From: spurgeon@is2.nyu.edu (Keith Spurgeon)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: The Scams of Larry Wollersheim
Date: 23 Aug 1995 03:27:03 GMT


Newcomers to a.r.s.

The post about Larry Wollersheim is by Andrew Milne, an operative of the 
"Office of Special Affairs" of the Church of Scientology.  

Milne's post is an example of "Dead Agenting."  It is a tactic, encouraged
by the church's founder and "spiritual leader,"  L. Ron Hubbard, of
atttempting to discredit critics of the church.  The preferred type of
story to tell is one involving lurid crimes. 

Milne's message is an attempt to have onlookers think "Wollersheim is a
bad man and the Church of Scientology is blameless."  A California Court of
appeals found differently in 1989 when it awarded Wollersheim $2 million
in punitive damages and $500,000 in compensatory damages.  The church has
not paid Wollersheim the judgement. 

You can  look up the California Court of Appeals case.  I append
a few sections of it below.  [The reduction in damages, mentioned in the
last sentence, is a reduction from the jury award of $ 30 million to the
$2.5 million figure.]

Then you decide if you believe the Church of Scientology's Andy Milne or the 
California Court of Appeals.

keith
----------------
LARRY WOLLERSHEIM, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CHURCH OF
SCIENTOLOGY OF CALIFORNIA, Defendant and Appellant

No. B023193

Court of Appeals of California, Second Appellate District,
Division Seven

212 Cal.App.3d 872, 260 Cal.Rptr. 331

July 18, 1989

212 Cal.App.3d at 877:

OPINION:

     This appeal arises after a jury awarded $30 million in compensatory
and punitive damages to a former member of the Church of Scientology of
California (the Church or Scientology).  The complaint alleged

212 Cal.App.3d at 878:

appellant intentionally and negligently inflicted severe emotional
injury on respondent through certain practices, including "auditing,"
"disconnect," and "fair game." Since the trial court granted summary
adjudication that Scientology is a religion and "auditing" is a
religious practice, the trial proceeded under the assumption it was.  We
conclude there was substantial evidence to support a factual finding the
"auditing," as well as other practices in this case, were conducted in a
coercive environment.  Thus, none of them qualified as "voluntary
religious practices" entitled to constitutional protection under the
First Amendment religious freedom guaranties.  At the same time, we
conclude both the compensatory and punitive damages the jury awarded in
this case are excessive.  Consequently, we modify the judgment to reduce
both of these damage awards.

<sFacts and Proceedings Below

     Construing the facts most favorably to the judgment, as we must,
respondent Larry Wollersheim was an incipient manic-depressive for most
of his life.  Appellant Scientology and its leaders were aware of
Wollersheim's susceptibility to this mental disorder: What appellant did
to him during and after his years in Scientology aggravated
Wollersheim's mental condition, driving him into deep depressive
episodes and causing him severe mental anguish. Furthermore, Scientology
engaged in a practice of retribution and threatened retribution -- often
called "fair game" -- against members who left or otherwise posed a
threat to the organization.  This practice coerced Wollersheim into
continued participation in the other practices of Scientology which were
harming him emotionally.

     Wollersheim first became acquainted with Scientology in early 1969
when he attended a lecture at the "Church of Scientology of San
Francisco." During the next few months he completed some basic courses
at the San Francisco istitution.  He then returned to his home state of
Wisconsin and did not resume his Scientology training for almost two
years.

     When Wollersheim did start again it was at the appellant, Church of
Scientology of California, headquartered in Los Angeles.  From 1972
through 1979 Wollersheim underwent "auditing" at both the basic and
advanced levels. In 1973 he worked several months as a staff member at
the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center located in Los Angeles.  In
1974, despite his repeated objections, Wollersheim was persuaded to
participate in auditing aboard a ship maintained by Scientology.  While
on the ship, Wollersheim was forced to undergo a strenuous regime which
began around 6 a.m. and continued until 1 a.m. the next morning.
Further, Wollersheim and others were forced to sleep nine deep in the
ship's hold.  During his six weeks under these conditions, Wollersheim
lost fifteen pounds.

212 Cal.App.3d at 879:

     Wollersheim attempted to escape from the ship because he felt he
"was dying and losing [his] mind." His escape was thwarted by
Scientology members who seized Wollersheim and held him captive until he
agreed to remain and continue with the auditing and other religious
practices taking place on the vessel.  One of the psychiatric witnesses
testified Wollersheim's experience on the ship was one of five
cataclysmic events underlying the diagnosis of his mental illness and
its cause.

     At another stage Scientology auditors convinced him to "disconnect"
from his wife and his parents and other family members because they had
expressed concerns about Scientology and Wollersheim's continued
membership. "Disconnect" meant he was no longer to have any contact with
his family.

     There also was evidence of a practice called "freeloader debt."
"Freeloader debt" was accumulated when a staff member received Church
courses, training or auditing at a reduced rate.  If the member later
chose to leave, he or she was presented with a bill for the difference
between the full price normally charged to the public and the price
originally charged to the member.  Appellant maintained a "freeloader
debt" account for Wollersheim.

     During his years with Scientology Wollersheim also started and
operated several businesses.  The most successful was the last, a
service which took and printed photographic portraits.  Most of the
employees and many of the customers of this business were
Scientologists.

     By 1979, Wollersheim's mental condition worsened to the point he
actively contemplated suicide.  Wollersheim began experiencing
personality changes and pain.  When the Church learned of Wollersheim's
condition, Wollersheim was sent to the Flag Land Base for "repair."

     During auditing at Flag Land Base, Wollersheim's mental state
deteriorated further.  He fled the base and wandered the streets.  A
guardian later arranged to meet Wollersheim.  At that meeting, the
guardian told Wollersheim he was prohibited from ever speaking of his
problems with a priest, a doctor or a psychiatrist.

     Ultimately Wollersheim became so convinced auditing was causing him
psychiatric problems he was willing to risk becoming a target of
"freeloader debt" and "fair game." Evidence was introduced that, at
least during the time relevant to Wollersheim's case, "fair game" was a
practice of retribution Scientology threatened to inflict on
"suppressives," which included people who left the organization or
anyone who could pose a threat to the

212 Cal.App.3d at 880:

organization.  Once someone was identified as a "suppressive," all
Scientologists were authorized to do anything to "neutralize" that
individual -- economically, politically, and psychologically.

     After Wollersheim left the organization Scientology leaders
initiated a "fair game" campaign which among other things was calculated
to destroy Wollersheim's photography enterprise.  They instructed some
Scientology members to leave Wollersheim's employ, told others not to
place any new orders with him and to renege on bills they owed on
previous purchases from the business.  This strategy shortly drove
Wollersheim's photography business into bankruptcy.  His mental
condition deteriorated further and he ended up under psychiatric care.

     Wollersheim thereafter filed this lawsuit alleging fraud,
intentional infliction of emotional injury, and negligent infliction of
emotional injury. At the law-and-motion stage, a trial court granted
summary adjudication on two vital questions.  It ruled Scientology is a
religion and "auditing" is a religious practice of that religion.

     During trial, Wollersheim's experts testified Scientology's
"auditing" and "disconnect" practices constituted "brain-washing" and
"thought reform" akin to what the Chinese and North Koreans practiced on
American prisoners of war.  They also testified this "brain-washing"
aggravated Wollersheim's bipolar manic-depressive personality and caused
his mental illness.  Other testimony established Scientology is a
hierarchical organization which exhibits near paranoid attitudes toward
certain institutions and individuals -- in particular, the government,
mental health professions, disaffected members and others who criticize
the organization or its leadership.  Evidence also was introduced
detailing Scientology's retribution policy, sometimes called "fair
game."

     After the evidence was heard, the trial judge dismissed the fraud
count but allowed both the intentional and negligent infliction of
emotional injury counts to go to the jury. The jury, in turn, returned a
general verdict in favor of plaintiff on both counts.  It awarded $ 5
million in compensatory damages and $ 25 million in punitive damages.
The motion for new trial was denied and appellants filed a timely
appeal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just how has the CoS been able to keep from paying the $4,000,000 that
they owe?


From: tilman@berlin.snafu.de (Tilman Hausherr)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Did Wollersheim Get His Dime? No.
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 1995 19:32:21 GMT

In <41gsq8$2o9@carbon.cudenver.edu>,
jpbazemo@lnxland1.denver.colorado.edu (Bazemore Jonathan R) wrote:

>	I don't understand--if the court has ordered
>the Church to pay $4+ million dollars to Wollersheim,
>how can they not pay for almost ten years and then
>legally raid his house and steal all of his files?

American justice is weird... The church of scientology of california
removed all its assets so that they didn't have to pay Larry. For the
co$, courts are only "good" if they win or if they agree with the co$
viewpoint.

Here's how it was done (Stacy Young speaks):

     46.  I was in the FREEDOM Magazine department of the public
relations division of OSA US during the trial of Wollersheim v.  Church
of Scientology of California, in 1985.  At the time, OSA US was still,
for corporate purposes, part of the Church of Scientology of California
("CSC").

     47.  One afternoon, I was informed, along with the other staff
members of the FREEDOM office, that our office was to be moved to
another location across the street, outside the big blue Scientology
complex which used to be Cedars of Lebanon Hospital at Sunset and
Berendo in Hollywood, California.  We were instructed to move to an
office on the second floor of B building on Catalina Street.  I was told
that the FREEDOM office and the Treasury office of OSA US were to move
out of the Scientology Complex because it looked like Lawrence
Wollersheim was going to win his suit against CSC and the corporation
had to be gutted of all its assets before the decision was handed down.
All that would be left of CSC would be a shell consisting of a Treasury
office and the FREEDOM office.  When Wollersheim tried to collect from
CSC, he would discover that there were no assets at all in CSC .

     48.  We did move our office to the building on Catalina.  The
Treasury office also moved.  I was told by the Treasury Secretary, Rhea
Smith, that all of the assets of CSC had been taken out of the CSC
accounts.  The motto of OSA US during the Wollersheim trial was "Not One
Thin Dime," meaning Scientology would never pay even a dime to Lawrence
Wollersheim.  The OSA US staff were briefed on the gutting of CSC at a
staff meeting, and all of the staff cheered because now Wollersheim
couldn't get his hands on any money even if he won his suit.

     49.  This gutting of CSC to hide assets from a litigant and then
cheering about it at a staff meeting is an example of the contempt in
which the Scientology Command holds the UPS.  justice system.  The
corporate structure of Scientology is created and recreated depending
upon the convenience of the moment, as illustrated in the above example.