[...] The Church of Scientology won a stay from the 2nd District Court of Appeal resealing exhibits from the trial of its civil suit against former church archivist Gerald Armstrong pending appeal of the case. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr., in absolving Armstrong of any liability for taking documents concerning church founder L. Ron Hubbard, had ruled last week that some 500 of those documents which became exhibits in the five-week trial would be open for public ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist was absolved late Thursday of any liability for taking thousands of personal documents belonging to the organization and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. The church had sought unspecified monetary damages and return of the documents, which have been impounded by the Los Angeles County Superior Court for the last two years, in its civil suit against Gerald Armstrong, 38, a 12-year church veteran who became disillusioned with Hubbard and ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist was a "walking time bomb" at the time he took personal letters and papers of church founder L. Ron Hubbard and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, two opposing attorneys agreed Friday at the end of a five-week trial over possession of the documents. The brief and rare point of agreement occurred during closing arguments by Barry S. Litt, attorney for Mrs. Hubbard, and Michael Flynn, attorney for the defendant, archivist Gerald Armstrong, before Los Angeles ...

After five weeks of trial, closing arguments are about to be heard in a Church of Scientology suit against a former church archivist over custody of 10,000 pages of documents, most of which belong to church founder L. Ron Hubbard. The arguments, scheduled to begin today, are expected to last most of the day, according to attorneys for both sides. It was not known whether Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Breckenridge Jr., who presided over the non-jury trial, will then ...

(AP)—Attorneys for the Church of Scientology Friday accused a former archivist of acting like a "spurned lover" when he left the organization and took 10,000 confidential documents with him. But the attorney for ex-church member Gerald Armstrong said his client was a frightened man trying to use the documents as a shield against a "clandestine" organization. A judge who had listened to five weeks of testimony took the matter under submission Friday afternoon after both sides completed their closing arguments. Mary ...

A former personal assistant to Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard testified Thursday that she feared that discovery of documents discrediting Hubbard's background would make her a target of the organization. Laurel Sullivan, 34, who left Scientology in 1981 after 14 years of working directly for Hubbard in a public relations role, described her fears during the fourth week of trial of the church's civil suit against its former archivist, Gerald Armstrong. The church is asking Los Angeles Superior Court ...

Former assistant to L. Ron Hubbard testifies in suit to recover documents. LOS ANGELES — A former publicist for Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard testified Friday that she left the church in November 1981 because she had become "a target" of hostility by church members. Ex-publicist Laurel Sullivan, 34, was cross-examined by church attorney Robert Harris in a lawsuit brought by the church and Mary Sue Hubbard, the founder's wife, seeking to recover allegedly stolen documents from former ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who worked as a publicist for Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard testified Thursday that orders were given in February 1980 to shred documents indicating bard was in control of church management. Laurel Sullivan, 34, said the orders for the massive shredding came as church personnel feared a raid by federal agents. Such raids previously took place in Los Angeles, Boston and Washington in July 1979. Sullivan testified before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist described for a Los Angeles judge on Friday his "paranoid" leave-taking from the organization after his realization that church founder L. Ron Hubbard was not the heroic scientist he claimed to be. The church is suing to recover thousands of pages of Hubbard's personal papers that it claims Gerald Armstrong took illegally to use in lawsuits against the group. Armstrong testified for the second day in his own defense in the non-jury trial before Superior ...

A disillusioned former member of the Church of Scientology, accused of taking documents belonging to the church and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, testified Thursday that he had been lured into the organization by the "promise of truth" but repeatedly encountered lies. Gerald Armstrong began what is expected to be several days of testimony in the non-jury trial of the church's civil suit to retrieve the documents, which is being tried before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr. ...

Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, testified Monday that she considered the taking of the couple's personal letters and other documents by a former church archivist akin to "mental rape." The church and Mrs. Hubbard, former controller of the worldwide organization, are suing the archivist, Gerald Armstrong, for return of some 20 boxes of personal papers now in the custody of the Los Angeles County clerk pending outcome of the trial. She testified on the ...

A former Church of Scientology archivist who left the organization and allegedly took with him thousands of documents concerning church founder L. Ron Hubbard was described Thursday by a Scientology attorney as a "self-serving vigilante of the worst kind" as trial began in the organization's civil suit to recover the material. Barrett S. Litt, attorney for Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, claimed in opening statements in the non-jury trial before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge Jr. that former ...

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Stacks of papers show that reclusive Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard packed lie after lie into his books, a lawyer contended in court Thursday. Boston attorney Michael Flynn is representing the man who acquired the papers before they were sealed by the court. Flynn told Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge that defendant Gerald Armstrong received the papers legally from a British writer who was preparing a biography on Hubbard. The plaintiffs, the church and Hubbard's wife, ...

The trial of a Church of Scientology lawsuit against a former member and archivist over custody of 10,000 pages of sensitive documents, most of which belong to church founder L. Ron Hubbard, is scheduled to begin today in Los Angeles Superior Court. The church's attorney says he is trying to protect Hubbard's right to privacy by keeping the documents, which are currently under court seal, secret. But the defendant, Gerald Armstrong, contends the public 2has a right to see the documents ...

The church aims to show that Armstrong invaded the privacy of the Hubbards and breached a trust when he allegedly kept documents and then released them to attorneys representing former church members and others who had filed suits against the Scientologists. The trial of a Church of Scientology suit against a former member and archivist needs a judge and a courtroom to get the battle under way over custody of 10,000 pages of sensitive documents, most of which belong to church ...

A Riverside Superior Court judge Monday threw out a suit by L. Ron Hubbard's estranged son that claimed that his father, the controversial founder of the Church of Scientology, is either dead or incompetent. Judge David Hennigan had been "convinced" by a declaration Hubbard had filed three weeks ago that the reclusive science-fiction writer was alive. The declaration was signed and fingerprinted by Hubbard and apparently authenticated by handwriting and fingerprint experts. Hubbard, 71, had written in the document that he ...

[picture of L. Ron Hubbard in cowboy attire with a camera] HOST—VOICE OF: Believers think of L. Ron Hubbard as a genius and a saint; detractors call him a fraud and, according to his own son, one of the biggest con men of the century. HOST—ON CAMERA: Whether L. Ron Hubbard is alive or sane is also up for grabs. Our guests are Ron DeWolf, who is L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. He split with his father in 1959 and is now ...

A seven-page "legal declaration" purportedly written by L. Ron Hubbard, the reclusive founder of the Church of Scientology, apparently convinced a Riverside judge Friday that the science fiction-writing religionist is alive, contrary to assertions by Hubbard's son that he is dead or mentally incompetent. But Superior Court Judge David Hennigan was asked to also consider "new evidence" filed in the court Friday by the son which alleges that Hubbard's signature was forged on documents transferring his Scientology trademark rights to the ...

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Tuesday refused to release 21 boxes of personal letters and journals of reclusive Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to church officials, despite a handwritten letter purportedly from Hubbard claiming them as his property. The material is the subject of a lawsuit by the Scientologists against their former member and archivist, Gerald Armstrong, seeking permanent return of the documents. The church claims that Armstrong stole the material. He claims that Hubbard had permitted him ...

A federal judge opened the way Monday for four former Scientologists to sue the church for fraud over a variety of claims including promises that it could prevent colds, raise intelligence and solve obesity. Attorneys for the disillusioned Scientologists hailed the ruling, saying that it will open the way for other former church members to bring their complaints of fraud before juries. U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall ruled that while Scientology is a religion, many of the claims it makes ...

[Picture / Caption: Scientology's headquarters in L.A. was formerly the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. The church purchased It for $5 million In 1977.] Last October in San Francisco, some 70 local leaders of the Church of Scientology gathered to hear nine church executives harangue them about their shortcomings. Styling themselves with titles that ranged from the quasi-military ("Commander," "Warrant Officer") to the quasi-lunatic ("International Finance Dictator"), the men announced that they represented the new hierarchy of the organization, and that they ...

At first glance, the double-page ad in Daily Variety looks much like all the other congratulatory messages that routinely appear Hollywood's trade press. "Our Dear Friend Has Done Again!" the headline proclaims. Then "He has given us another incredible reason to make a fuss over him!" It's on second glance — on recognizing "our dear friend" 's name and face — that you realize how different this ad is. Instead of praising the latest effort of some show-biz functionary, this one ...