We told you on Tuesday that Judge Upinder Kalra lifted the stay on the Bixler v. Scientology lawsuit and set a tentative trial date for September 2025.
But then on Friday, Scientology filed a pretty wild brief with the court that we knew you’d want to hear about.
It was an objection to a “request for judicial notice” that was filed in August by the Bixler plaintiffs (Danny Masterson’s rape accusers, who are suing Danny and the church for harassment and stalking), asking Judge Kalra to pay attention to something.
What they wanted him to take notice of was what Judge Charlaine Olmedo did back in June when she sanctioned attorneys Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum for leaking sensitive evidence in Danny Masterson’s criminal case to the Church of Scientology.
That evidence had been gathered by the District Attorney’s office and contained confidential police reports, emails, and other information about the Jane Doe victims, and the DA’s office was obliged to share that evidence with Masterson’s defense team, which at the time was made up of Mesereau and Appelbaum.
Judge Olmedo found that Mesereau and Appelbaum violated a court order when they then shared that sensitive evidence with Scientology attorney Vicki Podberesky.
We can tell you that the prosecutors in the case were stunned and outraged that the evidence had been given to Scientology, which was not a party to the criminal case.
And Judge Olmedo agreed, sanctioning Mesereau and Appelbaum to the tune of $900 each.
We were in the courtroom when Judge Olmedo made that order on June 7. And it was Olmedo’s order, and a transcript of that hearing, that the Bixler plaintiffs sent to Judge Kalra in August, asking him to take notice of it as they now proceed with their civil lawsuit against Masterson and the church.
Well, Scientology is not happy about that. And on Friday they filed a 68-page objection, saying that Judge Kalra should not take notice of Judge Olmedo’s ruling against Mesereau and Appelbaum, and also that he should not take notice of the hearing transcript.
And what is Scientology’s reasoning? They say that Mesereau and Appelbaum did not, in fact, violate any court order, and the proof of that, they say, is that the Jane Does have been leaking information about the case to the press for years.
Examples they submitted as exhibits included stories you’ve seen here at the Underground Bunker.
Oh wow.
So we want to make sure you understand what Scientology is saying here.
They are asking Judge Kalra to ignore the fact that two officers of the court, Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum, were sanctioned for leaking sensitive prosecution records to the Church of Scientology that included private information about the Jane Does, because the Jane Does themselves decided to share information with the world about what they had been through as rape victims — something, of course, that they have every right to do.
The really strange thing is that Scientology appears to be making the same arguments that Mesereau and Appelbaum’s attorneys did during the June 7 hearing and that didn’t succeed with Judge Olmedo. (Arguing, for example, that there was no court order that Mesereau and Appelbaum violated when they leaked the info.)
Mesereau and Appelbaum might have made those kinds of arguments themselves in an appeal of Judge Olmedo’s ruling, but they dropped their appeals. The sanctions stand.
But here is Scientology taking up their cause, and essentially smearing the Jane Does for speaking up for themselves.
What a bizarre court document this is, even by Scientology standards.
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Well, if the judge in the case hadn’t noticed that Mesereau and Applebaum leaked information to non parties in the criminal case, he has no choice but to notice now. Well played scientology, well played. For an aging man, Miscavige makes it more and more evident daily that he never matured past teenager.
What is the difference between what was published by the victims and what was 'leaked' to the Clampire? That is the crux of this whining pleading. I suspect the judge will treat this like most $cieno obfuscations and either ignore it or slap the clam down. I prefer roasting the clams, but that is just me.