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JUNE 13, 2011: In 2008 protester AnonOrange was beaten by cult guards while standing in an open field next to their property line in Hemet California. He sued Scientology for damages and injuries. The case went around and around in court. The Scientologists made sure the process took forever in an attempt to drain him of funds. They also subpoenaed or deposed many many people who were not involved in the case. The was designed to bother AO's friends and past employers and make it harder for AO to get hired. But the most dramatic incident was the alleged arson of AO's lawyer's property midway through the case. Eventually the Riverside judge saw how Scientology's main lawyer, Kendrick Moxon, really had no interest in settling. The case was also costing the bankrupt Riverside justice system a lot of time and money with endless court appearances and deposition requests. The judge, Sharon Waters, recommended mediation. Today a mediator reached a settlement agreement. The terms cannot be discussed by anyone involved according to the confidentiality agreement of the Riverside Bar Association, Dispute Resolution service. It was signed by CSI Legal Director Lynne Shape and all defendants including cult guards Danny Dunigan, Matthew Butler, Kenneth Seybold and Salvatore Meo. AO's ability to protest is completely protected.

FYI: need to fix link at top of parent post; the first 'p' in 'pope' in the url is missing.

I'm glad AO has this monkey off his back at last. I hope he didn't end up spending more on legal bills than he was able to extract from the cult. Three years! Seems like so long ago.

Thanks for sharing this info AGP. I have to give respect where respect is due. AO was resolute in seeing justice done. The courts seem to have agreed, hence it's stepping back from the table and letting mediation take its course.

Uber respect AO!

I hope AO got a huge bundle of cash from the cult, enough to fund his future forays into exercising his right to free speech and exposing the cult.

Dear scientology: WE COME BACK

When settlements are reached via a State Bar Dispute Resolution service, the amounts are generally quite small.. in the range of $5,000 or less to more or less compensate the victim for pain & suffering, medical bills, etc. The defendant also denies any wrongdoing and the plaintiff cannot come back at a later date & sue the various parties of the original lawsuit.

This is tantamount to someone tripping over something on Scientology property, injuring oneself, and suing the cult for liability... it's a convenient payoff of the claim.

The resolution of this case removes a thorn from the cult's backside from having to continue spending vast amounts of money to defend itself, but given OSA-Legal's well-known million dollar litigation budgets, the settlement is simply an annoying blip they no longer have to contend with. It is a win for AO only that he will received several thousand dollars for all that he has endured fighting the cult in this case.

Considering how much $$$ AO stood to win if he had not pissed off the attorneys that had taken his case (then wrote him off due to his antics), this is a small win for AO, irrespective, how much they self-promote that this is a huge win against the cult. Small win.. yes, they had to cough up some $$$ (which will probably be paid by the cult's business insurance co.)

I'm sure that both parties also had to sign non-disclosure agreements which the courts take very seriously.

Moxon was bugged for years, the cult spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and hired multiple attorneys to deal with this, we humiliated Jeff Stone along with Fausto's Bail Bonds, Orange can continue protesting all he wants AND still talk about the incident, I got great deposition footage which can be used to prepare other people going up against Moxon, the alleged arson of William C. Kennedy's house showed the Riverside justice system what Scientology is up to..

Apparently Smurf has forgotten his OSA days and the importance of litigating not to win but to wear down.

I haven't forgotten your tenacity for spreading lies and rationalizing bullshit in the attempt to make you & AO look heroic.

LOL...waiting to hear about you & AO getting arrested again for something so you can gloat how you're "wearing them down".

I hope that AnonOrange got a good deal out of this and I am glad to hear that it has (apparently) come to a satisfactory conclusion.

However, if I’m honest, I have to say that I am a little disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing the cult being thoroughly roasted in court.

Yes, they would have probably dragged it out for years and tried to wear everyone down, but at the very least, the (even more) bad publicity would be another nail in their collective backside. A successful lawsuit would have surely made it easier for and encouraged others to do the same.

I expect the cult will be thinking of this as a ‘win’. They have avoided a potentially very costly and politically damaging law suit, paid out peanuts and avoided a precedent.

And while I’m here, I will comment on the appalling behaviour of law enforcement agencies in this case. If AO was assaulted (and the video evidence and eye-witness testimony, backed up by the apparent ruling of the mediation would seem to suggest that he was), then why does he have to resort to legal means to get justice? I mean, what is the police force for, if they are not prepared to protect individuals citizens from abusive organizations? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t individual rights and freedoms a Big Thing over that side of The Pond?

And, why is the ruling kept a secret? If an organization is abusing individuals, then why should they be able to buy the silence of everyone involved?

I am not an expert, but I’m pretty sure that if any protestors had been treated the same way outside St Hill for example, then the cops would have come down like a ton of bricks on the perpetrators. The incident probably wouldn’t have resulted in jail-time, but a conviction would have certainly been very bad for the cult and they would have had to be very careful in the future.

Axiom142

I don't consider it a win, as I and others spent time and money on lawyers for depositions. Maybe it cost them money, but they have money to burn on this type of thing. We don't. I feel my time and money was wasted. I am sure I'm not alone.

I agree completely. That's the worst part of it. The cult is so powerful, and has Riverside Supervisor Jeff Stone under their strong influence. They pretty much do what they want and get away with it despite publicity, despite endless speeches at BOS meetings, etc.

First the police let the cult rough up two people in an open field next to their property. Then they arrested AO and charged him with nonsense. Finally those charges were dropped. Then the Hemet sheriffs office recommended that the guards be charged with crimes. They were not. Then evidence disappeared from the Hemet Police Station locker. Jeff Stone has his office in that same building! AO just got a letter saying "um ... evidence was destroyed. Sorry." What? Destroyed? Did it explode or something?

AO was forced to file charges himself. Then his lawyer, ex-Sci William C. Kennedy's house burned down, his office was burglarized and somebody tried to break into his document storage. This just weeks after signing on to AO's case. I don't see the police or fire dept. doing anything about that even though the fire dept. told Kennedy an accelerant was found (aka arson).

Meanwhile the police often refused to attend or stick around at protests unless Catherine Fraser wanted to arrest people without charges. Despite the many board of supers meetings at which Ordinance 884, the pro-cult protesting ordinance, was discussed the cops never enforced it. You would think it would be a priorty to them based on the attention the BOS gave it. At one point I had to stomp on cult flowers just to get cops to show up at all and protect us (this days after the arrest of Mark Lowell and Mark Bunker for no reason).

And much of this occurred in the halcyon days of 2008-2009 before Riverside totally hit the skids. Bankrupt government, police layoffs, court closures, massive unemployment, endless foreclosed homes, half built beige mini-malls, no income tax base as it is a bedroom community. Riverside has it all if you want to be miserable. No wonder many board of supervisors meetings are attended by people trying to yank some of the corrupt supers off their thrones via recalls.

MORE BAD NEWS: AO tells me that Riverside Sheriff Stanley Sniff was once willing to try dealing with Gold Base. But recently AO talked to an ABC TV reporter who told him Sniff blew her off when she tried to get comments about Gold Base. He basically said "there are no problems there."

I feel very sorry for the people who have to live there, and yet we get the government we deserve.

Also, Hemet smells like cow shit. LOT'S of cow shit.

I can see how you would feel that way. Why did you hire you own lawyer and not use Graham Berry? Did they ban him with you like they did once with me?

I'm fortunate I see Scientology protesting as a way to make, not lose, money. Yet another way to piss them off

At the time, Graham was staying away from the case. And I wouldn't have wanted to take his time without paying him.

If AO had any honor, whatsoever, he'd reimburse you some of that money you had to fork out... of his settlement.

Unlike you, some us have alot more respect & admiration for Graham Berry than exploiting his good will and taking advantage of him like you have. It's sad really because Graham has a difficult to,e saying "No" when it comes to helping his friends are in trouble. That speaks volumes about his integrity and less about yours.

The facts show that you have lost money in court costs & fines in the criminal cases where you were convicted, Don. You didn't make money. But, given your history, we can expect you will distort the facts to make you & AO out to be the heroes.

How's the community service going?

Yeah, I have seen that burned house office on University Ave.
Are you sure that SCN was responsible for this?
Was there any arson investigation on this?