IN
THE
UNITED
STATES
DISTRICT
COURT
FOR
THE
MIDDLE
DISTRICT
OF
FLORIDA
TAMPA
DIVISION
TOUCAN
PARTNERS,
LLC,
a
Florida
limited
liability
company,
NARCONON
SPRING
HILL,
INC.,
a
Florida
corporation,
CASE
NO:
8:11-cv-1368-T-27TGW
Plaintiffs,
vs.
HERNANDO
COUNTY,
FLORIDA,
apolitical
subdivision
of
the
State
of
Florida,
Defendant.
DEFENDANT'S
RESPONSE
IN
OPPOSITIONTO
PLAINTFFS'OTION
IN
LIMINE
TOPRECLUDE
REFERENCES
TO
CHURCH
OF
SCIENTOLOGY.
AND
SUPPORTING
MEMORANDUM
OF
LAW
Defendant
HERNANDO
COUNTY.
by
and
through
undersigned
counsel,
movesthis
Court
to
deny
Plaintiffs'otion
for
entry
of
an
Order
precluding
Defendant
from
mentioning
or
implying
a
connection
betweenPlaintiffs
and
Scientology.
Defendant
would
show
that
the
matter
is
relevant
in
the
instant
case
and
this
relevance
is
not
substantially
outweighed
byany
preiudice
toPlaintiffs
In
support
thereof,
Defendant
offers
the
following
Memorandum
of
Law.
MEMORANDUM
OF
LAW
I.
Introduction
and
Factual
Background
Upon
being
preventedfromexpanding
Plaintiffs'rug
and
alcohol
rehabilitation
facility,
Plaintiffsfiled
suit
alleging
violations
of
the
Federal
Housing
Act
and
of
the
AmericansWith
Disabilities
Act,for
which
Plaintiffs
are
seeking
monetary
damages.
in
part,on
atheory
of
lost
Case 8:11-cv-01368-JDW-TGW Document 68 Filed 12/12/12 Page 1 of 47 PageID 1194
profits.
[Doc.
I]
This
theory
requires
Plaintiffs
to
make
a
showing
that
the
facility
would
have
been
able
tooperateassuccessfully
as
Plamtiffs
intended.
Thedeposition
testimony
taken
in
the
instant
case
shows
that
there
is
a
connection
between
Scientology
and
Narconon
Mr
Mitchell
testified
that
Narconon
International
licenses
Narconon
centers;
Narconon
is
affiliated
with
the
Church
of
Scientology,
the
facility
pays
royalty
fees
to
an
organization
run
by
the
Church
of
Scientology
and
license
fees
to
Narconon
International;
and
the
connection
to
the
Church
of
Scientology
hasan
effect
on
the
ability
to
attract
clients
in
that
there
have
been
people
in
the
past
who
decidednotto
go
toNarconon
as
a
result.
[Exhibit
A,
Depo.
of
Mitchell,p.
22.
Ins,
3-4;
p.
66,
Ins
1-25;
p.
67,
19-25;
p.
68,
lns.
1-3]
Mr.
Mithcell
also
testified
that
the
model
of
treatment'r
the
program
at
Narconon
Spring
Hill,
which
isbased
onScientology
[66
5-16]
is
a
'major
factor
in
decision
making
for
people
in
wherethey
goto
treatment.
[56:
5-8].
Additionally,
Mr.
Morgenstern
testified
thatthere
is
arelationship
betweenNarconon
and
Scientology
and
that
thisrelationship
would
likely
decrease
demand
to
somepeople[Exhibit
8,
Depo
of
Morgensterndated
Oct.
11,
2012,
p
29,
lns
4-22].
Thefacility's
website
furthersupports
the
connection
by
stating
thatthe
facility
is
a
'Narconon
program
with
specially
trained
staf1'n
the
program
methodology
of
Narconon,based
upon
the
prmciples
of
Mr.
L.
Ron
Hubbard,
the
founder
of
Scientology.[Exhibit
C-
Excerpt
from
Suncoast
RehabilitationCenter
Website].
Plaintiffs'rticlesof
Incorporationspecifically
state:
The
Corporation
isorganized
to
operate
exclusively
for
charitablepurposes
by
providing
drug
rehabilitation
and
drug
educational
and
prevention
services
through
theuse
of
technology
researched
and
developed
by
L.
Ron
Hubbard.
[Exhibit
D
—
Articles
of
Incorporation
of
Narconon
Spring
Hill,
Inc]
Additionally,
the
facility
is
one
of
thevarious
Case 8:11-cv-01368-JDW-TGW Document 68 Filed 12/12/12 Page 2 of 47 PageID 1195
Narconon
facilities
operating
around
the
world
[Exhibit
E-I
—
Excerpt
from
Narconon
International
Website].
Thewebsite
for
Narconon
International
shows
that
Scientology
played
a
huge
role
in
the
formation
of
Narconon,
aswell
as
continues
to
doso
today
[Exhibit
E-2.
E-3,
E-4,
and
E-5—
Excerpt
from
Narconon
International
Website].
In
particular,
the
websiteshows
that
Narconon
wasfoundeduponthe
principles
set
forth
in
Scientology:
The
Fundamentals
of
Thought
writtenby
L.
Ron
Hubbard;
that
Professional
Scientologists'ere
in
contact
with
the
founder
of
Narconon,Mr
Benitez,
with
the
Church
of
Scientology
eveninviting
Mr.Benitez
to
Hav,aii
to
propose
the
program
to
prison
officials;
and
that
Mr.
Hubbard
and
his
organization
financially
supported
the
development
of
Narconon
[Exhibit
E-2
—
Excerpt
from
Narconon
International
Website,
Exhibit
E-3
—
Excerpt
fromNarconon
International
Website].
Moreover,
Mr.
Hubbard
pioneered
the
drug-free
withdrawal
program
and
the
Narconon
New
Life
Detoxification
program,which
Narconon
claims
is
Narconon's
distinguishing
factor,
asset
forth
in
Planiffsotio
in
Limineon
this
topic.
[Exhibit
E-4
—
Excerpt
from
Narconon
International
Website].
Narconon
International
makes
it
clear
thatthere
is
a
largeamount
of
supportfromtheChurch
of
Scientology
and
Scientologists
-
the
program
is
supported
by
Scientologists,
as
encouraged
by
the
Church
of
Scientology,
as
well
as
the
majonty
ol
the
centers
are
open
and
run
by
Scientologists.[Exhibit
E-5
—
Excerpt
from
Narconon
International
Website].
Additionally,
aside
from
the
connection
made
evident
by
Narconon
itself.
a
simple
google
search
will
show
that
a
connection
clearly
exists.
[Exhibit
F
—
Cioogle
Search
for
Narconon ].
Thus,
it
is
beyondevident
that
there
is
a
connection
between
Scientology
and
Narconon
andthat
this
connection
is
something
thatis
immediately
apparent
for
any
individual
that
is
researching
or
considering
Narconon;
to
state
otherwise
is
disingenuous
Case 8:11-cv-01368-JDW-TGW Document 68 Filed 12/12/12 Page 3 of 47 PageID 1196
