want to give up handling Leah Remini’s lawsuit after he had spent so much time producing a 37-page ruling for it.
But after initially resisting being removed from the case, Judge Hammock ultimately acknowledged that Scientology leader David Miscavige could, according to court rules, remove him with a “peremptory” challenge — meaning Miscavige’s assertion that he believed the judge was prejudiced against him required no evidence or argument.
Leah filed her lawsuit on August 2, alleging that she’s been subjected to years of smears, intimidation, and interference in her business dealings by an army of volunteers directed by the Church of Scientology to defame and harass her. Leah herself filed a peremptory challenge and had the initial judge removed from the case. A second recused herself. And so that’s how Judge Randolph Hammock ended up with the lawsuit in his court.
Scientology tried to gut the case with four special motions to strike. And Judge Hammock did grant some of what Scientology was asking for, removing numerous paragraphs from Leah’s claims of defamation. But he kept in eight of her nine causes of action, including her allegations of harassment and tortious interference.
Scientology was clearly unhappy with the ruling. Miscavige filed his challenge to send Judge Hammock packing, and Scientology attorney William Forman filed a notice of appeal.
On April 2, Judge Hammock responded to Miscavige’s challenge with a minute order asking both sides to submit responses to five questions he had about whether Miscavige could, at this point in the case, remove him so easily.
Miscavige responded with a 15-page brief written by his personal attorney Jeffrey Riffer arguing that the challenge was timely and followed the court’s rules. Two other defendants — Church of Scientology International and the Religious Technology Center — had little to say in their responses except to take issue with Judge Hammock referring to Miscavige as RTC’s “CEO,” which is what Leah called him in order to describe the level of control he has over the organization. They pointed out that Miscavige is the Chairman of the Board of directors, not CEO.
Leah’s own legal team indicated that they had nothing more to add about the matter.
The same day, yesterday, that those responses came in, Judge Hammock issued a two-page minute order, saying that he would be leaving the case.
So at this point, Leah Remini’s lawsuit has no new judge, and no dates on its calendar. Her request for an April 18 hearing to consider allowing in her proposed new additional allegations to the lawsuit was moved to May 9, but now will have to wait for a new judge to schedule it. We look forward to learning something about who that is when that name is announced by the court.
And meanwhile, the lawsuit will be held up anyway as Scientology appeals Judge Hammock’s ruling on the special motions to strike.
While it’s easy to get frustrated by the delays that Scientology always finds a way to throw against litigation, Leah has lost nothing and her lawsuit remains strong. And that’s why Scientology is fighting it so hard.
Bonus items from our tipsters
Scientology loves the wallets of the Heartland…
In the moon’s shadow
For the third time, we had the incredible experience of standing in the shadow of the moon. Seven years ago, we were fortunate enough to share it with Underground Bunker luminary Jefferson Hawkins in Oregon. This time, we were with the Bunker’s resident polymath, Panopea Abrupta in Jackman, Maine.
Once again, we experienced something that no photograph even comes close to capturing. Seeing the sun eclipsed by the moon with your own eyes is not represented by photography or film or anything else. You have to stand in the shadow yourself to understand.
Sharing that with Pan and his family made it extra special. And thank you to our correspondents who once again came through with items for us to publish to help out while we were on the road.
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
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I am hoping this new judge will be as diligent and well informed as Judge Hammock. We are just at the beginning of a very long process.
Well, it's always a learning curve for judges, and more and more judges seem up to contend with legal tactics coming from Scientology's "top" lawyers, so in any case, the world is learning "modern" Scientology legal tactics, ongoing.
To me, I was a layman going into, and coming out of, Scientology. (My "ruin" was thinking the supernatural "OT" stuff Hubbard falsely offers, was real, which of course there is no supernatural stuff or "OT powers" gained by the Hubbard quackery "therapy" or the Hubbard exorcism/soul-freeing procedures.)
I always had faith in the outside world. The Hubbard "A to J" policy lists out the societal institutions which Scientology/Hubbard have prejudices against.
It's not common knowledge, but a story is warranted on the Hubbard PTS A to J groups in society which to this day, Hubbard's Scientology policies still stand.
Scientology/Hubbard is and will always be, until they reform (or until official Scientology simply goes the way that splinter Scientology has gone, and simply dispense with the full panoply of the Hubbard prejudices against society's institutions and professional groups), Hubbard's bag of prejudices.
Scientology/Hubbard is a noxious operation, the full bore official Scientology, when studied in detail, and comparing official Scientology to even the tiny "splinter" Scientology groups which don't do the full totalitarian/prejudiced Hubbard full doctrines/polices of the Miscavige run official Scientology movement.
It's disappointing to see the more orthodox/totalitarian "top lawyers protected" Scientology "win" in any way, against society's freer institutions and professional groups.
Well, as a dumb layman, college dropout that I was/am, I'm still faithful to society's institutions, who even though they might "lose" to nasty organizations, there is always "word of mouth" to warn against nasty groups like official Scientology.
I hope Leah's team wins, and will gladly donate to her legal effort, if that is ever called for.
The nastiness "fair gaming" of Scientology I don't believe is even done at all, other than by "word of mouth" within the splinter Scientology.
I wonder what the ex GO people who still hold faithful to Hubbard's "tech" and principles, but who aren't allowed to participate with official Scientology, I wonder what their thoughts are.
I'm in the "public" layman camp, and just more tolerant of decent religions, and I hope religions act decently, and strive that direction.
A "fair gaming" "religion" is a foul and not to be followed "religion" in my layman's view.
Leah's case is simply a legal one of harassment, and I hope it wins.
In the court of public opinion, official Scientology is nasty foul and still to this day, unworthy of people's money or time. I would only tell anyone to study or learn about Scientology from reading on their own or by contacting splinter un-official Scientologists. (Which is why I'm curious if there is even an even smaller group of ex Guardian's Office Scientologists who are not part of official Scientology, and what they think of it all, just to hear their views if they even exist much.)
Public word of mouth always catches up to Scientology, and it's Hubbard's fault ultimately, and even if society's professional institutions aren't the ones to make judgements, the public thankfully has come to that judgement due to ex's writings and speaking about the details of their Scientology staff and regular follower lives.
Chuck Beatty
ex smaller time lower level staffer, Sea Org 1975 to 2003 (Flag Admin Courses Supervisor, Word Clearer, later on research projects for the "routing forms", later INCOMM computer room operations button pusher, later ASI staffer in the ASI computer room, then almost 7 years on the RPF wishing to leave and finally leaving Scientology, only made it to "Clear" which I realized is bogus.)