Scientology complains victims bailed after 15 days of arbitration in labor-trafficking case

[Valeska Paris, the Fort Harrison, and Scientology attorney Charles M. Harris Jr.]

More detail has now emerged about what happened in the “religious arbitration” that labor-trafficking victims Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter were forced into by a Tampa federal court.

After 15 days of the arbitration that began on January 19 in Clearwater, Florida, the three Australian residents and former Sea Org employees simply stopped showing up when the arbitration was set to resume on Monday, February 9.

They are now seeking permission from Tampa federal judge Thomas Barber to submit a motion for reconsideration with numerous documents of evidence under seal, apparently complaining about how the arbitration is unfolding.

In their motion, they acknowledge that they signed confidentiality agreements with Scientology about the proceeding, and so they are trying to abide by that by providing little public information about what is going on. But we have learned these additional details because Scientology itself is opposing the motion and has spelled out what took place to a certain extent.

This is the lawsuit filed in Tampa, Florida in April 2022 that alleges years of abuse aboard Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds, as the Baxters and Valeska say they worked as virtual slaves as children and adults. Judge Thomas Barber ruled that contracts signed while they were Scientologists obliged them to seek arbitration rather than to sue in court. The plaintiffs have previously asked Judge Barber to reconsider his ruling, which he denied in 2024.

At that point, the plaintiffs had little choice but to go through with the arbitration, which required them to ask Scientology’s International Justice Chief, Mike Ellis, to make the arbitration happen. (And in Scientology’s communications, this is always pointed out — that the victims asked for the arbitration to happen, even though they had no other choice.)

Valeska and the Baxters initially proposed that the proceeding take place early last May, but Ellis pointed out that May 9 “is a major Scientology holiday as you well know.” (May 9, 1950 is the day that Dianetics was first published by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, one of the holiest days on the Scientology calendar.)

Both sides then agreed to begin the arbitration on June 30, but there’s nothing in the documents about why it was delayed until January 19.

According to a letter written by Ellis last year, the plaintiffs complained that Scientology could not provide any indication of how long the arbitration would last, but Ellis told them that it would last as long as was required.

I reject your assertion that there is an arbitrary length for the arbitration. There is none. The arbitration will take as long as necessary to hear all of your claims. All parties will have an opportunity to present evidence and witnesses will be heard.

You should set aside plenty of time for the arbitration. If more time is needed than has been allocated, you and the arbitrators may agree on mutually workable dates to continue the arbitration.

Scientology attorney Charles M. Harris Jr. tells the court in a declaration that the arbitration took place in Clearwater, that it went five days a week from 10 am to 6 or 7 pm each day, and that attorneys for both sides were present but were not allowed in the room with the arbitrating panel.

Counsel for the parties, including myself, were not permitted to be present in the arbitration hearing itself. No attorneys were present during the proceedings before the arbitration panel.

Although counsel were not permitted to attend the arbitration proceedings, a suite of rooms was made available throughout the entire three-week period for Plaintiffs’ counsel. Based on my observations, Plaintiffs’ counsel utilized those rooms to meet with their clients during the arbitration, and such meetings occurred multiple times each day. Also based on my observations, more than thirty witnesses entered the arbitration proceedings to give testimony over the three-week period.

Harris doesn’t say where this suite of rooms was located, but we suspect that it was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology’s most holy site. We’ll let you know if we hear otherwise.

So now we’ve learned that this arbitration involved some thirty witnesses, and testimony over fifteen days covering three consecutive weeks.

There have been only three court-ordered arbitrations in the 73-year history of the Church of Scientology. The first occurred in 2017 in a lawsuit brought by an Orange County couple, Luis and Rocio Garcia, and it lasted a single afternoon.

Valerie Haney’s 2019 lawsuit against the church was the second case forced into arbitration, and last November she completed 15 days of arbitrating that have taken place over a three-year period. She and her attorneys have alleged that it has taken that long because the arbitrating panel — made up of three current Scientologists — is wasting time and harassing Valerie with a lot of irrelevant questioning.

Now, we learn that Valeska Paris and the Baxters have also been put through 15 days of arbitration, which took place over three weeks. The proceeding was scheduled to continue on the morning of Monday, February 9. The arbitrating panel was there, and so were Scientology’s attorneys, but Harris says in his declaration that Valeska and the Baxters and their attorneys simply didn’t show up, and without a word.

The next day, IJC Mike Ellis sent the plaintiffs a sternly-worded letter.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Baxter and Ms. Paris,

You requested that an arbitration be convened, and an Arbitration Committee (“Committee”) was duly impaneled to hear your claims in Clearwater, Florida.

I have been informed by the Arbitration Committee that it devoted substantial time and attention to these proceedings and advised you that the arbitration was not complete and would continue until all evidence and testimony were fully reviewed. I am also informed that the Committee advised you that additional evidence remained to be entered and reviewed, further witnesses and testimony were to be heard, and questions remained for you, all of which were required in order for the Committee to complete the arbitration. I am informed as well that the Committee advised you that it intended to continue and complete the arbitration while you were in the United States so that it could be concluded without the need for a return at a later date. I am further informed that the Committee advised you that if at any time you made yourself unavailable before the arbitration was concluded, the arbitration would remain open until such time as it could be concluded in person, in Clearwater, Florida.

Notwithstanding this, when the hearings were scheduled to resume on Monday, you did not appear.

Accordingly, the arbitration has not been concluded and remains open.

Please advise whether you are withdrawing your request for arbitration.

If you are not withdrawing your request, please provide multiple dates on which you are available to return to Clearwater, Florida so that the arbitration may be completed. Upon receipt of your response, those dates will be provided to the Arbitration Committee so that arrangements may be coordinated.

Sincerely, Mike Ellis International Justice Chief

According to Harris, Ellis did not receive a response to his letter.

On March 2, Harris says, the attorneys for Scientology heard from Valeska’s lawyers that they were preparing to file a motion for reconsideration with the court. In further communications with the attorneys, Harris says they claimed there was “new evidence” which justified the motion, and that they were objecting about “due process” violations.

Scientology is telling Judge Barber, however, that he himself ruled that the court’s hands were tied, and that Scientology sets all the rules for the arbitration, and so the plaintiffs have no standing to file this motion for reconsideration. Scientology claims the choice for the plaintiffs is clear: Either schedule more days of arbitration or withdraw.

And as for the Baxters and Valeska filing their motion and exhibits under seal, Scientology says that it’s irrelevant and should be stricken from the record…

The Federal Arbitration Act bars interlocutory judicial review of an ongoing arbitration. For that reason, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Seal... should be denied as moot. Accordingly, the Court should direct the Clerk of Court to strike and expunge from the record Plaintiffs’ unredacted Second Reconsideration Motion and all exhibits thereto.

However, if the judge disagrees, and allows the plaintiffs to file the motion and exhibits, Scientology asks for permission to file their own exhibits, partially sealed.

So now we wait to see what Judge Barber thinks about all this. We, of course, are very interested to see what is in the sealed exhibits. We suspect that the Baxters and Valeska have had to go through a similar kangaroo court experience as what Valerie Haney has been put through, and after 15 days of it, they’d had enough.

And in a way this surprises us. We understand why Scientology is dragging out Valerie’s arbitration. It’s clear they’re trying to grind her down so she throws in the towel and gives up. And that’s because they know if the arbitrating panel ever concludes things and issues a finding, Valerie will then have the right to appeal the court ruling that forced her into arbitration, and her appeal will go to the 2nd Appellate District in California, an appeals court that has been very skeptical about Scientology’s arbitration scheme in the past.

But in the Tampa case, we expected that the arbitrating panel there might make quick work of the labor trafficking arbitration because if the Baxters and Valeska appeal that ruling, it will go to the conservative 11th Circuit federal appeals court based in Atlanta, which upheld Scientology arbitration in the Garcia case.

Well, who knows why Scientology is making that arbitration such an ordeal. But will Judge Barber do anything about it? We’ll wait to see how he rules, and in the meantime we’ll get some thoughts from TX Lawyer, our appellate attorney expert, for a podcast episode.

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A HowdyCon update: The agenda!

If you were listening to the Group Therapy podcast Sunday, you heard Alex deliver the news about HowdyCon: We have an agenda! Here’s what he revealed…

The HowdyCon 2026 Agenda is Here!

The first wave of tickets have now officially sold out, but don’t worry, more will be released soon. In the meantime, we are excited to announce the agenda for this year’s event. The full list of talks is on view at the convention website!

You heard previously that this year’s guest speakers include Alex Barnes-Ross, Claire Headley, Phil Jones, Patty Moher, Chris Shelton. and of course, Underground Bunker author Tony Ortega. Now we can share what the weekend will entail. Here’s the brief rundown of what to expect:

FRIDAY 18th SEPTEMBER

Arrivals, registration a panel discussion and plenty of time to socialize. Two hours of bottomless pizza is included in your ticket price but you’ll have to get your own drinks.

SATURDAY 19th SEPTEMBER

Four keynote speeches and panel discussions from some of the world’s biggest SPs, a silent auction raising money for The Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation and an after party packed with fun activities. A late buffet-style lunch will be provided, and is included in the cost of your ticket.

SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER

Breakfast and departures

HowdyCon will be taking place at multiple venues throughout New London, CT and in order to minimize potential interference from Scientology, the details will be shared exclusively with those who have purchased a ticket.

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