Lawsuits against Narconon and NN front groups - Ongoing Thread

[Mary_McConnell]

New case filed against Narconon Fresh Start out of San Diego County. Complaint copy is not imaged yet so unable to obtain copy online at this time.


View Case Detail
Case Title:      JAMES RUSSELL WOODRUFF AND LEEANN WOODRUFF ON BEHALF OF THE WOODRUFF REVOCABLE FAMILY TRUST VS. NARCONON FRESH START
Case Number:      37-2014-00039008-CU-FR-NC       Case Location:    North County       
Case Type:    Civil      Date Filed:    11/17/2014
Category:    CU-FRD    Fraud

File Location
North County Regional Center
Business Office/Records
325 South Melrose
Vista, CA 92081
(760) 201-8600

Plaintiff/Petitioner 
Last Name or Business Name      First Name      Primary (P) 
JAMES RUSSELL WOODRUFF AND LEEANN WOODRUFF ON BEHALF OF THE WOODRUFF REVOCABLE FAMILY TRUST             P 

Defendant/Respondent 
Last Name or Business Name      First Name      Primary (P) 
NARCONON FRESH START             P 

Imaged Case 
This case has not been imaged. 

Microfilm 
Microfilm ID      Location      Reel Number      Frame Number 
This case has not been microfilmed. 

[mefree]

I sure hate to hear of another death, Mary. Thanks for posting these lawsuits.

[Mary_McConnell]

I sure hate to hear of another death, Mary. Thanks for posting these lawsuits.

I know.
But at least people are suing.

[mefree]

Ryan Hamilton makes it 26 lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab scheme - Tony Ortega's Underground Bunker

...“Dianna explained to Warczak that her son had recently been a passenger in automobile accident in which three of his friends had been killed and her son was the lone survivor. Dianna further explained that her son needed a rehabilitation program that provided both substance abuse treatment and counseling for his grief and depression related to the auto accident,” says the lawsuit.

Warczak, the complaint alleges, told Dianna that Narconon “provided for grief and depression as well as substance abuse treatment."

Hamilton points out that, in fact, in other cases Narconon has admitted that it doesn’t provide counseling at all. Instead, patients go through Scientology training that is the same for each subject...

more at http://tonyortega.org/2015/01/06/ryan-hamilton-makes-it-26-lawsuits-against-scientologys-drug-rehab-scheme/

[mefree]

There's a new lawsuit against Narconon Freedom Center and some familiar themes in the plaintiff's allegations.

Lawsuit claims Albion rehab center is a Scientology front, latest in long list of lawsuits since 2005 - mLIVE

ALBION, MI – A former rehabilitation patient at Narconon Freedom Center in Albion has sued the company, claiming the center uses its program to introduce Scientology to unwitting patients seeking drug rehabilitation.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, Jan. 14, former patient and Ohio resident Lauren Prevec claims the center charged $25,000 in upfront costs before skipping a medical assessment, taking her completely off her anti-depressant medication and attempting to indoctrinate her to Scientology over the course of two months.

more at http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/01/lawsuit_claims_rehab_center_in.html

[Mary_McConnell]

Read the lawsuit brought against Narconon, claiming the rehab facility is a Scientology front ( comments welcome, as Narconon has a few of the troops out trying to bash the lawsuit in comments here)
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/01/read_the_lawsuit_brought_again.html

Direct link to the lawsuit complaint
http://media.mlive.com/citpat/news_impact/other/document-4.pdf
 
Special note
At 6am tomorrow morning January 16th, attorney for the Prevec's, Jeffrey Ray, will be speaking about Narconon in a live interview on WLIS 1320 Radio The Tony Conley Morning Show.

Here is the link to the live feed
http://www.mainstreamnetwork.com/listen/player.asp?station=wils-am

[BigBeard]

I hope someone at the state lever notices, and NN get's nailed to the wall for practicing medicine without a license over this:

...before skipping a medical assessment, taking her completely off her anti-depressant medication...

You just DO NOT take someone off an anti-depressant "cold turkey". Especially without a preliminary medical assessment, and close medical supervision during the period a person is coming off the medication. Any licensed doctor will tell you that you just don't do that.

[Mary_McConnell]

What BigBeard said 

[Mary_McConnell]

MCARTHUR VS NARCONON OF GEORGIA INC
Case date: Monday, October 28, 2013
SMALL CLAIMS GENERAL CIVIL
mcarthur, sara    -  Plaintiff
hadden, john d    -  Attorney for Plaintiff   

11/04/2013 - unscheduled document - see memo - - waiver of service of summons & offer to extend 60 days - - attorney for plaintiff
12/20/2013 - sheriff's entry of service - sheriff  01/06/2014 - answer - late - attorney for defendant     

Event Type             Division                             Date                                        Time          Location     Official
trial                      magistrate court civil   Thursday, January 30, 2014   1:00:00 PM   1C        judge magistrate
trial                      magistrate court civil   Thursday, February 20, 2014 1:00:00 PM    1C        judge magistrate

http://www.gwinnettcourts.com/home.asp#casedetail/case:13-m-37451/

No details yet on this small claims civil court case.

Not sure if this was ever updated but here is what I found just now: 

Mcarthur Vs Narconon Of Georgia Inc
Case Information
Case Number:    13-M-37451    Filing Date: Monday, October 28, 2013
Case Type:    Magistrate Court Civil    
Disposition:    Dismissed
Category:    Small Claims General Civil    
Disposition Date:    Friday, May 16, 2014

Courts:    Magistrate Court Civil    Disposition Manner:    Before Trial
Filing Type:       Official:    Judge Magistrate

2014-05-16 - Dismissal With Prejudice ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF

Case is done and charges cannot not be refiled again on this case. Usually means a settlement occurred

[Mary_McConnell]

Kudos to Ryan Hamilton for trying.
Ryan Hamilton’s plan to consolidate his lawsuits against Scientology rehabs is denied
http://tonyortega.org/2015/02/08/ryan-hamiltons-plan-to-consolidate-his-lawsuits-against-scientology-rehabs-is-denied/#comment-1841915550

Hamilton Petition of Dec 29 Multi District Litigation Panel: Order denying
http://www.scribd.com/doc/255064728/Hamilton-MDL-Order-Denying-Transfer

The subject of how to sue in a more consolidated manner, while filing claims on the merits unique to each case and reaping the most for victims, is a complex matter which I have researched, pondered and discussed with others over the years in my wish to see more victims at least be able to get their day in court, especially during the years when there was a dearth of attorneys willing to take cases because of cost effective concerns as well as fears of Scientology fair game attacks. There is no simple solution to this yet but Ryan gets much credit on trying to go this route because it was the closest to simplifying matters and not at the expense of helping victims of the program. I am sure he will persevere and work around this minor setback in his overall progress.

Re: from the order
"Plaintiffs in all the actions on the motion are represented by common counsel,2 while defendants purportedly have retained liaison counsel to coordinate the litigation. At oral argument, counsel for the defendants confirmed their willingness to coordinate with respect to discovery of any common third-party or Narconon witnesses. These circumstances suggest that voluntary cooperation and coordination among the parties and the involved courts, particularly given the number of actions, is a preferable alternative to centralization to address any possibility of duplicative discovery or inconsistent pretrial rulings. See, e.g., In re Eli Lilly & Co. (Cephalexin Monohydrate) Patent Litig., 446 F. Supp. 242, 244 (J.P.M.L. 1978); see also Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth, § 20.14 (2004)."


I guess we have to see how willing Narconon attorneys really are in in their claim that they are willing to coordinate discovery with respect to discovery of common third-party or Narconon witnesses.

[Mary_McConnell]

Scientology Drug Scandal! Church Paid More Than $500K To Defend Controversial Rehabs — READ The Tax Documents
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2015/04/church-scientology-drug-treatment-legal-fees/

[Sunshine]

NI forked out 6.5 million for legal settlements in 2012

[BigBeard]

I wonder how many of those "Bad debts" are people refusing to pay balances after finding out the reality of narCONon and bailing??

[mefree]

  Sunshine!

[Mary_McConnell]

NI forked out 6.5 million for legal settlements in 2012

Good to see you dropping by!! Thank you for posting this!

[Mary_McConnell]

I came across this comment on alt.religion.scientology while searching for something.. It's a response to Chris Owen asking in 2004 Narconon's legal history - who's it sued or been sued by?
Several members there replied with some interesting information that I feel belongs on this thread:

Tilman commented on Germany

   Tilman Hausherr    
1/25/04
On 25 Jan 2004 13:24:18 -0800, ronthe...@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
wrote in <f758becc.04012...@posting.google.com>:

- show quoted text -

There have been several Narconon related lawsuits in Germany.

1) Arbeitsgericht München Az.: 24 Ca 14748/86
http://www.ingo-heinemann.de/arb14748.htm

This was a labor court decision. The plaintiff successfully sued
Narconon to get paid properly and won about $10000 in back pay.

2) Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg Az.: 1 S 3021/92
http://home.snafu.de/tilman/krasel/germany/vgh2192.html

This was an administrative court decision. The court decided that a
state official was right to claim that not a single successful narconon
rehabilitation had been proven.

3) Amtsgericht Miesbach, Az: Cs 65 Js 21802/90
http://home.snafu.de/tilman/narconon.tif

Former president of Narconon Schliersee convicted for practicing
medicine without a license.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.religion.scientology/-QBn-sssk-M

Mike Gomez replied about a case in France:

   Mike Gormez    
1/25/04
"On 25 Jan 2004 13:24:18 -0800, ronthe...@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
wrote in <f758becc.04012...@posting.google.com>:

>I've been asked an interesting question about Narconon's legal history

>- has anyone sued it, or been sued by it?

According to a translated French Parliamentary Report on Cults of 1995,
a woman died and "The County Court of Dijon, in a judgement of January 9,
1987 (No 118-87), condemned the assistant-director of the Narconon center
of Grangey-sur-Ource for lack of assistance to a person in danger."

http://www.whyaretheydead.net/others/Jocelyne_Dorfmann_34.html

orkeltatte commented on a case from Sweden

orkel...@hotmail.com    
1/26/04
ronthe...@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen) wrote in message news:<f758becc.0401251324.7cc6c2db@posting.google.com>...
- show quoted text -

There are at least one Swedish case that also was published in the
biggest newspaper DN ( Daily News)1999-03-18) A Weine Pettersson
started his journey in Narconon and was "bridged" over to an auditor ,
scammed for a lot of money, sued the Church but was settled (bought
of) outside court. These brilliant thinkers in Co$ then registrered
the "contract" of silence in the swedish court , were it became
official and hence public according to the swedish freedom of
information act.

read the article in swedish

The link he provided didn't work so here is the page discussing the matter
so Mike Gomez posted an English translation written by Tilman

Tilman Hausherr    
3/22/99
Translation #1:

(Articles by Anna Bodin, Copyright by DN.)
<abstract>
Scientology church
The church of Scientology is often accused of brainwashing its
members. Weine Pettersson is one of those who brought them to
court. But the scientologists rather settled outside the court and
offered Weine Pettersson 50.000 SEK in exchange for his silence.
<Article>
Scientologists bought Weines silence
The stillness in the room where we sit. The cat that sleeps with its
back toward the radiator. The other cat on the stool, eyes half closed
and the tail hanging over the edge like the weight for an old
fashioned clock. The timeless ticking of time. And then this shocking
story: Weine Petterssons tale of how he after years of ineffective
courses for hundreds of thousands of kronor decided to sue the church
of scientology.

The calls from the Office of Special Affairs. The hints and
implications of threats. The mechanisms behind the sects power of the
mind. The relief at being free at last.

The first time Weine heard about the founder of Scientology,
L. Rin. Hubbard, was at the Narconon treatment center in
Huddinge. He'd been sent there by a social worker to be treated of his
addiction, from a juvenile use of marihuana that had turned into a
hidden use of amphetamine.

- It worked well for me, he says. I'd probably been cured at another
  clinic as well, I'd reached a point where I'd had enough, quitting
  the habit was fast, and I felt loyal to Narconon. I felt I owed them
  for getting off the drugs.

Gratitude and curiosity made Weine to continue with Hubbards courses
withing the church of scientology. At 23 years of age he met a man
being employed by the hour by the church, a so called "auditor",
spirtiual councellor, and struck a deal on private guidance.

In a basement room the treatment continued. Weine held a can in each
hand. Through those the auditor sent a weak current through his
body. On the contraption there was a movable needle. The auditor
called the instrument an "e-meter". Weine likens it to a lie detector
that measures tensions in the individual. The auditor went through
fixed checklists. When an item on the list gave a reading on the
meter, there were new followup questions.

- You go back to stressful items and work them over until the interest
  and the tension go away, Weine say. According to him the method is
  to crate mental sensations. It feels as if something is
  released. But Weine only got worse. In spite of that he continued
  the treatment for seven years. In total he paid the auditor  some
  130.000 kronor. The first 50.000 he borrowed. The remaining 80.000
  was from a life insurance he collected when his father died.

- Finally I had to realize that the auditor was screwing me. It was
  like a hammer blow at a glass heart. I felt sick and went to the
  church of scientology to tell what had happened. The church held
  several interviews with Weine and recommended him to buy more
  courses directly from them. For 85.000 kronor more his and the
  auditors mistake could be corrected. The sum was not
  exceptional. Weine recalls how scientology salespeople duped people
  to buy courses for several hundret thousand kronor. They got
  provision and even followed the buyers in to the bank to borrow the
  money.

Today Weine wiews the situation in a clear light, the auditor conned
him out of 130.000 kronor and it certainly could not be cured with
therapy. Back then his loyalty was stronger than his doubt, and he
paid the requested sum.
-The teachings of the church of scientology is totally overwhelming,
he tells. It's an indoctrination encompassing everything. The
teachings ar so covering that when you turn around to find a door to
back out of, it is very difficult. They have created a mental wall
around you. The reason it's so hard to see through scientology is that
it's built it on eternal thruths, Weine thinks.

- The teaching gives you something that's true, that's always been
  true for as long as there have been people. Hubbard collected these
  thruths in an incredibly intelligent manner and used them to get
  power and money by selling them.
  Weines 85.000 kronor course lasted less than a year. The the church
  of scientology wanted more money. Then the faith died. At the end of
  1995 Weine broke off from the church. He'd seen the posters of
  people pictured as the enemies of the church, people opposing the
  goals of the sect. Now he was one of them.

- It's an incredible mental pressure the apply to the individual to
  prevent them from coming out and critizise, debate or question. One
  could call it brainwashing. More than anything else Weine is upset
  by the fact that the church of scientology as he sees it is
  completely undemocratic, while at the same time using the laws and
  rules of democracy. Without the laws on freedom of religion and the
  ability to copyright their written material the sect would be unable
  to make the billions they do today.

- It's not whether their courses work or not. The interesting thing is
  what they are doing with their movement. When Weine started
  protesting his case eneded up in the church's office for special
  affairs. Different people called and spoke of the problems a
  relative still in the church would get. According to Weine it was
  never about physical violence or spoken threats, but the church
  created a scary sense of danger as he saw it.

In spute of the fear he felt Weine sued the church of scientology and
at the end of last year he was offered a settlement that he
accepted. In the deal was written that none of the parties could say
anything about the deal to outsiders or to media.

The church of scientology however made the mistake to send the deal to
the district court in Stockholm. In doing so, it became "offentlig
handling" and anyone can ask for it to read how the church tried to
buy Weines silence for 50.000 kronor.

The story ends. Stillness again spreads in the room. Weines partner
lifts their seven day old daughter and the third cat jumps ut to the
warmth of the pram. This week Weine stays at home with his
family. Next monday he'll be back at work again.

<2nd article>(By Anna Bodin)

"Deals often unethical"

Easier to sue the church of scientology than other sects, attorney
says.

If you have paid a large amount of money to a sect, your chanses of
getting them back are slim. Since a religious organisation seldom is a
legal entity the former member have to prove who in the sect that got
their money, something that is usually next to impossible.

- The church of scientolgy is an exception, states lawyer Leif
  Erickson who helped Weine Petterson. They can be sued. Since they
  are registered as a commercial enterprise you do not need to prove
  where in the organisation the money is. For commerical enterprises
  the laws for contractual agreement applies.

The lawyer can state that the church of scientology have used the
distress, thoughtlessness (wantonness?) or ignorance of the client
when they sold their sourses and purposefully put the members in a
state where they could be taken advantage of.

- This has been tried in Norway, and they have a couple of judgements
  stating that the methods used by the church of scientology is so
  unethical that any contracts resulting should be nullified.

When it comes to contractual law there is a common nordic legislature
and this means that the outcome in a swedish court probably would be
the same. As far as Leif Ericksson knows the swedish suits against the
sect have seen a judgement.

- The suits that have been to court have been settled. The church is
  afraid of getting a swedish prejudicate. The day we get one the
  gates open for anyone asking for their money back.

<Article 3>(By Anna Bodin)
"We gave help to Weine"

Exmembers are instigated against us, states reverend of the church of
scientology.

Tarja Vulto, reverend and informationofficer at the church of
scientology office of special affairs reject the criticism. The
disagreements with the church have been the fault of the
anticultmovement that twist and distort facts and instigate ex
members.

- Weine Pettersson got rid of his drug problem and got help with his
  life, she say. He could start working and have a family. Then from
  nowhere and several years he asks for his money back, why? There's
  no reason except that he's been in touch with a group such as FRI
  (Swedish CAN equivalent)

Why do you pay back 50.000 kronor if you haven't done anything wrong?
- We got so much shit for things like this that I don't feel getting
into particulars. If he feels he didn't get anything in return it's
better he gets his money back and we're rid of it.

How do you handle it when someone wants to leave?
- We try to  understand what's happened. It's in our interest to see
to it that people in the church are well and if there's a problem it's
handled. There's special terminals (people with a given task) for
people that are unwell oc that have criticism or no longer wants to be
members.

Have there been harassment and threats?
- I know that there's people who were members in the early 80's that
have said there was, and maybe it was but I've been working for the
church for twenty years and don't know about it. You can't be a
scientologist if you're forced to. It's againts our principles.

--
Tilman Hausherr        [KoX, SP4]
til...@berlin.snafu.de     http://www.snafu.de/~tilman/#cos

    Resistance is futile. You will be enturbulated. Xenu always prevails.

:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!msg/alt.religion.scientology/-fQB5vL-jqs/fU4dywuPgjsJ

I also came across another lawsuit:

Courtesy of Karin Spaink
Translated.

Residents v. Narconon (May 31, 1994)
    Narconon bought Lochemse nursing home 'Deborah' and wanted to establish a clinic. Local residents [whose names are omitted here upon request] oppose it, including under appeal to the zoning. Narconon demanded to be allowed to use the property. Narconon lost. Summary proceedings, May 31, 1994, Zutphen.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://kspaink.home.xs4all.nl/cos/idx_zaken.html&prev=search

The complaint in English can be found here

Residents v. Narconon
Summary proceedings, May 31, 1994
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.spaink.net/cos/zaken/kg940531.html&prev=search

The complaint in Dutch can be found here

Omwonenden v. Narconon
Kort geding, 31 mei 1994
http://www.spaink.net/cos/zaken/kg940531.html
 

[Mary_McConnell]

New lawsuit and relevant article posted at Narconon Reviews

Best Drug Rehabilitation, Inc v. Does 1, 2, and 3.  BDR sues to unfairly collect from a patient whose insurance didn't pay because BDR salesman fails to get prior approval. Defendants oppose it, files very revealing counter lawsuit. BDR gives up; both cases are simultaneously dismissed, with prejudice, meaning neither party can bring their case back before a court again. Big win for the defendants sued by BDR.

http://narcononreviews.net/lawsuits/best-drug-rehabilitation-v-does-1-2-3/

Important article on what we learned from this, information for potential patients trying to pay with health insurance, to  prevent being scammed.

Alert: Insurance Coverage & Collections Issues
On our radar: Best Drug Rehabilitation Inc, unbranded Narconons
Written by Mary McConnell on January 8, 2017

[..] We would like to share with you a recent memo we received from attorney Catherine Villanueva of the law firm Jeffrey Ray, P.C., regarding the above case and collection tactics being employed by Best Drug Rehabilitation and other unbranded Narconon programs against people who were under the belief that their health insurance was covering the treatment. ....[..] read on 
http://narcononreviews.net/narconon/insurance-coverage-collection-issues/

[Mary_McConnell]

Apr 21 at 2:46 AM  New blog post on Narconon Reviews:

'The Fauteux Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Important For Many Reasons'

"This is a Complaint for Damages regarding the November 6, 2015 wrongful death of Tabatha Fauteux, a graduate of the Narconon Fresh Start program in Harlingen, TX , who was sent to Los Angeles as a trainee – housed and trained under the control and supervision of Narconon Int & ABLE. The complaint’s First Causes [...] Read more and post your thoughts at:
http://narcononreviews.net/narconon/lawsuits/the-fauteux-wrongful-death-lawsuit-important-for-many-reasons/

Previous mentions on Reaching For The Tipping Point Forum:

Re: Narconon Deaths
This is a follow-up story to one that Tony O. wrote in November involving another death.
http://forum.reachingforthetippingpoint.net/index.php/topic,402.msg36717.html#msg36717


Re: Church of Scientology Negative Publicity Collection – 2016 - APRIL

CBS Boston WBZ-TV News Live
Police: Nashua Woman Set Up GoFundMe For Family’s Deceased Daughter, Took The Money
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/04/04/nashua-woman-gofundme-theft-deception-krystal-gentley/

*NOTE: See the Underground Bunker story about Tabatha Fauteux’s death from a drug overdose after completing the Narconon program -
http://forum.reachingforthetippingpoint.net/index.php/topic,12976.msg36835.html#msg36835

[mefree]

I feel so bad for the Fateaux family. Thanks for posting, Mary.

[BigBeard]

Tony O. has another follow-up on Apr 22: http://tonyortega.org/2017/04/22/scientology-denied-twice-in-wrongful-death-lawsuit-as-parents-grieve-for-tabatha-fauteux/

It actually should be, "$cientology Denied Three Times". In addition to the Anti-SLAPP and Demurrer motions being denied, Oklahoma attorney Gary Richardson's Pro Hac Vice application to represent narCONon in California was denied. Apparently application forms were not filled out correctly, copies of the application were not submitted to the California Bar as required, and no proof was provided a required $50 fee was paid. Maybe Richardson just wanted and excuse not to travel to California.