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.
Categories: The Scientology Money Project
I can remember signing a contract, it was just for a small mission, but it was presented to be to casual and just a formality. It was no big deal.
God, I’m so glad I left before it became a big deal.
A truly Faustian bargain where the org has control over your ‘eternity’ for eternity. George Orwell would have marvelled at the promised freedom if you first sign away your rights to freedom.
I have some knowledge of contract law but not enough regarding questions with scientology contracts. In my opinion, their contracts are invalid & should be non-binding. The continually use of the word “freely” gives the impression you have a choice in the matter. You do not have a choice. Either sign your entire life to our control alone or you cannot learn about scientology or be a scientologist.
This is reminiscent of slave contracts, in my opinion. By signing this contract, scientology “owns” you forever, in perpetuity, even after death. It appears that in signing this contract, scientology strips you of your governmental rights provided by the Bill of Rights.
Am I completely off-base? Has anyone contested the validity of the various scientology contracts in the court of law? I am curious to know if any of the contracts would stand in its entirety, not piecemeal.
It’s hard to believe they can get away with this.
If Forman’s reply isn’t proof arbitration in this country is completely broken, I’m not sure what is. I don’t see it ever changing, either. Republicans would filibuster any attempt to modify laws to make it more equitable to the person who signs the contract.
@Linda The fact that the arb agreement attempts to bind the party to arbitrate claims that have nothing to do with the underlying contracts, makes the arb agreement invalid.
The FAA applies ONLY to “a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction, or the refusal to perform the whole or any part thereof, or an agreement in writing to submit to arbitration an existing controversy arising out of such a contract, transaction, or refusal,”. See 9 U.S. Code § 2.
Not only does the FAA limit an arbitration agreement to issues that arise out of an underlying contract, case law has qualified that the issue must have been “reasonably foreseeable” as something that could arise out of the underlying contract.
“Has anyone contested the validity of the various scientology contracts in the court of law?”
Three cases have challenged the agreement. In all three cases, the courts misstated the law in order to find the agreement valid.
“I am curious to know if any of the contracts would stand in its entirety, not piecemeal.”
I’m not sure what you mean by this. An arbitration agreement is considered completely separate from the underlying contract. You can invalidate one of the two contracts without it affecting the other. For example if you show that you were fraudulently induced to sign the membership agreement, the arb agreement is not affected unless you can show you were fraudulently induced to sign THAT part.
This obviously raises the question of why two separate, freestanding contracts are merged into one document. The answer to that is that the government has chosen to allow businesses to trick consumers and employees into waiving their right to use the courts. It is not a scientology problem, it is a consumer/employee rights problem. There have been many challenges to this corruption. SCOTUS shuts them all down.
Any business or persons that would compel people to sign a contract such as the one Scientology has put forth does so because it/they knows that what it/they are doing is criminal (from “jump street”).
It appears to me that all the COB and his in-house security detail are sadists, while all of the rest of the members are masochists, which explains why Scientology is so wealthy. If a group ever needed psychiatrists, Scientology is that group!
In the “streets” people with group-dynamics such as these are refered to as pimps and hoes… And, the pimp always weilds the power and controls the money, the hoes do whatever they’re told and live exclusively off of whatever the pimp hands out. Sound familiar?!
Next time the COB should get sued for pimping and pandering along with all his ace-boon-scoonie-roonies, ’cause that’s what’s actually going on there. Now that would make for a great reality court TV series, to say the least…
If Scientology is a religion, so is operating a house of ill repute. Hopefully, law enforcement will step up and bring that stable down more sooner than later!