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TENTATIVE RULING
HEARING DATE: October 6, 2020 CASE NUMBER: 19STCV29458 CASE NAME: CHRISSIE CARNELL BIXLER, et al. v. CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, et al. MOVING PARTY: Defendant Daniel Masterson
(“Masterson”)
RESPONDING PARTY:
Plaintiffs Chrissie Carnell Bixler (“Bixler”), Cedric Bixler
-
Zavala (“Bixler
-
Zavala”), Jane Doe #1, Marie Bobette Riales
(“Riales”)
, and Jane Doe #2 (collectively,
“Plaintiffs”)
TRIAL DATE: None Set MOTION: (1)
Masterson’s demurrer
to
Plaintiffs’ first amended
complaint and (2) motion to strike portions of Plaintiff
s’
first amended complaint THE DEMURRER AND MOTION TO STRIKE ARE NOT TEXT-SEARCH ENABLED The first amended complaint is not text-search enabled, as required by the
Presiding Judge’s Order re Electronic Filing
which made it very time-consuming to sort through the 55 pages of the first amended complaint. Counsel are admonished to comply with this order in future filings.
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ALLEGATIONS OF THE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT According to the first amended complaint, Defendants stalked, harassed, invaded
the privacy of Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ families, and intentionally inflicted emotional
distress on Plaintiffs, who are four women
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who claim to have been sexually assaulted
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See the May 3, 2019 First Amended General Order “In re Los Angeles Superior Court –
Mandatory Electronic Filing for Civil”, page 4, par. 6(a), which states “” Electronic
documents must be electronically filed in PDF, text searchable format when technologic
ally feasible without impairment of the document’s image.”
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Except Plaintiff Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who is the husband of Plaintiff Chrissie Carnell Bixler.
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by Defendant Daniel Masterson,
a “field staff member”
or recruiter for Church of Scientology and Religious Technology, which organizations are allegedly led by Defendant David Miscavige (
collectively “Defendants”)
. Defendants
’
conduct was allegedly to retaliate against Plaintiffs for reporting the alleged sexual assaults to the
Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”)
. Plaintiffs allege Defendant Masterson, a high-ranking member of Church of Scientology and Religious Technology, sexually assaulted Plaintiff Chrissie Bixler at various times between 1996 and 2002 while the two were dating and cohabitating. Plaintiffs allege David Miscavige, Church of Scientology, and Religious Technology and their agents coerced, by threats of violence and ostracization, Plaintiff Bixler not to report the sexual assaults to law enforcement. In 2016, Bixler reported the assaults by Masterson to the Los Angeles Police Department
(“LAPD”)
. Following
Bixler’s
2016 report to the present, Plaintiffs Bixler and Bixler-Zavala suffered various trespasses, invasive surveillance, stalking, threats of violence, defamation, sexual harassment, destruction of property (including pets, identity theft, assaults using automobiles, harassing phone calls, text messages, and social media messages, and wire tapping; all purportedly from agents of the Defendants. Plaintiffs allege this conduct is designed to dissuade Bixler from, and punish Bixler for, cooperating with law enforcement. Plaintiffs allege that: in September 2002 Masterson drugged and sexually assaulted Plaintiff Jane Doe #1; and in April 2003 Masterson drugged and sexually assaulted Jane Doe #1 while strangling her and threatening her with a firearm. Agents for Defendants attempted to coerce, with threats of violence and ostracization, Jane Doe #1 to not report the sexual assaults to law enforcement. In June 2004, Jane Doe #1 reported the sexual assaults to the LAPD. Agents of Defendants coerced Jane Doe #1 to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the sexual assaults. In 2016, Jane Doe #1 asked the LAPD to reopen the investigation into
Masterson’s sexual assaults against
her. Following Jane Doe #1
’s 2016 request
to the present, Jane Doe #1 suffered harassing phone calls, text messages, and social media messages, stalking, witness tampering, invasive surveillance, defamation, various trespasses, larceny, property damage, identity theft, threats of violence, assaults, sexual harassment, and wire tapping; all purportedly from agents of the Defendants. Plaintiffs allege this conduct is designed to dissuade Jane Doe #1 from, and punish Jane Doe #1 for, cooperating with law enforcement. Plaintiffs allege that at various times between 2002 and 2004 Masterson drugged and sexually assaulted
Plaintiff Marie Bobette Riales (“Riales”).
In April 2017, Riales reported the assaults by Masterson to the LAPD. Following her April 2017 report, Riales suffered stalking, stalking of her children, harassing phone calls, text messages, and social media messages, invasive surveillance, property damage, various trespasses, identity theft, defamation, sexual harassment, threats of violence, arson, destruction of property
–
particularly pets, and wire taping; all purportedly from agents of the Defendants. Plaintiffs allege that some time before 2004 Masterson drugged and sexually
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assaulted Plaintiff Jane Doe #2. In 2017, Jane Doe #2 reported the assault by Masterson to the LAPD. Following her 2017 report, Jane Doe #2 suffered wire taping, harassing phone calls, text messages, and social media messages, property damage, invasive surveillance, stalking, threats of violence, defamation, and identity theft; all purportedly from agents of the Defendants. Plaintiffs allege this conduct is designed to dissuade Jane Doe #2 from, and punish Jane Doe #2 for, cooperating with law enforcement. Procedural History On August 22, 2019, Plaintiffs Chrissie Carnell Bixler
(“Bixler”)
, Cedric Bixler-Zavala
(“Bixler
-
Zavala”)
, Jane Doe #1, Marie Bobette Riales
(“Riales”)
, and Jane Doe #2 (collectively,
“Plaintiffs”)
filed a complaint against Defendants Church of Scientology International and Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International (collectively,
“
Church of Scientology
”)
,
Defendant Religious Technology Center (“Religious Technology”)
,
Defendant Daniel Masterson (“Masterson”)
, Defendant David Miscavige and Does 1-25
(collectively, “Defendants”)
for (1) stalking in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.7, (2) physical invasion of privacy in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.8, (3) constructive invasion of privacy in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.8, (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (5) loss of consortium. On February 28, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint against Defendants for the same causes of action: (1) stalking in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.7, (2) physical invasion of privacy in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.8, (3) constructive invasion of privacy in violation of Civ. Code § 1708.8, (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (5) loss of consortium. On April 7, 2020, Church of Scientology filed a demurrer to only
Plaintiff Riales’
s claims in the first amended complaint. On April 7, 2020, Religious Technology filed a joinder to Church of Scientology
’ demurrer but titled the joinder as a “demurrer”.
On April 30, 2020, Defendant Masterson filed the instant demurrer with motion to strike to the first amended complaint. Oppositions and replies followed.
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MOVING PARTY’s
GROUNDS FOR THE DEMURRER AND MOTION TO STRIKE
Masterson’s Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint
Masterson demurs to Plaintiffs’
First Amended Complaint on numerous grounds. The Jane Doe Plaintiffs have not pleaded facts showing
any “exceptional circumstances” apply that allow a complaint to be filed anonymously.
Plaintiffs fail to plead facts sufficient to state any of their causes of action because Plaintiffs fail to allege Masterson committed any of the stalking, harassing, privacy-invading, or emotionally distressing actions of which Plaintiffs complain. Instead, the Complaint
alleges the undifferentiated “Defendants”
and severa
l unidentified “agents”
. Further, Plaintiffs
’ allegations on information and belief are legally insufficient because they do