Garcias back in court in federal fraud lawsuit after Scientology makes arbitration impossible, they say.
Tony Ortega: Garcias back in court in federal fraud lawsuit after Scientology makes arbitration impossible, they say.
http://ift.tt/1NbrA9a
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
Luis and Rocio Garcia filed a new motion in their lawsuit yesterday, asking federal district Judge James D. Whittemore to lift the stay in their case and allow them to get on with suing the Church of Scientology. We have the document for you and its set of exhibits.
Last August, the Garcias lost an appeal in the case and then had to face the music: If they were going to get their money back from Scientology, they would have to submit themselves to Scientology’s internal arbitration procedures.
The Garcias first filed their federal fraud lawsuit in January 2013, alleging that the church had deceived them in order to obtain donations, including $340,000 towards the construction of the Flag Building in Clearwater, Florida, also known as the Super Power Building. The Garcias had been longtime Scientologists and frequent donors, and Scientology argued that they had signed multiple contracts which required them to submit disputes to the organization’s internal arbitration system. The Garcias argued, however, that the contracts were a sham. There were no internal arbitration rules, they said, and an arbitration had never been performed in the history of the church — all of which the church admitted in court was true.
Nevertheless, Judge Whittemore sided with Scientology, and put a stay on the lawsuit until the Garcias submitted themselves to the arbitration scheme. Which, we point out again, didn’t actually exist.
Now, nearly a year after Whittemore made that decision, the Garcias have come back to his courtroom in a new filing, describing the frustration they experienced as they attempted to work with Scientology’s “International Justice Chief,” Mike Ellis, to choose a panel of arbitrators and found themselves stymied at every turn.
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
Garcias back in court in fraud lawsuit after Scientology makes arbitration impossible
Tony Ortega: Garcias back in court in federal fraud lawsuit after Scientology makes arbitration impossible, they say.
http://ift.tt/1NbrA9a
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
Luis and Rocio Garcia filed a new motion in their lawsuit yesterday, asking federal district Judge James D. Whittemore to lift the stay in their case and allow them to get on with suing the Church of Scientology. We have the document for you and its set of exhibits.
Last August, the Garcias lost an appeal in the case and then had to face the music: If they were going to get their money back from Scientology, they would have to submit themselves to Scientology’s internal arbitration procedures.
The Garcias first filed their federal fraud lawsuit in January 2013, alleging that the church had deceived them in order to obtain donations, including $340,000 towards the construction of the Flag Building in Clearwater, Florida, also known as the Super Power Building. The Garcias had been longtime Scientologists and frequent donors, and Scientology argued that they had signed multiple contracts which required them to submit disputes to the organization’s internal arbitration system. The Garcias argued, however, that the contracts were a sham. There were no internal arbitration rules, they said, and an arbitration had never been performed in the history of the church — all of which the church admitted in court was true.
Nevertheless, Judge Whittemore sided with Scientology, and put a stay on the lawsuit until the Garcias submitted themselves to the arbitration scheme. Which, we point out again, didn’t actually exist.
Now, nearly a year after Whittemore made that decision, the Garcias have come back to his courtroom in a new filing, describing the frustration they experienced as they attempted to work with Scientology’s “International Justice Chief,” Mike Ellis, to choose a panel of arbitrators and found themselves stymied at every turn.
* * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire