At today’s hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Randolph Hammock ruled that Leah Remini can submit an additional declaration by her co-star Mike Rinder in order to answer an attempt by Scientology’s Religious Technology Center (RTC) to be let out of her lawsuit.
Leah sued the Church of Scientology International (CSI), RTC, and David Miscavige in August, alleging that she’s been targeted by years of harassment and tortious interference in a campaign orchestrated by those defendants.
But at a hearing on Tuesday, RTC’s attorney Robert Mangels told Judge Hammock that in none of the evidence of things said about Leah in tweets or other supposedly defamatory material was any connection to RTC itself spelled out.
Today, Leah’s attorney Linda Singer said that Mike Rinder could address that in a new sworn statement, that while he was an executive in the church he personally saw retaliation campaigns being orchestrated by Miscavige and RTC (where Miscavige is the chairman).
Judge Hammock acknowledged Mangels’ complaints that extending the hearing longer and allowing a new declaration might go against the letter of anti-SLAPP law which calls for a quick review of a lawsuit, but he said in the interests of justice it made sense to allow in Rinder’s statement since it appeared that it would address RTC’s argument.
Also in this morning’s hearing, we learned that Leah’s motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to enjoin Scientology from harassing her further during the case, was voluntarily moved back by Leah herself, and would now be heard in September or October.
CSI attorney William Forman, meanwhile, complained to the court that after Tuesday’s hearing, RTC attorney Mangels was surrounded outside the courthouse and harassed by protesters, who posted their footage to TikTok. Forman also claimed that the protesters were affiliated with Remini. But Judge Hammock said his jurisdiction was only over the courtroom itself, and if Scientology objected to how Mangels was treated they could seek a restraining order or complain to she Sheriff’s department.
Overall, once again we were impressed by Judge Hammock’s interest in the case and in saying that he was more interested in justice than in narrow rulings. That’s pretty refreshing, and we look forward to seeing what Mike Rinder enters as evidence in the new supplemental declaration.
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Once again, scientology is trying to give Leah Remini a lot more power than she actually has while pretending they are lily white. I wouldn’t put it past scientology to have hired protestors to do what they are complaining about simply to make Leah look bad. They’ve done worse.
YAY!!! YAY!!! YAY!!!