Scientology delays again in Whitney Mills case, hinting they expect to be off the hook

The Scientology defendants in the Whitney Mills wrongful death case are again asking for more time to answer the newest version of the lawsuit, and once again they are hinting that they believe changes are imminent that will favor them.

If you remember, the last time we checked in on this lawsuit, infamous Scientology figure and alternative medicine physician Dr. David Minkoff was objecting that the lawsuit, filed by Whitney’s mother Leila Mills, had made accusations against him that were bolstered by three reports by experts — an infectious disease specialist, a neurologist, and a psychiatrist — who blamed Minkoff for misdiagnosing Whitney and suggesting she use Scientology methods to deal with a severe mental health crisis. Because Minkoff didn’t refer Whitney for legitimate mental health care and told her she was suffering from things she didn’t have, like parasites and ovarian cancer, it contributed to her decision to end her own life on May 13, 2022, the experts concluded.

Minkoff’s attorney Kyle R. Fontaine has asked the court to dismiss the doctor from the lawsuit because Leila Mills and her lawyer, Ramon Rasco, didn’t consult instead a doctor in Minkoff’s own specialty of alternative or complementary medicine.

In the meantime, the lawsuit was originally filed against six Scientology entities before Minkoff was later added to it. Those six entities are the Church of Scientology International, the Tampa org and the Belleair mission, the Flag Service Organization, Flag Ship Service Organization, and the IAS Administration. The lawsuit accuses them of causing Whitney’s “handlers” — fellow Scientologists — to convince her that the only way out of her mental health crisis was to “end cycle” and begin a new lifetime rather than seek legitimate care.

Attorneys for those six entities have been delaying their answer to the lawsuit, in part because they told the court that they expected Ms. Mills to add Minkoff as a defendant. She did do that, and now Minkoff has answered.

So why are the Scientology defendants still asking to delay their own response?

Once again, they are saying that they expect Ms. Mills and Rasco to make additional changes to the lawsuit, and the Scientology defendants apparently still believe that these changes will be favorable to them.

If you remember, in a previous filing the Scientology defendants had told the court that if they could just get some time to sit down with Rasco, they could provide information about Whitney Mills that would convince him that the lawsuit was incorrectly blaming Scientology for Whitney’s death.

Now, the Scientology defendants, in their latest filing, are saying that they did meet with Rasco on August 15, and “provided Plaintiff's counsel with documents and information relevant to the claims brought against the Church Defendants.”

Then a couple of hurricanes hit in September, causing a delay in the case, and extending their deadline to early December. But with that deadline already here, changes that Rasco said were coming have still not showed up in the lawsuit.

“Upon information and belief, those changes may include the filing of a Second Amended Complaint and/or amendments to the parties to the litigation,” the Scientology defendants say.

Again, this suggests that the Scientology defendants believe that whatever they shared with Rasco will convince Ms. Mills to drop some allegations against the Scientology defendants after seeing whatever it was those defendants showed Rasco on August 15.

So, as a result the Scientology defendants have asked for a new deadline of January 7.

Will Ms. Mills and Rasco let the Scientology defendants off the hook somewhat and focus the lawsuit more on Minkoff? That’s something we will certainly be looking for in the coming days.

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Bonus items from our tipsters

Hamburg weighs in with some advice for you layabouts.

And remember, Scientologists are constantly being hit up for donations besides what they’re asked to give the IAS…

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Chris Shelton is going Straight Up and Vertical

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