Scientology has managed to persuade courts that people who signed Enrollment Agreements as a condition of starting a scientology service, are bound by a paragraph of the agreement where they agree to resolve disputes through a scientology "religious arbitration." Here is the language from those agreements. This is the paragraph concerning religious arbitration: Set aside whether an agreement to participate in services can encompass claims that have nothing to do with the service that is the subject of the agreement; there is another more … [Read more...]
Shameful Scientology “Religious Arbitration” Destroying Justice
Anyone who paid attention to the Masterson case Preliminary Hearing last week got a glimpse of the triggering experience of recounting a rape for the victims. After hearing their testimony, Judge Olmedo ordered that Danny Masterson to stand trial for rape. The role of scientology in the matter was not lost on her. Which makes the order of Judge Kleifield in the civil court virtually next door even more egregious. The same women who testified as victims in the criminal case are also plaintiffs in a civil suit. Their civil case was filed before the criminal charges were announced, when … [Read more...]
House Judiciary Committee Submission of Chrissie Carnell-Bixler and Valerie Haney
These are submissions to the House Judiciary Committee from rape victim Chrissie Carnell-Bixler and abuse victim Valeria Haney. As any readers of this blog know, the fight for justice for the victims of Danny Masterson has been long and painful. He finally confronts the criminal justice system, but the victims also filed civil suits before the criminal charges were finally brought. Scientology has managed to convince judge Steven Kleifield in this case (and Judge Burdge in the Valerie Haney case) that the victims are forbidden to have their day in court, but instead must undergo a … [Read more...]
More on Scientology “Religious Arbitration”
Anyone who regularly reads this blog will know that I have been scathing in my criticism of recent court rulings concerning the supposed scientology "religious arbitration" agreements that courts have enforced to prevent plaintiffs from pursuing legal recourse against scientology entities. See earlier articles: Scientology "Religious Arbitration" -- Giving Kangaroo Courts a Bad Name and this one: Concerning Scientology "Religious Arbitration." Now comes an article from the Reason.com website which is rather more scholarly than my layman's analysis. A leading expert on religious arbitration … [Read more...]
Scientology “Religious Arbitration” – Giving Kangaroo Courts a Bad Name
Recently, one of the OSA bots on Twitter announced that the Judge in the Masterson civil case had "found me to be a liar" in the case "I lost." This is their twisted interpretation of the following statement by Judge Steven Kliefield in his ruling that the Masterson plaintiffs must submit to religious "arbitration," (see Tony Ortega's site for the full order): Defendants argue the Court should disregard the March 6, 2020 declaration because Rinder is biased, dedicated to falsely attacking the Church and has no foundation for much of his testimony. CSI and CCI also make specific objections … [Read more...]