With Valerie Haney’s Scientology ‘arbitration’ unfinished, is her lawsuit on the brink?

A hearing is scheduled today at Los Angeles Superior Court in Valerie Haney’s lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, the lawsuit that she filed nearly six years ago, in 2019.

Over that period, we have written many times about the lawsuit, and we have interviewed Valerie for the Underground Bunker, The Daily Beast, and for Rolling Stone. We also appeared along with her on an episode of 60 Minutes Australia.

But is her legal odyssey all coming to an end today?

You probably remember the basics of what Valerie is suing for. She says that she was held against her will as an employee in Scientology’s Sea Org, and that she had to hide in the trunk of an actor’s car in order to escape Scientology’s “Int Base” in 2016. She then went to work for Leah Remini and was subjected to an intense campaign of harassment and intimidation by Scientology, leading up to her appearance as the main subject of the premiere regular episode of Leah’s third and final season of her Emmy-winning A&E series, Scientology and the Aftermath, which aired on November 27, 2018.

But Scientology argued that, like any other Sea Org employee, Valerie had signed employment contracts — and in particular, the exit agreement she signed, under duress, she claims, after being convinced by her father to return to the church after her daring escape and “route out properly.” Those contracts, the church said, obliged her not to sue Scientology but to submit instead to its “religious arbitration.” And on January 31, 2020, Judge Richard Burdge agreed with the church and ruled that Valerie did not have the right to sue but could only take her grievances to Scientology’s internal — not independent — brand of arbitration.

Valerie fought against this ruling, and in her way mocked it, at one point asking Scientology for Elisabeth Moss to be one of her arbitrators, and when that was refused, asked for Tom Cruise or Shelly Miscavige. Eventually, a panel of three arbitrators was seated, and in October 2023 dates were finally set for the arbitration to begin.

It was only the second court-ordered arbitration ever held in Scientology’s 70-year history, and the only previous one — for former Scientologists Luis and Rocio Garcia — had taken a single afternoon. Luis told us that the proceeding was a farce: He wasn’t allowed to bring his attorney, he was not allowed a cellphone or any other recording device, and Scientology’s “International Justice Chief” Mike Ellis disallowed 90 percent of the evidence the Garcias had brought.

Valerie knew she’d be facing similar circumstances, but then it turned out to be even worse. For three consecutive days at a printing plant in Commerce, California, she was subjected to a star chamber that she said ridiculed her, recounted nearly every moment she had spent in Scientology since she was a child, brought in witnesses she had no idea were coming or could prepare for, and never got around to actually “arbitrating” her claims.

In February last year, Valerie sat through two more days of the same thing, telling us that again it was abusive. And then Scientology asked her to sit through five more days, to be held consecutively, with still no end in sight.

Each time, Valerie says, she asked to extend the arbitration days (in October 2023 and February 2024) so the process could be completed, and each time Scientology said no. And when they did ask her to come back for five more consecutive days, she asked if that would be the end of it: “They said no, and they said that it’s going to go as long as it goes until they’re done with me,” she says.

It was pretty obvious to us what was going on. Scientology knew that if the “arbitration” ever did come to a conclusion, Valerie would then have the legal right to appeal Judge Burdge’s 2020 ruling to a higher court. The Garcias tried the same thing with their arbitration, but they had sued in Tampa federal court, and the conservative Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had upheld the court’s decision to force them into arbitration.

If Valerie could appeal, she would be appealing to a California state appellate court that has already showed itself to be on to Scientology’s obfuscations. (It was the same court that overturned a similar arbitration ruling in the lawsuit filed by Danny Masterson’s victims.)

If Valerie could just get to the end of the arbitration, she could appeal to that friendlier appellate court. And so Scientology was doing everything it could to wear her down and get her to throw in the towel: Five days of grueling, abusive star chamber, with five more scheduled and no end in sight. (And as an aside, one of the small ways Scientology twists the knife is to repeat in court papers and in the IJC’s letters to Valerie that this is an arbitration that she asked for, which was a requirement after the court forced her into it.)

When Valerie’s attorney Graham Berry asked Judge Burdge’s successor, Judge Gail Killefer, to at least put an end date on the arbitration, the judge agreed with Scientology’s attorneys who argued that once the court handed over the case to Scientology’s arbitration, it had no jurisdiction to do anything. Judge Killefer refused to name an end date, and also gagged Berry, telling him he could not submit any further filings until the arbitration was finished.

That occurred at a hearing last year, in June. By then, the original dates for the five additional days of arbitration had come and gone in May. Valerie notified the IJC, Ellis, that those dates were not going to work (one of her difficulties was that she had to fly across the country for the arbitration, and five days off consecutively were not easy because she had, now that she was out of Scientology, a real job).

Valerie gave three other periods that might work, and on May 28 Ellis mailed a letter saying that August 19-23 had been chosen.

Valerie tells us that she never received this letter, and when we asked her about it, she pointed out that it had been sent to an old address where she wasn’t living at the time. (Throughout this process, Scientology has played games about how Valerie can be notified — only by Ellis, and in writing — and they have refused to answer simple questions from her attorneys which could have cleared up matters.)

Valerie says that she repeatedly asked for confirmation from Ellis or Scientology’s attorneys for when the next arbitration dates might be scheduled, but was only sent a letter on September 6 from Ellis complaining that she had not showed up at the August 19 date.

We have continued to check in with Valerie since then, and she says that she has not received word from Ellis or Scientology’s attorneys about new dates.

Today, February 20, is the day that Judge Killefer had set for another hearing, with the assumption that the arbitration would be finished by now.

We suspect that William Forman, Scientology’s attorney, will tell Judge Killefer that Valerie failed to show up for the August 19 start of the five consecutive days of arbitration, and that it shows she’s not serious about the arbitration that she asked for, and so her lawsuit should be thrown out.

Valerie tells us that her attorneys are prepared to show the unanswered letters and emails that were sent to the IJC and Forman asking for confirmation on when dates agreed by both sides might be set.

Judge Killefer has been harsh with Valerie, and with her attorney Graham Berry, and so we aren’t sure what’s going to happen today.

Will the judge admonish both sides and tell them to work out another set of dates for arbitration, or will she agree with Scientology and throw out the lawsuit? We are not optimistic. But as soon as we know the result, we’ll let you know.

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The Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation

The Aftermath Foundation announced last night that it has changed its name to honor former board member Mike Rinder. From the foundation’s website:

From overcoming adversity to becoming a staunch advocate for victims recovering from Scientology, Mike’s story is one of courage and heroism. Mike’s tireless efforts have inspired others to bravely come forward and share their own experiences with cultic systems. He has had, and will continue to have, a global impact on the movement.

Instilled in Mike was a purpose: to raise awareness about Scientology’s abuses and empower victims to start new lives centered on self-determination. In his last blog post, Mike wrote, “If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses, please keep the flag flying — never give up.”

And we promise we won’t give up. Mike’s tireless work has fueled a sense of justice in people around the world, including us.

To honor Mike’s legacy and to demonstrate our commitment to continuing this mission we will henceforth be The Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation.

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