Go back to main Scientology in Canada page
BOWLES & MOXON ATTORNEYS AT LAW 6255 SUNSET BOULEVARD SUITE 2000 HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA 90028 TIMOTHY BOWLES * ----------- LESLIE T. W. SOASH KENDRICK L. MOXON # AVA MARIE SANDLIN LAURIE L. BARTILSON + HELENA K. KOBRIN $ (213) 953-3360 ------ TELECOPIER (213) 953-3351 ------- * ALSO ADMITTED IN OREGON OF COUNSEL * ALSO ADMITTED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JEANNE M. GAVIGAN * ALSO ADMITTED IN MASSACHUSETTS MARCELLO M. DIMAURO * ALSO ADMITTED IN FLORIDA May 19, 1994 Mr. David Scorgie, Esq. This Is Exhibit "E" referred to in the LENNIE & COMPANY Affidavit of Barristers & Solicitors Al Buttnor 1005 10010 106 Street Sworn before me this 19 day Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3L8 of May A.D., 1994 Canada (signed) A Commissioner for Oaths in and for the Province of Alberta By Telecopier: 1 403-426-6977 _Re: Buttnor v. Gariepy, et al., and related counter..._ DAVID S. SCORGIE A NOTARY PUBLIC. A COMMISSIONER FOR OATHS IN AND FOR THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA Dear Sir: I represent the Church of Scientology International. I have been informed that on May 18, 1994 the counterclaimant in the above referenced action, Mr. Ken Montgomery, filed certain documents with which this firm has some familiarity. I have been asked by my client to provide information to you which may be of assistance in responding to the documents filed by the counterclaimant. ----------- I would like to address the bulk of my remarks to the Declaration of Andre Tabayoyon of March 5, 1994 ("the Tabayoyon declaration"), which was originally filed in a case in the United States entitled _Church of Scientology International v. Steven Fishman_ ("the _Fishman_ case"). One unusual aspect of the Tabayoyon declaration is that it was filed by the defendants in the _Fishman_ case _after the case had been dismissed_ and was never relied upon by the Court for any issue. While ostensibly filed by the _Fishman_ case defendants in support of an application for attorneys fees and costs, the Tabayoyon declaration was not relied upon by the defendants in their motion. Nevertheless, the defendants' motion was denied and their application for costs stricken by the Court on April 4, 1994. It was at this time that the _Fishman_ case defendants' real purpose for filing the Tabayoyon declaration emerged. Within minutes of the April 4 hearing, the tabloid press began deluging my client with inquiries concerning this declaration, May 19, 1994 Page 2 citing the defense attorneys in the _Fishman_ case as the source of the information. It is obvious that the Tabayoyon declaration was created and filed solely to provide material to feed the tabloid press. Fortunately no publications in the United States have printed the allegations contained in the Tabayoyon declaration, although a story did appear in two of the more notorious foreign tabloids. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth circuit is presently considering Church of Scientology International's appeal on the issue of sealing the Tabayoyon declaration and has agreed to hear that appeal on an expedited basis. I have sent to you by overnight freight some of the sworn statements and documents filed by Church of Scientology International refuting the allegations contained in the Tabayoyon declaration. This material is voluminous and it would be impossible for you to digest all of it in the time remaining before your hearing. I would strongly urge that you seek a continuance of the proceedings to enable you to study the refutations and to prepare your arguments. At minimum, you have my permission to file this letter with the Court, recognizing, though, that the information herein is a very small part of the information available with which to refute Tabayoyon's claims. All of Tabayoyon's bizarre allegations about the Church and its relationships with its parishioners are false and defamatory. Specifically, Tabayoyon was never the head of Church security as he claims. He was member of a construction crew. He now is part of a small stable of witnesses who have been paid over $100,000 in less than a year while occupying themselves in producing the false statements such as those contained in the Tabayoyon declaration. According to documents produced by the _Fishman_ case defendants, Tabayoyon and his wife have received over S17,450 for their allegations containing, _inter alia_, the false statements made in their declarations. In the two years Tabayoyon has been out of the Church he never raised a single allegation until becoming a witness-for-pay for the Church's opponents. In fact, the same attorneys who hired Tabayoyon have been attempting to extract millions of dollars from the Church in exchange for silence on the part of Tabayoyon and these other "witnesses." They are now under investigation for perjury. The Church refused to succumb to these ridiculous demands and you are witnessing part of the result. Moreover, Tabayoyon's sanity and credibility have been called into question by a letter he wrote last year claiming to have had a conversation with L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of the Scientology religion, some _seven years after Mr. Hubbard passed away._ For the May 19, 1994 Page 3 counterclaimant in your case to rely upon such a source is, at best, reckless and irresponsible. Documented evidence exists which established the absolute falsity of the statements contained in the Tabayoyon declaration. For example: o Tabayoyon's claims about weaponry are absolutely and completely false. The Church's facilities are not "armed to the teeth," with assault rifles, automatic weapons and explosive devices. Such an assertion is not only totally false, it is dangerous and irresponsible. o Nor are the facilities in question a "desert base." Even the most casual observer would notice that the facility in question is not even located in a desert. The surrounding countryside is agricultural land, predominantly dairy farms. o There are absolutely no "inmates" or "slave labor" on the property, as is falsely claimed by Tabayoyon. The vast majority of the Church staff work at the property, but commute on a daily basis to their homes in a neighboring city. o The Tabayoyon declaration makes it appear that the Church built its facilities as a "playground" for celebrity Scientologists. This contention is totally false. The property in question is a 500-acre film studio, which, among other things, produces films to train Church counselors and to disseminate the Scientology religion. The Church's facilities are also used by local community groups to hold civic functions and the church offers a weekly open house, which thousands of local residents have attended. o Contrary to the false statements in the Tabayoyon declaration, the Star of California Clipper Ship and adjoining pool has hosted numerous meetings of the local Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood meetings, local social functions and such. It is also a regular feature of the Church's weekly open house. The contention that Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center, and actor Tom Cruise have spent hours alone at this pool is nonsense. Nor is this pool the only structure on the property, or even the dominant structure. The property contains dozens of buildings all devoted to the primary function of the facility, May 19, 1994 Page 4 which is the production of training films for the Church. o Tabayoyon's contentions that the Church built an expensive gymnasium, sauna, Olympic-sized swimming pool or special concrete walkway for the exclusive use of Tom Cruise, Mr. David Miscavige and a few select others are also complete lies. In fact, the declarations I have sent you are on file in federal court in Los Angeles and completely disprove these and all the other false statements contained in the Tabayoyon declaration. o No special apartments or facilities were ever built on the Church's property for the exclusive use of Tom Cruise or any other celebrity, as is alleged by Tabayoyon. The contention that a meadow was planted with flowers for Mr. Cruise and his wife to "romp" in and then subsequently dug up is complete fiction. o The Church's exercise facilities cost nowhere near the amount claimed and are used by all the staff and guests on the property. There are also two basketball courts, volley ball courts, a soccer field, a baseball field and a one-mile Par course -- all built for the use and physical enhancement of the 750 church staff members working there. In fact, Mr. Cruise's only contribution to the exercise room was to donate some equipment for the staff to use and he has not even been on the property in three years. o There is also a golf course on the property that was built at Church expense, but it is run by an independent golf course management company and is open to the public. It was built for the benefit of the local residents and was required by County planning authorities as a condition to the issuance of the permits necessary for the renovations done on the property. o The food served at the Church's facilities is high quality and the Church takes pride in the abilities of its chefs. In fact, our chefs cook the food for the frequent events held here by local community groups and the local high school. When Mr. Cruise (or any guest for that matter) has been to our property, he has eaten the same food as everyone else. o The Church does not have "a specially constructed cinema" on the property. There is a small "rushes" theater on the property that the film crew uses to view May 19, 1994 Page 5 the scenes shot during the day. This is part of every professional studio and an integral part of film production. Its cost was nowhere near $150,000 as Tabayoyon claim. o There is only one concrete walkway on the property, and it was built under the highway that crosses the property. Contrary to the ridiculous suggestion in the Tabayoyon declaration that it was built to prevent Mr. Cruise from getting his feet dirty, it was built two years ago so that the Church's 750 staff members could cross a busy highway in safety. o There can be no Question about the falsity of allegations that the Church directed the use of any Church funds or labor for the personal benefit of Tom Cruise or any other individual, or that there is any misuse of Church donations and funds. All Church of Scientology entities and related corporations were recognized as exempt from taxes by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States on October 1, 1993. Recognition of tax exemption requires that no funds inure to the benefit of any private individual. Churches of Scientology in the United States and their financial records and practices were subjected to the most extensive examination of any exempt organization in history, according to the IRS's own statement. Were any of the charges levelled by Tabayoyon true, exemption would not have been recognized. o Equally false and defamatory are Tabayoyon's other descriptions of Mr. David Miscavige. Tabayoyon's comparison of Mr. Miscavige to David Koresh David Koresh is, in and of itself, defamatory. He has never "beat up" people on the property, and he has not ordered the detention of anyone. Far from fitting Tabayoyon's description, Mr. Miscavige appears at about 40 international Church functions every year, was featured on network television in an Emmy-award winning interview with Ted Koppel on ABC's _Nightline_, has met with the editorial boards of major U.S. newspapers and was recently a guest at the White House. It would be impossible in the limited time and space available for me to give you a complete picture of Tabayoyon and his declaration, but I trust that the above remarks above and the material I have sent you by overnight freight are of assistance to you in getting the Court to see that allegations such as those May 19, 1994 Page 6 raised by Tabayoyon have no business in Court. --------- As to Mr. Wollersheim, the petition for writ of certiorari in support of which Mr. Wollersheim filed the material he has now filed in your case was denied by the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Wollersheim is another of the _Fishman_ case defendants' paid witnesses, who filed a declaration after the case was dismissed. As I am sure you have noticed by the ton of Mr. Wollersheim's writings, he is quite delusional. I attach for your information a letter received by Church of Scientology International's counsel in New York from Mr. Wollersheim in 1992 in which advances the bizarre notion that the United States government is running the Church of Scientology as an intelligence experiment, and which would temporarily "rough up" the Church to help maintain its "cover." --------- With respect to the 1984 decision on the part of Mr. Justice Latey in the matter entitled _Re; B & G, Wards_ filed by the counterclaimant in your action, this decision was a bigoted and merciless attack on the underpinnings of the Scientology religion by a zealot masquerading as a High Court Justice. Throughout the entire proceeding, the Church was denied an opportunity to participate in the proceedings, or even to be advised as to the allegations being raised concerning it, while the opposition was allowed free reign to vent their irrational prejudices. with the Court's blessings. The outcome was as would be predicted from such circumstances. You should be advised that the Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom held that the decision was not able to be relied on outside the immediate case to which it pertained. More compelling, however, is the affidavit executed by Mr. David Banks, the father of the children, the custody of whom was at issue in this case. Mr. Banks describes in vivid detail the result of Mr. Justice Latey's decision had on the lives of his children. Anyone who could read Mr. Banks' affidavit and still lend any credence to the decision of Mr. Justice Latey in my opinion is without compassion. --------- The above is merely a small sampling or some of the information available to refute the contentions contained in Mr. Montgomery's papers. I urge you again that the material filed by Mr. Montgomery has no business in a Court file and has been filed solely to create prejudice against the Church of Scientology in May 19, 1994 Page 7 hope that the Court will rule from religious intolerance rather than based on documented facts and the applicable law. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Very truly yours, (signed) Kendrick L. Moxon, Esq. KLM:mfh ENCLOSURES
Go back to main Scientology in Canada page
Martin Hunt / martinh@islandnet.com / August 15 1997