Last week, we showed you the efforts that a process server went through trying to serve Scientology leader David Miscavige with a lawsuit that names him as a defendant.
It was for the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe 1 against Miscavige, the church, and a Sea Org recruiter named Gavin Potter. In the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 alleges that as a minor, she was victimized by Potter and then was forced by Scientology to marry him.
Jane Doe 1’s attorneys were successful serving Potter the lawsuit, as well as the Scientology institutional defendants, Church of Scientology International and the Religious Technology Center.
But with Miscavige, it’s always a challenge finding a way to effect “substitute service” on him for the reason that his minions are well versed in keeping him far away from process servers (or anyone else, for that matter).
So in this case, Jane Doe 1’s attorneys had a process server visit some interesting sites hoping to hand the papers to someone representing Miscavige — at Scientology Media Productions, for example, the studios that were once the KCET compound on Sunset Boulevard.
And after submitting those detailed reports, Jane Doe 1 will wait to see what the judge in her case, Judge Robert B. Broadbelt III, decides about it.
But in the meantime, this week Leah Remini’s attorneys (who are largely, but not entirely, the same ones representing Jane Doe 1 in her case), submitted the same exact reports by the process server who visited SMP and ran into Odo the guard at Big Blue in September. Yes, the same exact set of visits and with the same results, but in Leah’s lawsuit that is in another courtroom altogether, with Judge Randolph J. Hammock.
Leah Remini and Jane Doe 1, two different people, with two different lawsuits (Leah’s for the “Fair Game” campaign against her, Jane Doe 1 for the forced marriage), but the same exact process server and his same reports about trying to find David Miscavige submitted to two different judges in subsequent weeks.
Seems pretty smart and efficient. But is it kosher? We asked our attorney, Scott Pilutik, for his thoughts, and he didn’t see a problem. “If the process server is prepared to respond to a judge in both cases, I don’t see why not,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jane Doe 1 submitted even more filings detailing just what an exhaustive job her lawyers have done trying to find Miscavige. Here’s just a taste from a 344-page filing submitted by attorney Carmen S. Scott…
From June 2023 through October 2023, I have made diligent efforts in its attempts to locate Miscavige personally, to locate his place of residence and business, and to obtain a mailing address for him, including the following:
a. Searches of public records databases;
b. Engagement of Apex Legal Services (“Apex”), a process serving and private investigation company, to conduct research and surveil locations;
c. Reviewing dockets and pleadings in other cases in which Miscavige was named as a defendant for details as to his whereabouts and past service attempts;
d. Reviewing corporate filings accessible through the California Secretary of State’s business records databases for Defendants Religious Technology Center, Church of Scientology International, and Bridge Publications, Inc.;
e. Requesting Miscavige’s contact information from the Registered Agent for the Church of Scientology International;
f. Searching public sources such as news media and blogs for Miscavige’s location information;
g. Reviewing Scientology websites and promotional literature for scheduled appearances of Miscavige and location information; andh. Interviewing individuals who have information on Miscavige’s possible whereabouts….
Based on this information, Plaintiff attempted service on all known and potential business and residential addresses for Miscavige.
In the course of my research, we learned that Miscavige has a practice of evading service and does so with the support of other Scientologists and their security…
My office has spent nearly $6000.00 thus far in our attempts to serve Miscavige.
As set forth, Plaintiff has demonstrated due diligence in locating Miscavige and Miscavige is concealing his whereabouts to evade service.To the extent the Court is not satisfied with the substitute service as detailed herein, Plaintiff is concurrently filing an Application for Service by Publication in her attempts to effectuate service upon Miscavige.
Wow. What is it going to take for a judge in California to declare David Miscavige an official defendant after such an effort? (One Florida court did, in Tampa in February, but Scientology was successful derailing that case with its “religious arbitration” strategy.)
In the meantime, Jane Doe 1 has another headache when, on Friday at the Stanley Mosk courthouse in downtown Los Angeles (just a short walk from the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center where Danny Masterson was convicted in May), she’ll be trying to fend off an attempt by Scientology to put her lawsuit on ice until next May, when its attempt to derail her lawsuit into religious arbitration can be heard. Then, just a little more than a week later, on November 6, her efforts to serve Miscavige will be taken up by the court. Whew. That’s a lot happening very soon.
We plan to have a correspondent in the courthouse Friday, and we’ll let you know how her case holds up.
In Leah’s lawsuit, the next hearings are scheduled for November 17 (to allow in her out-of-town attorneys) and December 7, to consider Leah’s request for a temporary injunction to force Scientology to stop harassing her.
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Service by publication is certainly warranted. And hand a copy to any lawyer who has been representing Miscavige. I find it ludicrous that any lawyer working for him can show up in court and claim that proper service has not happened. Just hand that lawyer the papers and get on with it.
I am happy to see that Gavin Potter was served. How many rocks did the process server have to turn over to find him?
David Miscavige is following L Ron Hubbards playbook of hiding. That eventually did not work well for Hubbard. Nor is it going to work for Davey The Brave. Living a lie leads to a future of more and more complex lies. All the money Scientology has will not save it from its own complex machinations to keep the lies going. It’s turned into a house of cards.