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A lawsuit against the Church of Scientology that alleged that the church maliciously harassed the now defunct Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was improperly dismissed by a lower court and should go forward, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in September.
"The Church of Scientology has fought long and hard to keep the tale of how they have destroyed the Cult Awareness Network from being publicly exposed," said CAN’s former executive director, Cynthia Kisser. "If this suit goes forward, the truth concerning exactly what Scientology is capable of doing to those it perceives as its enemies may finally become permanently recorded in history."
Since the ruling in September, the church has filed a notice of intent to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Kisser. For this reason, the Illinois Supreme Court has stayed the case from returning to the lower court for trial.
The lawsuit alleged that the church’s filing of 21 lawsuits against CAN in Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Washington, D.C., during 1992 and 1993 amounted to a conspiracy for malicious prosecution of CAN for its critical remarks about and investigation of the church. The suit was dismissed by a Cook County judge in 1995 before trial.
"The invidiousness of the alleged conspiracy is best reflected in the fact that plaintiff was sued 21 times over the course of a 17-month period in jurisdictions ranging from New York to California," Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Freeman wrote in the opinion reinstating the lawsuit. "Such a sustained onslaught of litigation can hardly be deemed ‘ordinary’ if [CAN] can prove that the actions were brought without probable cause and with malice."
Many of the church’s lawsuits were settled out of court or dismissed by lower court judges, with none going to trial, a series of events unlikely had they been legitimate, observed Freeman.
The court’s ruling and the church’s intent to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court add another twist in the long-running battle between the now defunct CAN and the Church of Scientology. CAN, which served as a clearinghouse for information on cults considered to be destructive, was driven out of business in June 1996 by a $1.1 million judgment orchestrated by church attorney Kendrick Moxon, J.D., on behalf of plaintiff Jason Scott. Scott was kidnapped by a cult deprogrammer, who acted independently but was indirectly linked to the former CAN.
In November 1996 attorney Steven Hayes, J.D., a representative of the church, purchased the rights to CAN’s name, phone number, and Post Office box. Hence, the organization now called CAN is run by people representing the Church of Scientology.