Judge lifts stay in lawsuit but warns Danny Masterson victims: 'Careful what you wish for'

At Los Angeles Superior Court today, Judge Upinder Kalra granted the request by Danny Masterson’s victims to lift a stay on their lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology so they can proceed with discovery.

He did so over the objections of Masterson and Scientology, but he had a warning for the plaintiffs: Be careful what you wish for.

He was pointing out that although the sentencing of Masterson has occurred, he still has 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination as long as he’s appealing his convictions, and that’s a process that could take a couple of years. By that time the clock may have run out for discovery in this lawsuit, and the plaintiffs will be out of luck as far as getting Masterson to give up evidence they might need.

But attorneys for the Jane Does said they were prepared to take that risk and confirmed that they wanted the stay lifted.

Masterson was not in the courtroom, but he was represented by his civil attorney, Andrew Brettler. Scientology was represented by its usual gaggle of lawyers, including William Forman, Robert Mangels, and Matthew Hinks.

They complained that they only recently found out that the plaintiffs are intending to file an amended complaint, and they wanted to see what was in it before the stay was lifted. Judge Kalra wasn’t moved, saying that this argument “doesn’t go far with this court.”

Acknowledging that the case was a complex one, Judge Kalra set a trial date for September 2025 with the expectation that it would be likely to change.

So, we’re looking forward to whatever new allegations the Jane Does are going to include in an amended complaint, and whatever discovery they will obtain now that the case is active again.

The lawsuit was filed in 2019, even before Masterson was charged criminally, but it’s been on hold while Masterson went through his two trials, which resulted in his conviction on two counts of forcible rape on May 31. On Sept 7 he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

The sentencing opened up the possibility of the civil lawsuit resuming again, and it’s a lawsuit against not only Masterson but the Church of Scientology itself for harassing Masterson’s victims after they came forward to the LAPD in 2016. New allegations in an amended complaint would presumably include new allegations of harassment and intimidation that have occurred in recent months, so we’re very interested to see what those allegations might include.

Our thanks to the correspondent who helped us out with notes from the scene.

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