Scientology litigation 2024: A roundup of the cases we’ve been following all year
Here we are on the final Monday of 2024, and we thought, before things really get going again after the holidays, we’d do a roundup of all the litigation we’ve been following here at the Underground Bunker this year.
We’re following more lawsuits and criminal prosecutions than ever before, but much of it has been mired in appeals and other delaying tactics by Scientology. Over the course of several months, we know it can be hard to keep track of which case is where. So let’s go over them briefly one by one.
Danny Masterson. First and foremost, the criminal prosecution of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson has been our biggest interest since we first broke the news that the LAPD was investigating him back in March 2017. Danny was convicted last year on two counts of forcible rape, and last September he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. He immediately appealed his conviction, as you would expect, and just recently his appellate attorney Cliff Gardner posted on his website his initial appeal brief, a 59,000-word monster that the 2nd Appellate District has instructed Gardner to cut down to 35,500 words.
The latest news is that Gardner asked for more time to trim down his brief, and the court has given him a “Last and Final Extension” of January 22. Gardner has also said that a habeas petition is going to be filed for Danny, and we’re keeping an eye out for that as well.
Danny Masterson civil lawsuit. The Jane Doe victims of Danny Masterson filed a harassment lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology in August 2019, even before Danny was charged criminally. As we explained recently, the lawsuit (known as Bixler v. Scientology) has been on hold for much of the time since then as the criminal prosecution was going on. After Masterson was convicted, the civil lawsuit got going again, and Scientology immediately filed anti-SLAPP motions to try and gut the case. Judge Upinder Kalra denied those motions outright. Meanwhile, the Jane Doe victims understandably wanted to bolster the lawsuit after Masterson was imprisoned, and they proposed to add another plaintiff (actress Tricia Vessey), sexual battery allegations against Masterson, and civil racketeering allegations against Scientology.
Before Judge Kalra could rule whether to allow those changes, however, in May Scientology announced that it was appealing his denial of their anti-SLAPP motions, putting the entire lawsuit on ice again.
The latest is that the 2nd Appellate District has granted Scientology an extension so it doesn’t have to file its appeal brief until March 14. So the Jane Does just have to wait once again.
Leah Remini “Fair Game” lawsuit. Fed up with the way she’s been smeared constantly by Scientology in vicious online and in-real-life attacks, Leah filed her case against Scientology at L.A. Superior Court in August 2023. Earlier this year, Judge Randolph Hammock threw out some of Leah’s defamation allegations, but allowed nearly all of her causes of action to remain. Neither side was happy with his ruling, and both sides are appealing.
Meanwhile, Leah’s attorney Brad Edwards left the case, and she replaced him with another heavyweight, former prosecutor Daniel Saunders. There’s been some battling between the two sides about the transcript of the case, but the appellate court has settled on the official record and we’re now waiting for appeal briefs.
Whitney Mills wrongful-death lawsuit. Leila Mills, with the help of Miami lawyer Ramon Rasco, is suing six Scientology institutions over the 2022 suicide of her daughter Whitney, 40.
Ms. Mills added notorious Scientologist alternative medicine physician Dr. David Minkoff as a defendant in September after she had waited a period of time required by law. Minkoff responded with a filing from attorney Kyle R. Fontaine arguing that the lawsuit should be thrown out because Mills relied on expert reports condemning Minkoff that were by physicians who didn’t practice his specialty of alternative medicine.
Meanwhile, Scientology has asked for more time to answer the newest version of the lawsuit because, they say, they expect that information they gave Rasco in October will convince Ms. Mills to remove them from the lawsuit, or something. They are supposed to file their response by January 7.
Valerie Haney case in arbitration. Val’s lawsuit alleging kidnapping (being held against her will in the Sea Org) and harassment (being stalked when she worked for Leah Remini) was forced into arbitration because of an exit-contract she signed when she left the church. We interviewed Valerie after the initial five brutal days of arbitration, and then interviewed her again about two more days that happened in February. A court date of February 20, 2025 is set for a report to the court about whether the arbitration has been completed, but we have heard nothing lately about when those final days of arbitration are supposed to take place.
Valeska Paris trafficking lawsuit in arbitration. Like Valerie Haney, Valeska Paris and her co-plaintiffs Gawain and Laura Baxter had their lawsuit against Scientology forced into “religious arbitration” because of contracts they had signed while working in the Sea Org. Valeska tried to get the federal court in Tampa to reconsider this decision based on a new US Supreme Court opinion, but that request was denied. She also petitioned the Eleventh Circuit to be allowed an interlocutory appeal, but that was also denied. If she and the Baxters go through with the arbitration, they could then automatically appeal the ruling to the Eleventh Circuit, but we have not heard yet when an arbitration might occur.
Priscilla Presley breach of contract/elder abuse case. Although Lisa Marie Presley told us in 2015 that she and her mother had left Scientology, we have reasons to believe that Priscilla is back in the church, not the least because she wore a Scientology pendant during an interview last year with Sofia Coppola. So we’re interested in this Orlando lawsuit, brought by Priscilla’s former very close friend and business partner, Brigitte Kruse, who is alleging that Priscilla iced her out from lucrative deals after they had formed a partnership. Priscilla retaliated with an elder abuse lawsuit in Los Angeles, claiming that Kruse was just trying to take advantage of Priscilla.
Priscilla has argued that she doesn’t have enough ties to Florida to be sued there, and so then Kruse made the bombshell allegation that Priscilla and Elvis Presley have a previously unidentified grandchild living there. Priscilla didn’t deny it in her response, saying only that any relatives she might have in Florida is irrelevant.
Now, Kruse has filed a new 109-page opposition to Priscilla’s motion to dismiss, providing more detail about Priscilla’s intentions of moving to Florida, looking at property to buy there, and making frequent trips there for paid appearances, all of which argues that the Orlando court does have jurisdiction.
Scientology school sued for abuse. The Delphi Academy in Lake View Terrace is being sued by a former student, John Doe, who was 13 when he was abused by the school’s basketball coach, Randolph Jackson, who later went on to a non-Scientology charter school in Santa Clarita, where he admitted to abusing six more boys. He’s now serving 17 years in prison. Doe’s lawyers are alleging that the Delphi faculty knew that Jackson was a problem, but they recommended him for the job he eventually got in Santa Clarita.
The Scientology school’s attorneys have responded with a boilerplate denial that actually blames Doe, who again was 13 at the time, for being a victim. We’re still waiting to see how Doe’s attorneys reply to that.
U.S. vs. David Gentile. Scientology donor David Gentile was convicted this year for running a $1.8 billion “Ponzi-like” scheme. Probation reports are due to the court on January 2, and a sentencing hearing is now scheduled for March 6.
Justin Craig/Lafayette Ronald Hubbard awaits trial. We’re kind of amazed that this ex-con from California changed his name legally to Lafayette Ronald Hubbard and convinced some independent Scientologists (those who practice outside the official church) that he was actually the reincarnated founder. Since October 2021, Craig/LRH has been cooling his heels in a Tennessee county jail on numerous drug-dealing and violent offenses, and some of his followers still send him money, month after month.
His next pretrial hearing is scheduled for January 13.
Jane Doe 1 vs. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter. The same Jane Doe 1 from the Danny Masterson criminal case and civil lawsuit filed a separate lawsuit under seal in December 2022 alleging that when she was just 17, she was the victim of an inappropriate advance by Sea Org recruiter Gavin Potter. The church then reacted, she says, by forcing her either to marry Potter or go into the Sea Org’s prison program, the Rehabilitation Project Force. She reluctantly decided to marry Potter, and they had a daughter, but over the seven years of their marriage, from 1991 to 1997, she says she never considered the sex they had to be consensual.
Scientology responded to the lawsuit by saying that Jane Doe had signed a contract with an arbitration clause at the Flag Land Base in 2002. (It was the same contract that the church had produced when it tried to force the Danny Masterson civil lawsuit — Bixler v. Scientology — into arbitration, a decision that was overturned on appeal.)
In a tentative ruling, Judge Robert Broadbelt found that Scientology’s arbitration scheme was inherently unfair, and his ruling was going to deny Scientology’s motion. However, just hours before the hearing was to begin and before Broadbelt could make his tentative ruling final, David Miscavige sent his personal attorney Jeffrey Riffer down to the courthouse to accept service and then remove the judge with a peremptory challenge.
Since then, Scientology has been trying to throw whatever it can into the mix to try and convince the new judge, Judge Kevin Brazile, not to follow Judge Broadbelt’s path and find against the arbitration scheme. That includes submitting declarations from Jane Doe’s mother (who is still a Scientologist) as well as Potter and others.
Scientology also asked to depose Brian Kent, an attorney from Philadelphia who has nothing to do with this lawsuit. He did formerly represent Jane Doe 1 and the other Jane Does when they first filed the Bixler lawsuit in 2019.
Another woman, who has not publicly identified herself (we’ll refer to her as Jane Roe, to differentiate her from the Jane Does), also hired Kent at that time with the idea of suing Scientology. But she later filed a confidential complaint with the Pennsylvania Bar, accusing Kent of grooming and unwanted sexual advances. That complaint was supposed to remain private as it was being considered by the Bar.
However, some YouTube activists obtained a copy of the complaint and made it public against the wishes of Roe, which has seriously jeopardized the investigation.
Scientology has pounced on that controversy, asking Judge Brazile to allow them discovery to bolster their arbitration motion. Namely, they want to depose Kent because they say the bar complaint indicates that Jane Roe accused him of telling her to destroy evidence. And since Kent was also Jane Doe 1's attorney in the Masterson case, they want to depose him and to depose Jane Doe 1 to determine if he also instructed her to destroy evidence, which they say would have implications for this lawsuit.
Judge Brazile agreed, and ruled that Scientology could depose Brian Kent and Jane Doe 1 for the limited scope of the arbitration motion.
Jane Doe 1’s legal team has understandably fought this decision fiercely, filing a motion for reconsideration and even asking for an ex parte ruling, which the judge declined to entertain. The motion for reconsideration is scheduled for January 9.
This past week, Scientology filed its opposition to that motion, and now they’re attempting to tie the fact that attorney Brad Edwards left Jane Doe 1’s lawsuit without explaining why as more evidence that something is up, they suspect it has to do with Kent, and they deserve to depose Jane Doe 1 to find out.
It looks to us like Scientology is trying to cause as much chaos and delay as they possibly can, knowing that Judge Brazile may eventually rule the same way that Judge Broadbelt was about to, that Scientology’s arbitration is inherently unfair and Jane Doe’s lawsuit should be able to proceed. We’ll know a little more after that Jan 9 hearing.
Whew. That’s the latest. Bring on 2025!
Continuing our year in review: The stories of October 2024
Brendan Tighe gave us an expanded version of a terrific story he told at Facebook, about the night when he was working security for David Miscavige and Tom Cruise and finally reached his limit.
While her father was being sued for being involved in another Scientology death, Rebecca Minkoff began her star turn on Real Housewives of New York City.
Colorful Nevada politician Michele Fiore was found guilty of corruption on all counts in her federal trial, during which her connection to Scientology, something we had noted years ago, was documented.
Lisa Marie Presley’s brief memoir was published, more than a year after her tragic death, and we went through it to see how much Scientology her daughter Riley allowed to show up in it.
Hana Whitfield had more than a couple of hurricanes to deal with in Florida. She let us know about some serious health issues she’s facing.
It’s always fun to get another report about Scientology’s big donors and their trophies.
Bruce Hines keeps giving us great narratives, like this one about how hard it is to raise a child in Scientology.
Ivan Gaspari, a former major Scientology donor, was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison in Switzerland on the allegations of Scientology’s richest donor, Trish Duggan. What a bizarre situation.
In the Priscilla Presley lawsuit we’ve been following, a bizarre bombshell: In order to prove that Priscilla has ties to Florida and can be sued there, her former close friend Brigitte Krause claimed that Priscilla and Elvis Presley have a living grandchild in Florida who is not Riley Keough or her twin sisters, who all live in California. The lawsuit did not identify the grandchild.
In time for the IAS gala, Apostate Alex brought us a great drone’s-eye-view of Saint Hill.
A Scientology school in Los Angeles is sued by a former student who was abused by a basketball coach the school simply moved to a different school, where he ended up abusing six more kids and is serving 17 years in prison.
Apostate Alex was on the scene again as the IAS gala began in England, marking the organization’s 40th anniversary. And once again, Tom Cruise made the scene!
With only a few days before the presidential election, Donald Trump’s major rally at Madison Square Garden featured OT 8 Scientologist donor Grant Cardone.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2023: David Miscavige planned a post-pandemic return to England, and Alex Barnes-Ross decided to make sure Dave got a welcome party. Scientology wanted a large part of the Bixler lawsuit stricken. Trish Conley spent time with us on two episodes of the podcast. Jane Doe 1 opposed Scientology’s attempt to force her forced-marriage lawsuit into arbitration. Scientology went on the attack against Leah Remini’s Fair Game lawsuit, attempting to have much of it stricken.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2022: The US Supreme Court didn’t take up Scientology’s petition, and so the Bixler suit remains restored by an appellate ruling. Danny Masterson’s prosecution was planning to call Lisa Marie Presley as a witness in the trial. On Day 2 of the trial, we were stunned to spot prosecutor Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller greeting a known Scientology spy in the court hallway. Bruce Hines described what it was like to audit Mary Sue Hubbard. The Danny Masterson trial seated a jury, had opening statements, its first witness, Jane Doe 1, and even defense attorney Philip Cohen’s first of many motions for a mistrial. Marc Headley explained more about the Scientology spy.. Scientologist witness Shaun Fabos was declared a hostile witness. Jane Doe 3 began her testimony and had an epic panic attack. An LAPD witness made us wonder if Danny might have been prosecuted 18 years ago if a detective could have moved her vacation.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2021: Dan Ribacoff’s PI firm was not only working for Scientology, it was also being paid to stalk your Proprietor. Chris Shelton took on the academics. Taking a look at L. Ron Hubbard’s nutty cosmology. Revealing the name of the ‘Cooper I/C.’ David Miscavige passed L. Ron Hubbard in tenure. A Toronto woman added her name to the list of Danny Masterson’s victims. How the Sea Org broke Bruce Hines’s spirit. And at the Daily Beast, the mysterious death of Kuba Ka.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2020: A leaked document showed Scientology’s outside investments at the time it got tax exemption. Geoff and Robbie Levin previewed the trailer for their documentary. Bijou Phillips said her husband Danny Masterson was the “Strong Island” type with women. Tommy Davis hires Australian attorneys to go after the ‘Black Ops’ leak.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2019: Valerie Haney dropped ‘Jane Doe’ and filed a brutal amended complaint. Hanan Islam in handcuffs in a Los Angeles courtroom as her Narconon insurance fraud case got crazy. FreeZone wizard offers the secret to living to 150. Nancy Cartwright’s new trophy for reaching $17 million in giving. Tom Cruise brought Isabella and Connor to the IAS gala for the first time. The Kominsky Method skewers Scientology, and we figured out that creator Chuck Lorre had an extensive Scientology past.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2018: Heather Ruggeri told us her story of forced abortion and escape from the Sea Org. The Underground Bunker gave statuses to its own whales. DC District Attorney Stanley Harris schooled Scientology in 1983. Detroit got its Ideal Org. Sylvia DeWall spoke truth to family that had abandoned her. Alec Nevala-Lee’s fine book ‘Astounding’ came out, and he gave us an amazing document he found in his research, when L. Ron Hubbard invented a friendly psychiatrist to rebut Dianetics. On Halloween we released our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2017: We received reports that the RPF was a thing of the past. We marveled at the 1989 OT 8 graduation of Margie Zacks. David Miscavige’s new portrait in the belly of the Freewinds wowed us. Aftermath looked at Mace-Kingsley Ranch and talked to Mimi Faust. The vile secret in Dianetics got dissected.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2016: Karla Taylor’s lawsuit reminded us of the chances people take when the sue Scientology. We broke the news that Tom Cruise was building a double penthouse in Clearwater. And we ID’d one of the private eyes stalking Leah Remini in Denver.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2015: The month began with a lot of Cat White and Jim Carrey and Mark Burton coverage, including the young Hollywood Scientologists she hung out with, and the family in Ireland that had first pointed her toward the church. We went to the London premiere of Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie. And thanks to Bryan Seymour and Steve Cannane, our trip to Australia’s cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth was a great success. And our big bombshell: The “Knowledge Reports” about Leah Remini that informed her book.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2014: Scientology’s private threat letter to the S.F. Chronicle. A perplexing tale about Bob Duggan, the richest Scientologist in the world. Tom Cruise and his medal in London. Marty Rathbun ambushed at LAX by raving Jenny Linson. L. Ron Hubbard’s amazing 1949 letter to Forrest Ackerman. Mark Ebner finds Gay Ribisi’s plaques.
A LOOK BACK AT OCTOBER 2013: Live-blogging the Garcia mini-trial in Tampa, Scientology denied by the US Supreme Court, interpreting Leah Remini’s epic dance, and live-blogging a dramatic hearing in Laura DeCrescenzo’s lawsuit in Los Angeles.
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Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
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Thanks to Tony for the update on all the legal matters. In addition to my watching Lyintology dwindle, following the legal matters is what keeps me interested.
Judge Robert Broadbelt's decision on how unfair $cieno 'arbitration' is must make its way into court. His decision is the axe that will gut the way the Clampire screws over (again) any who signed a contract with them.