Since some of the materials which describe the $cientology cult could be
considered to be copywritten materials, I have censored myself and The
Skeptic Tank by deleting any and all possible text files which describes
the cult's hidden mythologies. I have elected to quote just a bit of the
questionable text according to the "Fair Use" legal findings afforded to
those who report. - Fredric L. Rice, The Skeptic Tank, 09/Sep/95
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Subject: Big Suprise
Date: 17 Jul 1995 17:00:22 +0200
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Couple files $542,000 suit against Church: The suit alleges the Church of
Scientology violated several State laws and led the couple on an emotional
roller coaster
Orlando Sentinel
Sunday, July 16, 1995
By Robert Perez
TAVARES - Samuel Williams' and Janet Miller's odyssey with the Church of
Scientology began in 1986 and ended in less than a year.
But the Lake County couple's struggle to recover from the experience is
nearing 10 years.
Their civil suit, which is seeking to recover $542,000 the former husband
and wife from Leesburg spent on what they say were bogus church services,
is now 17 volumes thick and the church has yet to respond formally to
their charges.
But attorneys for both sides believe the case will move quickly after a
Sept. 28 case management conference before state Circuit Judge Jerry T.
Lockett.
The lawsuit's initial complaint goes on for nearly 50 pages, describing a
horror story the couple say they experienced with the church.
The couple was subjected to an emotional roller coaster and high-pressure
sales tactics that bled them of more and more money, the suit states.
Church employees convinced Williams his wife was suffering from a
degenerative mental condition that would lead her "into a state of
hopeless madness" without the church's help, it continues.
When Williams was convinced to leave Miller at the church's San Francisco
mission for additional treatment, she was put up in a roach-infested
storeroom without heat for two days, the suit states.
And when Williams and Miller had had enough and wanted out, they were told
they would become "enemies of the church" and would be subjected to
harassment and risked physical harm to themselves and their daughter.
The Church of Scientology was the creation of L. Ron Hubbard, whose 1950
book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, became a bestseller
and the bible of the church.
The church has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and media exposes
charging that Scientology is a cynical business driven by mind-control and
not a religion.
Church officials say they are simply victims of religious persecution and
that a worldwide membership in the millions establishes Scientology's
legitimacy.
Williams' first contact with the church was through the Sterling
Management Co., a Tampa firm that promised to boost clientele at Williams'
optometry business.
Tests done in May 1986 to determine problem areas at the business led to
the discovery of "personality defects or emotional problems" in Williams
that would need further treatment.
By September 1986, Williams was convinced his rocky marriage could be
helped by the church's "Life Repairs" course. He convinced his wife to
travel to San Francisco for the treatment, the claim states.
After the couple returned to Leesburg, they continued to undergo home
treatments that included daily exercises, saunas, potions and mega-doses
of calcium, magnesium and niacin.
Even the couple's 3-year-old daughter was drawn in. She was diagnosed as
having "undue anger, emotional pain and a personality disorder" caused by
a "difficult birth," the suit states.
The couple stopped the church's treatments in 1987 and sent a final
cancellation letter in 1991.
Since being filed in 1992, the suit has grown into a jumble of legal
proceedings that don't respond to the couple's charges.
George Russ, a Leesburg attorney representing Williams and Miller, said
the church has dragged its feet about responding to the suit.
"My experience with this lawsuit has been that they are intentionally
stalling," he said. "How else would you construe three years without a
response to the complaint?"
There is nothing to respond to, said an attorney for the church.
Tampa attorney Robert Johnson said the church's position is that there
isn't a "viable cause of action" that has been alleged.
"In certain instances, you are faced with a person who claims they have
been harmed, but there is no recognized statute to handle it."
Johnson said the issues in the lawsuit are "rather hazy at this point."
But Russ counters the allegations are clear.
The suit alleges the church violated the state laws on deceptive and
unfair trade practices, home solicitation sales and breach of contract.