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PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

2.

RABINOWITZ, BOUDIN, STANDARD, KRINSKY & LIEBERMAN, LLP Eric M. Lieberman (

 pro hac vice

) 61 Broadway, Suite 1800  New York, NY 10006 Telephone: 212.254.1111 Facsimile: 212.674.4614

elieberman@rbskl.com

KENDALL BRILL & KELLY, LLP Bert H. Deixler (70614) 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1725 Los Angeles, California 90067 Telephone: 310.556.2700 Facsimile: 310.556.2705

bdeixler@kbkfirm.com  Attorneys for Plaintiff Church of Scientology International

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff, v. LAURA ANN DeCRESCENZO, aka LAURA A. DIECKMAN, Defendant. Case No. CV 17-9158-GW SKx)

PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

Date: March 29, 2018 Time: 8:30 a.m. Courtroom: 9D

Case 2:17-cv-09158-GW-SK Document 18 Filed 03/01/18 Page 1 of 27 Page ID #:396

 

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Case No. CV 17-9158-GW (SKx)PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

4.

TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR COUNSEL OF RECORD: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT

 on March 29, 2018 at 8:30 a.m., or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, in the courtroom of the Honorable George H. Wu, United States District Judge, Central District of California, located in the United States Courthouse, 350 West First Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, Plaintiff Church of Scientology International (“CSI”) will and hereby does move  pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to grant summary  judgment in its favor on CSI’s sole claim for declaratory and injunctive relief. This Motion is made upon the grounds that there is no genuine issue of material fact that a currently-pending action in California State Court against CSI,  brought by Defendant Laura Ann DeCrescenzo (“LD”), is precluded as a matter of law due to a prior judgment of this Court, and therefore that CSI is entitled to a  judgment as a matter of law on its claim for a declaration and injunction prohibiting LD from prosecuting her state court action. This Motion is based on this Notice of Motion, the Memorandum of Points and Authorities in support thereof, the Statement of Uncontroverted Facts and Conclusion of Law filed concurrently herewith, all of the pleadings, files, and records in this proceeding, all other matters of which the Court may take judicial notice, and any argument or evidence that may be presented to or considered by the Court prior to its ruling. This motion is made following the conference of counsel  pursuant to Local Rule 7-3 which took place on February 22, 2018. DATED: March 1, 2018 Respectfully submitted, RABINOWITZ, BOUDIN, STANDARD, KRINSKY & LIEBERMAN, LLP By: /s/ Eric M. Lieberman Eric M. Lieberman Attorneys for Plaintiff Church of Scientology International

Case 2:17-cv-09158-GW-SK Document 18 Filed 03/01/18 Page 2 of 27 Page ID #:397

 

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Case No. CV 17-9158-GW (SKx)MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

3.

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

Plaintiff Church of Scientology International (“CSI”) brings this lawsuit to enforce a judgment entered by this court against defendant Laura Ann DeCrescenzo (“LD”) dismissing her claim under the federal human trafficking statute, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589, 1593, 1595, on the grounds that the four-year statute of limitations had expired and that LD’s attempt to invoke the doctrine of equitable estoppel was without factual or legal merit.

See

Judgment, Order re: Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Strike,

 DeCrescenzo v. Church of Scientology Int’l et al.,

 No. CV-09-3984-GHK (Ex), Dkt. # 28, (Nov. 5, 2009); Declaration of Bert H. Deixler (“Deixler Decl.”) Exs. E, F. Judge King then remanded the remainder of LD’s complaint, alleging state law claims all of which accrued at the same time as the federal claim and all of which carried statutes of limitation of four years or less, to the Los Angeles Superior Court, where the case had originated.

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 Deixler Decl. Ex. G. The case remains pending before the Los Angeles Superior Court. The state courts have refused to give preclusive effect to this court’s federal judgment on the issue of equitable estoppel. In doing so, the state courts have ignored their duty to apply federal law of preclusion, which governs federal court judgments where a federal court’s jurisdiction is based on a federal question, and which the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and well-settled doctrine mandate that state courts apply. The Superior Court has bifurcated the state law claims for trial of the statute of limitations issues and the merits, and now has set trial dates for each of August 13, 2018 and November 26, 2018, respectively. LD has estimated that to try both matters will require over six months.

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 CSI had removed the state court action on the basis that the central claim of human trafficking arose under federal law.

See

 Notice of Removal,

 DeCrescenzo v. Church of Scientology Int’l et al

., No. CV-09-3984-GHK (Ex) Judgment

 ,

Dkt. # 1, (June 4, 2009).

Case 2:17-cv-09158-GW-SK Document 18 Filed 03/01/18 Page 3 of 27 Page ID #:398