Editing Werner Erhard (section)

== Critics and disputes ==
Erhard became the object of popular fascination and criticism, with the media tending to portray him unfavorably for several decades.<ref name="J.D. Moreno" /> Moreno has written, "Allegations of all sorts of personal and financial wrongdoing were hurled at him, none of which were borne out and some [of which] were even publicly retracted by major media organizations."<ref name="J.D. Moreno" /> Various skeptics have questioned or criticized the validity of Erhard's work and his motivations. Psychiatrist [[Marc Galanter (MD)|Marc Galanter]] called Erhard "a man with no formal experience in mental health, self-help, or religious revivalism, but a background in retail sales".<ref>Marc Galanter: ''[[Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion|Cults: faith, healing, and coercion]]''. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0-19-505631-0}}, page 80.</ref> [[Michael E. Zimmerman]], chair of the philosophy department at Tulane University, wrote "A Philosophical Assessment of the est Training",<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zimmerman|first1=Michael E.|author-link=Michael E. Zimmerman|title=est: A Philosophical Appraisal|url=http://www.wernererhard.net/archive.html|access-date=November 15, 2016|archive-date=January 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129225034/http://www.wernererhard.net/archive.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in which he calls Erhard "a kind of artist, a thinker, an inventor, who has big debts to others, borrowed from others, but then put the whole thing together in a way that no one else had ever done."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transformationfilm.com/ |title=Documentary, 2006, Directed by Robyn Symon |publisher=Transformationfilm.com |access-date=2014-04-24 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409043304/http://www.transformationfilm.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sacramento City College philosophy professor Robert Todd Carroll has called est a "hodge-podge of philosophical bits and pieces culled from the carcasses of existential philosophy, [and] motivational psychology."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions |last=Carroll |first=Roberta |year=2004 |publisher=John Wiley&Sons |isbn=978-0-471-48088-4 |page=126}}</ref> Social critic John Bassett MacCleary called Erhard "a former used-car salesman" and est "just another moneymaking scam."<ref>MacCleary, John Bassett. (2004), The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s, Page 165., Ten Speed Press, {{ISBN|1-58008-547-4}}</ref> NYU psychology professor Paul Vitz called est "primarily a business" and said its "style of operation has been labeled as fascist."<ref>Vitz, Paul C. (1994). Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 26. {{ISBN|0-8028-0725-9}}.</ref>

In 1991, Erhard "vanished amid reports of tax fraud (which proved false and won him $200,000 from the IRS<ref name="Lunch with the FT: Werner Erhard">{{cite news |title=Lunch with the FT: Werner Erhard |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=April 28, 2012 |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/feb214a8-8f88-11e1-98b1-00144feab49a.html#axzz1vd1c5s7a |quote=Erhard is an autodidact… Jensen is an emeritus professor at Harvard Business School… Together they are writing academic articles and touring the world’s best universities. |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-date=June 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625025153/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/feb214a8-8f88-11e1-98b1-00144feab49a.html#axzz1vd1c5s7a |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=faltermayer />) and allegations of incest (which were later recanted)."<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html|title= The Best of est?|author= Charlotte Faltermayer|magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date= June 24, 2001|access-date= November 3, 2012|archive-date= November 2, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141102121304/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html|url-status= live}}</ref> The March 3, 1991, episode of ''[[60 Minutes]]'' covered these allegations and was later removed by CBS due to factual inaccuracies.<ref name="believermag">{{cite news|last=Snider|first=Susan |url=https://believermag.com/est-werner-erhard-and-the-corporatization-of-self-help/ |title=Est, Werner Erhard and The Corporatization of Self-Help |work=[[The Believer (magazine)|The Believer]] |access-date=August 2, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806045536/http://www.believermag.com/issues/200305/?read=article_snider |archivedate=August 6, 2007 | quote = By shedding the overt Erhard association with the program (occasionally Erhard still consults, the Forum admits), the Forum moved toward establishing itself as a common passage for the upwardly mobile young (or even not-so-young) adult, as well as for the fringe element it had always succeeded in catching.}}</ref> On March 3, 1992, Erhard sued CBS, ''San Jose Mercury News'' reporter John Hubner and approximately 20 other defendants for libel, defamation, slander, invasion of privacy, and conspiracy.<ref name="estfounder">{{cite news | last =San Jose Mercury News staff | title =Est Founder sues critics: suit names Mercury News writer | work =[[San Jose Mercury News]] | date =April 7, 1992|page=8B }}</ref><ref name="estgurusues">{{cite news | last =United Press International staff | title =EST guru sues CBS, Enquirer, Hustler | work =[[United Press International]] | page =Domestic News | date =March 4, 1992 }}</ref> On May 20, 1992, he filed for dismissal of his own case and sent each of the defendants $100 to cover their filing fees in the case.<ref name="docket">''Werner Erhard vs. Columbia Broadcasting System'', (Filed: March 3, 1992) Case Number: 1992-L-002687. Division: Law Division. District: First Municipal. [[Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County|Cook County Circuit Court]], Chicago, Illinois.</ref> Erhard told [[Larry King]] in an interview that he dropped the suit after receiving legal advice telling him that in order to win it, he would have to prove not just that CBS knew the allegations were false but that CBS acted with [[malice (legal term)|malice]].<ref name=Westword>{{cite magazine|author=Steve Jackson |url=http://www.westword.com/1996-04-18/news/it-happens/8/ |title=It Happens – Page 8 – News – Denver |magazine=Westword |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> Erhard told King that his family members<ref name="faltermayer">{{cite magazine | url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html | title=The Best Of Est? | first=Charlotte | last=Faltermayer | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=June 24, 2001 | access-date=September 28, 2007 | archive-date=November 2, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102121304/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> had since retracted their allegations, which according to Erhard had been made under pressure from the ''60 Minutes'' producer.<ref name=Westword />

Erhard's daughters retracted the allegations of sexual abuse they had made against him.<ref name=nymag>{{cite news | last =Grigoriadis | first =Vanessa | title =Pay Money, Be Happy | periodical =[[New York (magazine)|New York]] | publisher =New York Media Holdings | date =July 9, 2001 | url =https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/4932/ | access-date =November 12, 2010 | archive-date =May 21, 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110521161035/http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/4932/ | url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html|title=The Best Of est|author=Charlotte Faltermayer|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 24, 2001|access-date=October 13, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019210524/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Celeste Erhard, one of the daughters featured on ''60 Minutes'', sued Hubner and the ''San Jose Mercury News'' for $2 million,<ref name="noharm">{{cite news|work=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|title=$2 million suit against MN dismissed – No harm to Erhard's daughter seen|date=August 14, 1993 |last=Fischer|first=Jack|page=6B|location=California}}</ref> accusing the newspaper of having "defrauded her and invaded her privacy",<ref name="noharm" /> saying she had exaggerated information, been promised a $2 million book deal, and appeared on ''60 Minutes'' to get publicity for the book.<ref name="noharm" /><ref>"Daughter of est founder sues Mercury News over two articles", ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]'', July 16, 1992</ref> Celeste claimed that her quotes in the ''Mercury News'' article were deceitfully obtained.<ref name="endsin">{{cite news|work=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=January 14, 1994|title=Suit against MN ends in paper's favor|page=2B}}</ref> The case was dismissed in August 1993, the judge ruling that the statute of limitations had expired, that Celeste "had suffered no monetary damages or physical harm and that she failed to present legal evidence that Hubner had deliberately misled her",<ref name="noharm" /> which is legally required for damages.

CBS subsequently withdrew the video of the ''60 Minutes'' program from the market.<ref name="boingboing">{{cite news|work=[[Boing Boing]]|date=August 31, 2009|publisher=boingboing.net|title=Wikileaks re-publishes 60 Minutes piece on est/Landmark cult leader Werner Erhard|last=Jardin|first=Xeni|author-link=Xeni Jardin|url=http://boingboing.net/2009/08/31/suppressed-60-minute.html|access-date=October 27, 2010|archive-date=June 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603222102/http://boingboing.net/2009/08/31/suppressed-60-minute.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A disclaimer said, "this segment has been deleted at the request of CBS News for legal or copyright reasons".<ref name="believermag"/>

In 1992, a court entered a default judgment of $380,000 against Erhard in absentia in a case alleging negligent injury.<ref name="pressman-dark">{{cite book | first=Steven | last=Pressman | author-link=Steven Pressman | title=Outrageous Betrayal | publisher=St Martin's Press| year=1993 | isbn=0-312-09296-2| title-link=Outrageous Betrayal }}</ref>{{rp|262}} The appellate court stated that he had not been personally served and was not present at the trial.<ref name=appeal>[[Wikisource:Ney v. Landmark Education Corporation and Werner Erhard]]</ref>

In 1993, Erhard filed a wrongful disclosure lawsuit against the IRS, asserting that IRS agents had incorrectly and illegally revealed details of his tax returns to the media.<ref name="leaderofest" /> In April 1991, IRS spokesmen were widely quoted alleging that "Erhard owed millions of dollars in back taxes, that he was transferring assets out of the country, and that the agency was suing Erhard", branding Erhard a "tax cheat".<ref name="leaderofest" /> On April 15, the IRS was reported to have placed a lien of $6.7 million on Erhard's personal property.<ref>{{cite news|title=IRS starts liening on Werner Erhard|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=April 15, 1991|location=Chicago, Illinois}}</ref> In his suit, Erhard stated that he had never refused to pay taxes that were lawfully due,<ref name="leaderofest" /> and in September 1996 he won the suit. The IRS paid him $200,000 in damages. While admitting that the media reports quoting the IRS on Erhard's tax liabilities had been false, the IRS took no action to have the media correct those statements.<ref name="leaderofest">{{cite news|title=Leader of est movement wins $200,000 from IRS|work=Daily News of Los Angeles|date=September 12, 1996|location=Los Angeles, California|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEADER+OF+EST+MOVEMENT+WINS+$200,000+FROM+IRS.-a083966944|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017204732/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEADER+OF+EST+MOVEMENT+WINS+$200,000+FROM+IRS.-a083966944|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"IRS Settles Lawsuit brought by Werner Erhard," ''[[Business Wire]]'', September 11, 1996.</ref>

A private investigator quoted in the ''Los Angeles Times'' stated that, by October 1989, Scientology had collected five filing cabinets' worth of materials about Erhard, many from certain graduates of est who had joined Scientology, and that Scientology was clearly in the process of organizing a "media blitz" aimed at discrediting him.<ref name=LAT19911229>{{cite news| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-29-mn-2102-story.html | work= Los Angeles Times | first= Robert W. | last= Welkos | date= December 29, 1991 | title= Founder of est Targeted in Campaign by Scientologists : Religion: Competition for customers is said to be the motive behind effort to discredit Werner Erhard}}</ref> According to Erhard's brother Harry Rosenberg, "Werner made some very, very powerful enemies. They really got him."<ref name=nymag/>