November 2, 2021/Los Angeles: Associate Justice Carl Moor of the 2nd District California Appeals Court is part of the three judge panel hearing the matter of Carnell Bixler v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (Case Number B310559).
The issue at hand is Scientology’s membership services contract. Specifically, the Church of Scientology argues that because former member Chrissie Carnell Bixler and two other women signed this contract, they are contractually bound to submit to Scientology’s arbitration regarding their allegation that they were forcibly raped by Scientologist Danny Masterson. Scientology argues that Carnell Bixler and the other women who were Scientologists signed away their rights to a civil trial against Masterson and the Church.
Masterson, 45, has been criminally charged on three counts of forcible rape in the case.
The women are demanding a civil trial and not a Scientology arbitration procedure which they claim is a sham. Given Scientology’s reprehensible conduct in the Luis Garcia arbitration, Carnell Bixler is on solid legal ground characterizing Scientology’s arbitration procedure as a cruel farce.
Carnell Bixler further argues that a court cannot make her submit to a religious ritual in a church of which she is no longer a member. Moreover, she argues that a court forcing her to submit to arbitration would retraumatize her because Danny Masterson, the man who is accused of raping her, would be allowed to attend and participate in the arbitration.
Because Scientology’s sadism is well-documented, we aver that its leader David Miscavige would like nothing more than to subject Chrissie Carnell Bixler to such an outrageous retraumatization in a sham and one-sided arbitration. Miscavige would do this in hopes of psychologically damaging her to such an extent that the criminal trial against Danny Masterson — a trial in which Scientology is implicated — would be derailed.
The four main points of Scientology’s membership contract:
1. The contract must be signed before a Scientologist can receive services in Scientology.
2. By signing the contract, a Scientologist agrees to enter into a Scientology-conducted arbitration in any and all disputes relating to Scientology. The Scientologist agrees to never sue Scientology in a court of law. By its very nature, a Scientology arbitration will not be just or fair. This is true because the arbitrators must be Scientologists in good standing. As such, they will always rule in favor of their Church. To do otherwise would result in a loss of good standing with the Church. This is the Catch 22.
3. The Scientologists agrees to never allow any of their relatives, agents, heirs, or assigns sue the Church of Scientology on their behalf.
4. The contract is irrevocable and remains in effect after the death of the signer, i.e. no heirs may sue Scientology on behalf of the deceased signer.
Regarding the membership contract, Justice Moor asked Scientology’s attorney William Forman a truly interesting and pointed question:
Justice Moor: What happens if I went into Scientology in 1980 to check it out and then left after two weeks? If I had signed the contract and was hit by a truck owned by Scientology 20 years later, would I still be bound to the contract?
Attorney Forman: That would be Scientology’s position, yes.
Scientology’s attorney William Forman stated Scientology’s position accurately: Scientology asserts that its membership services contract is irrevocable and protects it from lawsuits for the lifetime of anyone who ever signed it.
The contract even covers seemingly unrelated matters. So, yes, if you get hit by a truck owned by Scientology 20 years after you decided to leave, Scientology attorney Forman says the Church will compel you into arbitration over its truck hitting you. It is Scientology’s position that you would have no right to sue the Church in a court of law for your suffering, injuries, and medical costs caused by its truck hitting you.
If Scientology was something you simply were not interested in after two weeks of study when you were 18 years old, Scientology nevertheless asserts a legal claim over you for the rest of your life and even after your death. You and your relatives, agents, heirs, and assigns may never sue Scientology in a court of law for any reason. Instead, you, and your representatives must submit to an inherently biased Scientology arbitration.
Scientology would have a hard time trying to assert an overly-broad and essentially unenforceable 20 year old contract in court, but this shows the Cult’s malicious intent and bad faith. Scroll down to read the Scientology Membership Services and Release Contract. In the excerpt below, Sections a-c form the key element of the contract in which the Scientologist waives all of their legal rights to sue Scientology:
Bottom Line: No one should ever sign any contract with Scientology.
Scientology.Religious.Enrollment.Contract