Scientology and law
In 1991, Time magazine estimated that the Church spends an average of about $20 million per year on various legal actions,[5] and it is the exclusive client of several law firms.
German[14] and Belgian government entities have accused Scientology of violating the human rights of its members and therefore called it a "totalitarian cult" and a "commercial enterprise".
[17] U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema cited a frequently quoted statement of L. Ron Hubbard on the subject in the case of Religious Technology Center vs.
[20]Critics of Scientology cite this passage, among others (such as the widely documented fair game doctrine), to support their contentions that the church uses smear tactics to augment the effectiveness of legal threats.
In their decision, the Supreme Court of Canada found: In this case, there was ample evidence upon which the jury could properly base their finding of aggravated damages.
The existence of the file on Casey Hill under the designation "Enemy Canada" was evidence of the malicious intention of Scientology to "neutralize" him.
[23]In 1978, L. Ron Hubbard, creator of Scientology, was convicted for illegal business practices, namely, making false claims about his ability to cure physical illnesses.
The manslaughter charge was in connection with the 1988 death of Patrice Vic, who killed himself by jumping from a 12th-floor apartment after being pressured to borrow money to pay for yet another Scientology service.
Her lawyers argue that the church systematically seeks to make money through mental pressure and use scientifically dubious cures.
Dissolution was the main sentence requested by the prosecutor against the Church of Scientology in this trial, becoming unlawful as the law changed.
[34] On April 5, 2007, the Church of Scientology of Moscow won a judgment against the Russian government establishing its right to recognition as a religious organization.
The European Court of Human Rights held that the government's refusal of registration "had no lawful basis ... the Moscow authorities did not act in good faith and neglected their duty of neutrality and impartiality vis-à-vis the applicant's religious community.
[36] In 1997, the Church of Scientology engaged Sonny Bono, then a member of the United States House of Representatives who had studied Scientology in the 1970s and 1980s, to pressure US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky to pressure Sweden to change their law permitting free access to any published work regardless of copyright.
[37]: 269 In several cases between 1995 and 2000, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland consistently ruled that the Church of Scientology was a primarily commercial, rather than religious, organization, and in 2003 upheld a decision to force closure of a Scientology-affiliated school.
After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999 the church agreed in a settlement to issue an apology[41][42] and pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 costs to the Woods.
The plan was foiled when in 1977 the FBI raided several Scientology offices, seizing over 48,000 documents, which detailed the operation against Cooper.
[44] In a 1979 criminal case against 11 high-ranking Church officials regarding Operation Snow White, the largest then-known program of domestic espionage in U.S. history, all were convicted.
[49] As the TV news program 60 Minutes reported in 1997, Scientologists filed over fifty lawsuits against the non-profit organization, which spent over $2 million on its legal defense.
After one court handed down a judgment of $1 million against CAN, the organization filed for bankruptcy and auctioned off its assets, which were purchased for $20,000 by a lawyer affiliated with Scientology.
[50][51] Scientology unsuccessfully sued Reader's Digest in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany to stop distribution of a condensed version of the Time story.
Right after the devastating Time magazine article The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power was published, H&K dropped them as a client.
In 1992, the Church of Scientology sued H&K and Eli Lilly for $40 million claiming H&K had illegally terminated the contract because of pressure exerted upon their parent company WPP Group by Eli Lilly, which Scientology had been attacking through its branch group, Citizens Commission on Human Rights.
[57] When the Church was charged with a felony count of practicing medicine without a license in the 1996 case involving the death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson, Florida asked for damages of approximately $15,000 to be awarded against the organization.
The Church hired law firms and medical specialists at an estimated cost of over $1 million, waging a defense that eventually resulted in the case being dismissed due to lack of credible evidence.
On May 29, 2004, the Church paid an undisclosed amount to settle a wrongful death suit brought on behalf of McPherson's estate.
Scientology attorneys have filed bar complaints against both him and Lirot, lawsuits against Lisa's family, and motions to remove judges and move the case to other venues.
