As we told you this morning, Judge Robert Broadbelt III issued a tentative ruling last night in Jane Doe 1's Scientology forced-marriage lawsuit that was favorable to her position.
Judge Broadbelt had previously granted Scientology's motion for a stay, putting the case on hold until he can rule on the church's attempt to force the lawsuit into "religious arbitration." That showdown is scheduled for a February hearing.
In the meantime, Jane Doe 1's team had asked the court for the right to conduct some "limited discovery" in order to procure evidence before that February hearing.
In his tentative ruling, Judge Broadbelt had found that Jane Doe 1 was entitled to this limited probing of Scientology's policies and documents so her side can argue that the 2002 contract she signed, which Scientology says should force the case into arbitration, was signed under duress or is otherwise not valid.
So, when the hearing started today in Los Angeles, Jane Doe 1's attorneys naturally submitted to the judge's tentative ruling, accepting that he had found things their way.
But then it was Scientology attorney Bill Forman's turn: Could he talk the judge out of his own tentative ruling?
Well, we're told that he certainly put up a fight, raised issues that had swayed the judge in the Tampa trafficking lawsuit (which was forced into arbitration), and told Judge Broadbelt that his ruling was venturing into areas that an arbitrator should have jurisdiction over, not the court.
Also, Forman pointed out that in the agreement Jane Doe 1 signed, she had signed away the right to any access to her "ecclesiastical files regarding my spiritual progress," which were the sole and exclusive possession of the Church of Scientology.
The problem, Forman argued, was that the discovery requests Jane Doe 1 is making would go into those areas that she has already signed away her rights to.
Forman argued that the judge's tentative ruling was litigating areas that impacted the rights of both parties, but he shouldn't do that until he first makes his decision about whether the case will go to arbitration.
It's too soon to go into the merits of the case, and that's what the discovery request does, essentially lifting the stay that the court has already agreed to.
Jane Doe 1's attorney Carmen Scott countered that they weren't arguing for a lift on the stay, but they are looking at the unconscionability of the arbitration provision, which is something the court can look at. (And one of those unconscionable provisions, she points out, was Jane Doe 1’s inability to see her own files.) She also indicated that besides policies and documents, they would be seeking to depose certain people. And it all goes to unconscionability — that forcing Jane Doe 1 to arbitrate is so unreasonable.
We don't know if Forman's argument was persuasive, but Judge Broadbelt did decide to take the matter under submission, and he said he would issue a written ruling later.
Will the tentative ruling stand? Will Jane Doe 1 get her discovery before the February hearing?
We wait.
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As usual the COS want their cake and eat it!!!
If it weren't for the "church"'s First Amendment argument, the Scientology arbitration agreement would be held to be unconscionable and unenforceable under California law. No doubt. The "church" is terrified of any court reaching that conclusion.