Scientology: Trafficking suit has a Waffle House problem. ALSO: Newiga sings in Tokyo!

The Bunker’s own Newiga flew over to Tokyo to run in the marathon there, and then did us a favor by going to the Scientology Ideal Org, snapping some photos, and even sang a little song for us all.

But first, let’s take care of some legal news.

In the Baxter v. Scientology federal labor trafficking lawsuit in Tampa, both sides turned in their five-page replies to the 10-page arguments they recently submitted to Judge Thomas Barber’s question about whether he has the right to rule that the contracts signed by former Sea Org workers Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter were signed under duress.

Scientology wants Judge Barber to derail the lawsuit and send it into Scientology’s own “religious arbitration” because the three former Sea Orgers had signed employment and service contracts during their years working on Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds.

Valeska and the Baxters filed their lawsuit last April, alleging that they’d been forced into the Sea Org as children, worked on the ship as adults, and were subjected to horrible treatment and abuse, and were forced to sign the contracts without even the ability to read them. They want Judge Barber to deny Scientology’s attempt to force them into arbitration, and to get on with the lawsuit.

(And a note, because this always comes up: Scientology is only referring to contracts that Valeska and Baxters signed as adults, not children, and they are not referring to the Sea Org “billion-year” contract. These are employment contracts, or service contracts that all Scientologists sign for any procedure in the church.)

In the 10-page memos and now five-page replies, both sides are wrestling with Judge Barber’s question about whether he even has the right to rule that the contracts were signed under duress, or whether he must give that over to a Scientology arbitrating panel to decide. So both sides are citing US Supreme Court rulings and appellate decisions and other case law trying to persuade Judge Barber about what he can do.

In these latest replies, Scientology is continuing its argument that case law argues that Valeska and the Baxters are really complaining about the whole agreements they signed, and not just the arbitration clauses, and that this prevents Judge Barber from ruling on the validity of those arbitration clauses. At one point, writing for Scientology, attorney Gustavo Membiela cites a case that involved Waffle House, which had a similar problem to what the plaintiffs here face. “Plaintiffs’ challenge is all Waffle House,” he says.

Valeska and the Baxters counter with an appeal to common sense. The problem is obvious, says their attorney Shelby Leighton: “Defendants contend that they should be able to force Plaintiffs into arbitration by including an arbitration provision in a larger contract and then making Plaintiffs agree to that contract under duress, even if the duress is gun-to-the-head obvious.”

That appears to be a reference to Judge Barber’s own stunning question in a November 17 hearing, asking Scientology’s attorneys if they would still not consider a contract signed under duress even if there was video of the Sea Org worker with a gun aimed at their head. (The Scientology reply was amazing: The contract is still valid even in that case.)

In other words, Judge Barber seems to understand the situation here, but he’s asking for clarification about whether the Supreme Court gives him the authority to rule on what he sees before his very eyes.

Well, the filings are now in from both sides, and the matter is in Judge Barber’s hands.

We’re now waiting for him to rule on two very important issues.

1. David Miscavige’s objection to being ruled that he has been served by substitution and is an official defendant in the case.

2. Scientology’s motions to force the case into arbitration.

And we really don’t know how long it’s going to take him to rule on either of those issues.

But in the meantime, we are grateful to our Finnish friend Newiga, who flew over to Japan this week to run in the Tokyo marathon.

After finishing the race, she decided to go by the Ideal Org there, which we remember had its grand opening in 2016. She sent us some photos, and a short video, which includes a song!

Says Newiga: “The Org was pretty clean (which you’d expect in Japan) and I saw maybe four to five people going in and out. I saw maybe three to four staff. Two of them definitely spotted me taking pictures. One public was reading something in front of the big windows inside. There were boxes (books?) in the back.”

Congratulations, Newiga, for running the marathon in Tokyo, a big accomplishment on your list of running goals. And our thanks for stopping by the org there.

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