Editing Scientology and law (section)

==== Ongoing litigation ====

As of the end of 2024, the following cases were still open.<ref name="ortega2024">{{Cite web |title=Scientology litigation 2024: A roundup of the cases we've been following all year |url=https://tonyortega.substack.com/p/scientology-litigation-2024-a-roundup |date=December 30, 2024 |first=Tony |last=Ortega |author-link=Tony Ortega}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Bixler}}
; ''Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson''
: In 2019, plaintiffs Chrissie Carnell Bixler, [[Cedric Bixler-Zavala]], Bobette Riales, and Jane Does #1 and #2 filed a civil suit against actor [[Danny Masterson]] for rape, and against the Church of Scientology for systematically stalking them after they went to the police.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/what-we-know-danny-masterson-scientology-rape-civil-suit-1249704/ |title=Everything We Know About the Civil Suit Against Danny Masterson and the Church of Scientology |date=December 1, 2021 |first=Nancy |last=Dillon |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}} |2={{cite news |url=https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/scientology-lawyers-say-theyre-ready-for-masterson-civil-rape-case/ |title=Scientology Lawyers Say They're Ready for Masterson Civil Rape Case |date=October 20, 2022 |first=Danny |last=Hernandez |website=[[Los Angeles (magazine)|Los Angeles]]}} }}</ref> After a setback when a judge ruled they would have to "take their claims before an ecclesiastical tribunal composed of three Scientologists deemed to be in good standing with the church," the [[California Courts of Appeal|California Court of Appeal]] ruled that the plaintiffs could keep arguing their case in court.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite web |title=Scientology Arbitration and the First Amendment: Some Questions About Bixler v. Superior Court |first=Eugene |last=Volokh |author-link=Eugene Volokh |date=January 25, 2022 |publisher=[[Reason (magazine)|reason]] |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2022/01/25/scientology-arbitration-and-the-first-amendment-some-questions-about-bixler-v-superior-court/}} |2={{cite web |title=Bixler v. Superior Court |date=January 19, 2022 |website=casetext.com |url=https://casetext.com/case/bixler-v-superior-court/}} }}</ref> Meanwhile, Masterson was criminally charged with forcible rape, the parties agreed that discovery in the civil suit should be delayed pending the outcome of the criminal case, and in 2023 Masterson was convicted on two charges of rape.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/danny-masterson-guilty-verdict-rape-4c60cc1031e917fc52c05238a22cc1ad |title=Danny Masterson convicted of 2 counts of rape, 'That '70s Show' actor faces 30 years to life |first=Andrew |last=Dalton |date=June 1, 2023 |work=[[Associated Press News]] |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609080722/https://apnews.com/article/danny-masterson-guilty-verdict-rape-4c60cc1031e917fc52c05238a22cc1ad |url-status=live }}</ref> Even though the Church of Scientology wasn't a party in the criminal trial, it came to light that the Church had been actively interfering with the criminal case, including harassing the prosecutor as well as the LAPD witnesses.<ref name="lat2024">{{Cite news |title=Scientology tried to 'derail' star's rape trial by harassing prosecutor, suit says; church calls claim 'false' |first=James |last=Queally |date=April 4, 2024 |newspaper=LA Times |via=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/scientology-tried-to-derail-star-s-rape-trial-by-harassing-prosecutor-suit-says-church-calls-claim-false/ar-BB1l3Pvx?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LGTS&cvid=d5ab479fce2e40a1ae3ca61e3a396418&ei=39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404190444/https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/scientology-tried-to-derail-star-s-rape-trial-by-harassing-prosecutor-suit-says-church-calls-claim-false/ar-BB1l3Pvx?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LGTS&cvid=d5ab479fce2e40a1ae3ca61e3a396418&ei=39 |archive-date=April 4, 2024}}</ref> In December 2023, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint, adding a sixth complainant, [[Tricia Vessey]], and adding [[RICO|civil RICO]] claims against the Church of Scientology.<ref name="deadline20240102">{{Cite web |title="Criminal Enterprise" Scientology Should Face RICO Charges, Danny Masterson Accusers Say – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2024/01/scientology-danny-masterson-lawsuit-rico-charges-leah-remini-1235693928/ |first=Dominic |last=Patten |date=January 2, 2024 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> Scientology filed anti-SLAPP motions, which the judge denied. Scientology appealed and was granted until March 14, 2025 to file their brief.{{r|ortega2024}}

; ''Valerie Haney v. Scientology''
: After 22 years in Scientology's [[Sea Org]], Valerie Haney escaped from [[Gold Base]] in 2016 by secretly climbing into the trunk of a visitor's car to get out of the compound unnoticed. In 2019, Haney sued Scientology for holding her against her will, libeling her online, and stalking her using private investigators after she left the Church. In 2020, a judge ordered her to "religious arbitration" per contracts she had earlier signed. Unable to come to any agreements about arbiters, in 2023 the judge ordered the parties to get it done. Scientology picked three arbiters, but would not tell Haney or the court their names. The judge denied plaintiff's motion to allow an attorney, a court reporter, or even a friend to attend with Haney. Per Haney, "The court is OK with me having to go back to the place where I literally had to escape in the trunk of a car to get out? ... It's the worst thing you could probably have a victim do. ... Someone who has been abused her entire life, to go back into the abusive environment with the abusers. It's appalling. And absolutely disgusting. It's so crazy."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/valerie-haney-scientology-escape-car-trunk-religious-arbitration-david-miscavige-tom-cruise-elisabeth-moss-1234703982/ |title=She Escaped Scientology in the Trunk of a Car. Her Nightmare Is Far From Over |date=March 27, 2023 |first=Tony |last=Ortega |author-link=Tony Ortega |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> A court date of February 20, 2025 was set to update the court about the arbitration.{{r|ortega2024}}

; ''Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology''
: In 2022, Gawain Baxter, his wife Laura Baxter, and Valeska Paris filed suit against the Church of Scientology and [[David Miscavige]] alleging six counts of forced labor and [[peonage]] in violation of the [[Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000]]. Since childhood, all three had been held captive for years on the Scientology ship ''[[Freewinds]]'', with their passports and identification documents confiscated. Gawain Baxter alleged he was held captive on the ship for 14 more years after he tried to leave the organization at age 15. Valeska Paris alleged she was sexually assaulted in the Sea Org since childhood, but was punished whenever she tried to report the incidents. She spent 11 years working on the ship, and was then sent to [[Rehabilitation Project Force|Scientology's work camp]] in Australia. Laura Baxter alleged cruel abuse, forced confessions and manual labor. She deliberately got pregnant and [[Scientology and abortion#Sea Org|refused an abortion in order to be kicked out of the Sea Org]]. Deliberately evading [[Service of process|service]], in 2023 after plaintiff's lawyers attempted 27 times at multiple sites in California and Florida to serve Miscavige, a judge finally ruled Miscavige as served.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite web |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2022/04/28/3-former-scientology-workers-sue-saying-they-were-trafficked-as-children/ |title=3 former Scientology workers sue, saying they were trafficked as children |date=April 28, 2022 |first=Tracey |last=McManus |website=[[The Tampa Bay Times]]}} |2={{cite web |url=https://www.insider.com/scientology-david-miscavige-concealing-whereabouts-trafficking-lawsuit-judge-rules-2023-2 |title=Scientology leader David Miscavige went missing to hide from a human trafficking lawsuit, federal judge rules |date=February 16, 2023 |first=Natalie |last=Musumeci |website=Insider}} }}</ref> On April 3, six weeks after the magistrate ruled Miscavige as served, US District Judge Tom Barber ruled in favor of the first amendment, saying in his order that the plaintiffs must seek relief from Church arbitration and not the courts. Ruling on the case would require the courts to interpret religious doctrine, which is against the first amendment, said Barber.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scientologists to rule on abuse claims against their church, judge says |date=April 3, 2023 |first=Tracey |last=McManus |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2023/04/03/church-of-scientology-david-miscavige-sea-org-first-amendment-human-trafficking/}}</ref>

; ''Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter''
: In December 2022, a Jane Doe filed suit against Scientology leader David Miscavige, recruiter Gavin Potter and three church entities claiming that as a minor the Church enabled one of their recruiters to sexually assault her. After she reported the incident, not only did Scientology fail to report the allegations to police but she was given the ultimatum of going to [[Rehabilitation Project Force|Scientology's prison work camp, the RPF]], for five years or marry her abuser. The case alleges Scientology even transported her out of state to Nevada where an underage marriage was possible, and that [[Scientology officials]] "knew ... of Gavin Potter's unlawful sexual conduct, that he was an unfit agent, and still placed him in a position to solicit young girls into an environment in which sexual assault and battery were commonplace."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2023/06/26/scientology-sued-by-worker-who-claims-she-was-forced-marry-abuser/ |title=Scientology sued by worker who says she was forced to marry abuser |date=June 26, 2023 |first=Tracey |last=McManus |publisher=Tampa Bay Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UNSEALED: Jane Doe 1 sues Scientology for sex assault at 16 by Sea Org groomer |first=Tony |last=Ortega |author-link=Tony Ortega |url=https://tonyortega.substack.com/p/unsealed-jane-doe-1-sues-scientology |date=June 24, 2023 |website=The Underground Bunker}}</ref> {{pb}}Accusing David Miscavige of "service dodging", Judge Broadbelt ruled in February 2024 that the plaintiff must exhaust all options before being allowed to serve Miscavige by publication.{{r|judges}} On April 15, 2024, Judge Broadbelt posted a tentative ruling in favor of the plaintiff when he found Scientology's religious arbitration contract "unconscionable". The following morning, Miscavige—effectively accepting service in the case for the first time—sent his lawyer to the courthouse to file a [[peremptory challenge]] to disqualify the judge, causing Broadbelt to step aside.<ref>{{cite web |title=Another judge steps down from Church of Scientology suit |website=Audacy |date=April 16, 2024 |url=https://www.audacy.com/knxnews/news/local/another-judge-steps-down-from-church-of-scientology-suit |access-date=November 12, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Scientology Boss David Miscavige Gets Judge Knocked Off Sex Assault Lawsuit |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/scientology-david-miscavige-judge-removed-sex-abuse-case-1235005592/ |first=Nancy |last=Dillon |date=April 16, 2024 |work=RollingStone}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Scientology leader has judge removed from case alleging sex abuse, forced marriage after unfavorable ruling: Report |url=https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/scientology-leader-has-judge-removed-from-case-alleging-sex-abuse-forced-marriage-after-unfavorable-ruling-report/ |first=Brandi |last=Buchman |date=April 17, 2024 |work=Law & Crime}}</ref> Scientology requested to depose Jane Doe 1 and a lawyer involved in a prior lawsuit connected to her; a hearing was set for January 9, 2025.{{r|ortega2024}}

{{Anchor|Remini}}
; ''Leah Remini v. Scientology''
: In 2023, [[Leah Remini]] filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and David Miscavige claiming defamation, harassment, stalking and tortious interference with a contractual relationship (Remini's business relationships), seeking compensatory and punitive damages for economic and psychological harm. Remini claimed she had been stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and subjected to intentionally malicious and fraudulent rumors. Remini's family and friends had also been subjected to the harassment, and in 2015 Remini hired bodyguards fearing for her physical safety. "For 17 years, Scientology and David Miscavige have subjected me to what I believe to be psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, significantly impacting my life and career", Remini said.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leah Remini sues Church of Scientology, says she's been threatened and subjected to 'psychological torture' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/leah-remini-sues-church-scientology-says-threatened-subjected-psycholo-rcna97817 |first1=Diana |last1=Dasrath |first2=Minyvonne |last2=Burke |date=August 2, 2023 |work=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Leah Remini claims Church of Scientology is targeting her business and friends |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leah-remini-claims-church-scientology-targeting-business-friends-rcna111348 |first1=Diana |last1=Dasrath |first2=David K. |last2=Li |date=September 21, 2023 |work=NBC News}}</ref>{{pb}}In January 2024, the lawsuit survived an anti-SLAPP motion by the Church of Scientology, though the judge removed some of the defamation claims which occurred prior to the one-year statute of limitations, kept some, where the defendants published false claims "with at least a reckless disregard of the facts", and rejected Scientology's argument that their early surveillance of Remini was a "pre-litigation stance".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leah Remini suit against Church of Scientology likely to survive, trimmed |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/leah-remini-defamation-suit-against-church-of-scientology-likely-survive-trimmed/ |first=Hillel |last=Aron |date=January 16, 2024 |work=[[Courthouse News Service]]}}</ref> Both parties appealed the ruling.{{r|ortega2024}} Accused of "service dodging", in February 2024 judge Hammock told David Miscavige's lawyer, "He should just appear, and defend himself."<ref name="judges">{{Cite web |title=Judges and lawyers call for new ways to serve notice |url=https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/377364-judges-and-lawyers-call-for-new-ways-to-serve-notice  |date=February 28, 2024 |work=Daily Journal}}</ref>