Lawrence Wollersheim

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Lawrence Wollersheim

Lawrence Wollersheim (b. 1951 ) is an American author and former Scientologist who brought Scientology to court for damages and was awarded $ 8.67 million. Scientology delayed the process 22 years, but then had to make a large compensation payment to a former member for the first time.

The lawsuit

Lawrence Wollersheim left Scientology in 1979 after having been a member of the organization for 10 years. He subsequently sued them in 1980 for $ 25 million in damages. Wollersheim argued in court that the Scientology practices that u. a. Brainwashing and emotional abuse, causing him mental harm and driving him to the verge of suicide. He said he was forced to cut off contact with his parents, locked in a hold for 18 hours a day and tortured by sleep deprivation. Especially by reaching Scientology level OT III, his identity had been badly shaken, because afterwards he no longer knew whether he was still himself or would be ruled by those thousands of beings (body thetans ) who were in the OT III Xenu story are conveyed. Wollersheim: “I became psychotic. I no longer knew who I was ” .

The history

Wollersheim first met Scientology at the age of 18. He was studying at the University of Wisconsin at Madison when he was approached on a visit to San Francisco and invited to take a personality test. He graduated from college, took several Scientology courses, signed a billion-year contract with the Scientology Sea Organization (Sea Org), and worked at the Celebrity Center on 6th Street, recruiting celebrities.

After serving in Scientology, he ran a company with 132 employees that sold art to companies in seven cities. Almost all of the employees were Scientologists and so were almost all of the customers.

Wollersheim suffered his third psychotic break while graduating from Scientology level OT V. He left Clearwater, where he had graduated from OT V, to Los Angeles, where he found himself in a dark room, playing with a revolver and thinking about it To commit suicide. He drove back to Clearwater, where a friend offered to help him and he also met an employee of the Guardian Office at the time who explained to him that "he never did anything of what he had experienced in Scientology, a doctor, a lawyer or say priests ” . The Guardian Office was the forerunner of today's Office of Special Affairs (OSA), Scientology's secret service.

He then left Scientology and some time later filed a lawsuit for damages.

The first trial

The trial took place between 1980 and 1986 and was delayed by countless petitions and motions from Scientology attorneys. The position of Scientology illustrates the statement of its then Los Angeles President, Ken Hoden: “Larry Wollersheim will never get a single thin dime from Scientology!” (Larry Wollersheim will never get one thin dime from the Church of Scientology - Dime is one 10 cent coin) . Scientology also started covert actions. So the house of the Wollersheim attorney, Charles O'Reilly, was bugged and an agent was placed in his law firm. Female decoys were used against Reilly himself and his bodyguards. The judge in the process, Ronald Swearinger, was also put under pressure: "I was shadowed, my car tires were slashed and my collie drowned in the pool" . In addition, an underage sex partner was assigned to the judge's homosexual son. At the beginning of the process, the hall was filled with so-called OT VII, so that they should interfere with the outcome with telepathy. The court was not impressed by Scientology's activities, and on Friday it announced that Scientology's OT-III classified material would be dealt with on the following Monday as the Wollersheim attorney wanted to substantiate the charges.

On said Monday, 1,500 Scientologists stood in front of the door of the court to ask for copies in the court office and to prevent the OT III documents from being viewed by non-Scientologists. The Los Angeles Times still managed to get a copy. On November 5 and 7, 1985, the newspaper published a summary of the story. Lawrence Wright: "The veil of mystery was torn". In the articles of the Los Angeles Times the occult cosmology of Scientology was disclosed, the detailed OT III- [Xenu] -datas were only revealed in the process Scientology vs. Steven Fishman published them, which were then posted on the Internet, where they still circulate today.

At the end of the trial, the jury awarded Larry Wollersheim $ 30 million in compensation.

Further processes

Scientology appealed, in 1989 the Wollersheim lawsuit was again upheld in the appeals court, but the amount of damages was reduced to $ 2.5 million.

In two separate lawsuits, Scientology took action against Wollersheim, its attorneys and its experts in the US District Court on the basis of the RICO Act ( Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ). The lawsuits related to the allegation that Wollersheim had attempted to present internal Scientology documents during his damages litigation, which, from Scientology's point of view, corresponded to the actions of a criminal organization. Both complaints were rejected.

Scientology then went to the Supreme Court twice to contest the verdict. The first case ended in 1994 with the result of the lower courts, the amount of compensation with interest had grown to $ 4.7 million.

In 2002, after the second trial, which was also denied and precluded further appeal, Scientology attorneys delivered a check for $ 8,647,483 to the court to settle the original amount, including interest, and terminate the ongoing legal process.

After a 22-year trial, Lawrence Wollersheim had between $ 1 million and $ 2 million in compensation, with the remainder going to his lawyers for their years of work.

The sociologist of religion Stephen Kent (University of Alberta) welcomed the verdict: "The Larry Wollersheim case is one of the most important decisions against Scientology, as it shows that its practices are dangerous or harmful" .

FACTnet

In 1993, Larry Wollersheim and Bob Penny founded the FACTnet ( Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network ), which had set itself the task of educating people about destructive mind control on the Internet.

With a focus on Scientology, FACTnet was investigated by Scientology in 1995 for copyright infringement and the like. a. sued. On August 22nd of the same year, two US marshals, accompanied by six Scientology / RTC representatives, raided Penny and Wollersheim, confiscating six computers, software and a dozen boxes of documents. In September 1995, the court found that there were no copyright infringements and that the seizure in August was illegal and a violation of freedom of expression. Scientology then continued litigation against FACTnet and it wasn't until 1999 that a settlement was reached.

Fair Game (fair game)

As part of the Wollersheim trial, Scientology launched a whole series of fair game campaigns to torpedo the process and put those involved under pressure. His lawyer and the judge were harassed, Wollersheim himself should be driven into financial ruin by delaying and extending the proceedings.

“The purpose of the trial is to harass and deter rather than win. The law can very easily be used for bullying, and enough bullying for someone who is on thin ice anyway, knowing full well that he has no authority, will usually be enough to cause his bankruptcy. If possible, of course, ruin it thoroughly. "

- L. Ron Hubbard

The fair game law dates from October 18, 1967:

“Enemy: Apply rule for Oppressive Persons. Free wild. May be robbed of its property or injured (in any way by any Scientologist) without any disciplinary consequences for the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued, lied to or destroyed. "

- L. Ron Hubbard

After this caused a storm of public outrage, the fair game rule was withdrawn by Scientology a year later insofar as the word fair game was no longer allowed to appear. The practice continued, however.

The Scientology lawyers argued, inter alia, in Wollersheim procedures that Fair Game , a "main focus of Scientology" ( corepractice of Scientology is) and should be protected such as religious expression.

literature

  • Lawrence Wright : In the Prison of Faith: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Interior of a Modern Church . DVA, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5 .
  • Janet Reitman: Inside Scientology - The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-618-88302-8 .
  • Hugh B. Urban: The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion . New Jersey 2011, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  2. ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 13, 2002, [1] , accessed on August 6, 2014
  3. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  4. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  5. ↑ Janet Reitman [2011] Inside Scientology - The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York, ISBN 978-0-618-88302-8
  6. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  7. ^ The Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Running Scared: Scientology's Crushin Defeat, June 24, 2008 [2] Retrieved August 7, 2014
  8. ^ The Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Running Scared: Scientology's Crushin Defeat , June 24, 2008 [3] Retrieved August 7, 2014
  9. ^ The Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Running Scared: Scientology's Crushin Defeat, June 24, 2008 [4] Retrieved August 7, 2014
  10. ↑ The Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Running Scared: Scientology's Crushin Defeat , June 24, 2008 [5] Retrieved August 7, 2014
  11. ↑ Janet Reitman [2011] Inside Scientology - The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York, ISBN 978-0-618-88302-8
  12. ↑ Affidavit by Vicky Aznaran, a former Scientology manager, June 29, 1993 - from Lawrence Wright [2013] In Prison of Faith , German Publishing House, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  13. ↑ American Lawyer, William W. Horne, The Two Faces of Scientology , July / August 1992
  14. ↑ Affidavit by Vicky Aznaran, a former Scientology manager, June 29, 1993 - from Lawrence Wright [2013] In Prison of Faith , German Publishing House, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  15. ^ Hugh B. Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  16. ↑ Los Angeles Times, Joel Sappell and Robert Welkos, Scientologists Rush to Protect Basic Beliefs Released by Judges , November 5, 1985, [6] , accessed August 14, 2014
  17. ↑ Los Angeles Times, Scientologists Scramble to keep Secrets , November 7, 1985, a copy of the article can be found here [7]
  18. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  19. ^ Hugh B. Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  20. ↑ Los Angeles Times, Joel Sappell, $ 30-Million Court Fight Lost by Scientology , Sep. 19, 1986, [8] , accessed Aug. 7, 2014
  21. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  22. ↑ Larry Wollersheim vs. Scientology , 1989 [9]
  23. ^ Church of Scientology vs. Wollersheim , 1996 [10]
  24. ^ Church of Scientology vs. Wollersheim , 1996 [11]
  25. ↑ FOCUS, Scientology - Damages , October 31, 1994, [12] , accessed on August 7, 2014
  26. ^ Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Scientology's Crushing Defeat , June 24, 2008, [13] , accessed August 14, 2014
  27. ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Scientology pays millions to former member , [14] , accessed on August 14, 2014
  28. ↑ DER SPIEGEL, Compensation: Scientology pays ex-member nearly $ 8.7 million , May 11, 2002, [15] , accessed on August 14, 2014
  29. ↑ DIE WELT, Scientology pays ex-member high compensation , May 13, 2002, [16] , accessed August 14, 2014
  30. ↑ Österreichischer Rundfunk ORF, Scientology pays ex-member $ 8.7 million in compensation , May 13, 2002, [17] , accessed on August 14, 2014
  31. ↑ USA Today, Church of Scientology pays $ 8.8M in legal dispute , May 11, 2014, [18] , accessed August 14, 2014
  32. ↑ Washington Post, Richard Leiby, ex-Scientologist Collects $ 8.7 Million In 22 Year Old Case , 10 May 2002
  33. ^ The Age (Australia), Richard Leiby, After 22 years, church pays damages to ex-member, May 11, 2002, [19] , accessed August 8, 2014
  34. ^ Village Voice, Tony Ortega, Scientology's Crushing Defeat , June 24, 2008, [20] , accessed August 14, 2014
  35. ↑ FACTnet
  36. ↑ St. Petersburg Times, WAYNE Garcia, Network gives voice to former Scientologists , August 3, 1993
  37. ↑ FACTnet re: Scientology and Dianetics Archived Copy ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.factnet.org
  38. ^ Hugh Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion, pp. 183-185, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  39. ^ Ingo Heinemann, Schikane processes: The justice is instrumentalized - from L. Ron Hubbard, The Scientologist - A Manual on the Diisemination of Material , Mid-March 1955, [21]
  40. ↑ John Atack in an interview, The Underground Bunker , March 1, 2014, [22]
  41. ↑ Hugh B. Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Chapter 3, 109: L. Ron Hubbard, Oct. 18, 1967, HCO PL Penalties for Lower Conditions , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  42. ↑ Lawrence Wright [2013] In the Prison of Faith , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, ISBN 978-3-421-04535-5
  43. ^ Hugh B. Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Chapter 3, p. 109: L. Ron Hubbard, Oct. 21, 1968, HCO PL Cancellation of Fair Game , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  44. ↑ Declaration of Vicki Aznaran, April 4, 1994, from Hugh B. Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
  45. ^ Hugh Urban [2011] The Church of Scientology - A History of a New Religion , Princeton University Press, New Jersey, ISBN 978-0-691-14608-9
personal data
SURNAME Wollersheim, Lawrence
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author and former Scientologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1951