COURT OF GROSSETO
CIVIL DIVISION
WRIT OF SUMMONS
For: The National Church of Scientology of Italy, 61 Via Cadorna, Vimodrone, Tax Identification Number 97053570152, whose legal representative pro tempore is Mr. Mario Sala and whose defense is represented by attorney Marcella Coccanari, member of the Rome Bar with a postal address in Grosseto at the Law Office of Luigi Bonacchi, as special attorney for the present writ.
- plaintiff
Against: Maria Pia Di Gasparro Gardini, born in Rovereto on October 14, 1936, residing in Grosseto at Via Bonghi n. 1 - 58100.
- defendant
* * *
WHEREAS
3. Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini has demonstrated and expressed on many occasions absolutely unjustified acrimony and anger toward the Church of Scientology and the intention of acting to damage the Church of Scientology in order to defame it, to discriminate against it or, to use Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini's more succinct terminology, "to kick Scientology's ass" [translator's note: "inchiappettare Scientology", literal translation: "to bugger Scientology"].
4. The goal of the Church of Scientology is to preach, practice, and disseminate the Scientology religion, as stated in article 3 of its Statute.
5. Therefore, in fulfillment of its goals, the Church of Scientology does not permit, nor does it carry out, promote, or organize behavior that is disregardful and disrespectful to citizens and to the parishioners who are close to the church.
6. The allegations, explicited and detailed below, that have been made by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini, who accuses the Church of Scientology of acts on the fringes of the law, are groundless and unproven, as well as offensive, denigrating and defamatory.
7. The harm caused by these behaviors and insults was suffered by the Church as an institution representing the Scientology community in Italy as well as by individual parishioners, who are inevitably affected by the negative impact of the defendant's claims.
8. In particular, Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini, in the books of which she is co-author together with journalist Alberto Laggio for Edizioni Paoline, in newspaper interviews, on television, and also in newsgroup postings, has repeatedly lashed out at the Church of Scientology, using terms that are patently aggressive and offensive, because they denigrate the integrity and honor of the injured party.
9. This refers in particular to expressions such as "Stupidology" [translator's note: the Italian word is "Sciemology", from scemo "stupid"], used instead of Scientology (EXSCN newsgroup, August 21, 2009: "Stupidology" ["Sciemology"]; EXSCN newsgroup, September 16, 2009 "the children of Stupidology" ["i ragazzi di Sciemology"]), referring to both the Church itself and to its parishioners; or "they are like snakes, they crawl everywhere" (EXSCN newsgroup, July 6, 2009) insulting and denigrating the parishioners who contribute to social improvement campaigns promoted by the Church of Scientology (against drugs, against illiteracy, in defense of human rights, etc.): "donations made by the fools" ["donazioni fatte dai gonzi"] (EXSCN newsgroup, February 11, 2009).
10. Not limiting herself to this, Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini has repeatedly, without producing any evidence of what she claims, accused the Church of Scientology of undertaking acts of intimidation at the fringes of the law, attributing to Scientology parishioners extremely serious misconduct which is absolutely not tolerated within the Scientology community itself.
11. Above all, it bears repeating, without any evidence!
12. In particular, a list of statements by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini is provided below, along with the name of the publication medium.
1- "They put a dead cat outside my front door":
- Il Tirreno June 7, 2005;
- Il Tirreno September 5, 2007;
Guerra a Scientology dalla Maremma - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
- intervistemadyur.blogspot January 27, 2010;
intervistemadyur: INTERVISTA A MARIA PIA GARDINI UNA FUORIUSCITA FELICE DI SCIENTOLOGY “Si consigliava l’aborto. I bambini mangiano e non producono”
- City Daily January 20, 2010;
“Io non ho paura di Scientology” - City
- LUGANO TV PROGRAM JANUARY 17, 2010;
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
- Book "I miei anni in Scientology" ["My Years in Scientology"]
2- "The tires of my car were slashed" sometimes alternating with "my car was burned":
- Il Tirreno September 5, 2007
Guerra a Scientology dalla Maremma - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
- intervistemadyur.blogspot January 27, 2010;
intervistemadyur: INTERVISTA A MARIA PIA GARDINI UNA FUORIUSCITA FELICE DI SCIENTOLOGY “Si consigliava l’aborto. I bambini mangiano e non producono”
- City Daily January 20, 2010;
“Io non ho paura di Scientology” - City
- LUGANO TV PROGRAM JANUARY 17, 2010;
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
3- "I'm afraid they'll kill me", "I'm afraid of being killed", "At the very worst, they'll kill me", etc.:
- Il Tirreno March 6, 2001 - "I'm afraid of being killed";
Drammatico racconto su come Scientology cancella la personalità degli aderenti «Ho paura di essere uccisa» Grossetana rivuole i due 2 miliardi dati alla setta - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
- Il Tirreno June 7, 2005;
- Il Tirreno September 5, 2007;
Guerra a Scientology dalla Maremma - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
- TV LUGANO PROGRAM JANUARY 17, 2010;
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
4- "They're like vultures":
- "I miei anni in Scientology- Colloquio con Alberto Laggia" ["My Years in Scientology - As told to Alberto Laggia"], page 113, referring to officials of the Church of Scientology.
13. Therefore, in response to the above statements and claims of Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini, the National Church of Scientology of Italy today considers itself obligated to proceed to protect its reputation and its honor, dignity, and integrity, as the institution representing Scientology in Italy and representing Italian parishioners and ministers, upon whom, as mentioned earlier, the defamatory and discriminatory effect of Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini's conduct falls heavily.
14. It should be noted at this point that defamation is manifested and constituted whenever the reputation of a person is injured by expressions, news, OPINIONS, COMMENTS, which go beyond the limits of the free expression of thought. The protected legal interest is therefore defined "by a man's reputation, by the esteem which radiates throughout the social environment, by the opinion that others have about his honor and dignity" (Court of Cassation 28.2.1995) and is obviously damaged by statements such as those which have been quoted.
In a similar case, in which the offended party was the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, the court accepted the observations of the prosecution, who pointed out that the defendant had used terminology laden with aggressiveness and even more "direct and explicit, crude and coarse" expressions (such as those adduced above and used by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini, for example "Stupidology" ["Sciemology"], "vultures", "fools" ["gonzi"], "to kick Scientology's ass" ["inchiappettare Scientology"]) and the court upheld the complaints of the injured parties because of the "expressions and phrases which are surely apt to offend the reputation of the followers of the religious denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses and which evidence a willingness to single out the followers for public scorn; there exists no cause for exemption from penalty, as the expressions used do not constitute the legitimate exercise of freedom of the press and of criticism. "
*_*_*_*
From the foregoing, it is quite evident that the National Church of Scientology of Italy has suffered and continues to suffer very heavy damages directly caused by the defamation perpetrated via the activity and statements of Mrs. Maria Pia Di Gasparro Gardini.
The verbal violence, the unjustified insults, the demonstrated acrimony and the false allegations by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini today lead the National Church of Scientology of Italy to protect the honor, dignity, and integrity of the Church and of the parishioners of the Scientology religion in this Church.
Regarding this point, it is necessary to emphasize that, given the manner in which the affront against Scientology was and still is being committed, the damage is far from being limited in time and is, on the contrary, extremely present, and therefore requires pre-trial intervention to protect the rights of the Church of Scientology and its parishioners even during the waiting period before this procedure.
For all the foregoing reasons and considerations, the National Church of Scientology of Italy, identified, represented, and located as stated at the beginning
Summons
Mrs. Maria Pia Di Gasparro Gardini, born in Rovereto on October 14, 1936, residing in Grosseto at Via Bonghi n. 1, to appear before the Grosseto Civil Court at its known address, chamber and judge yet to be determined, at the September 27, 2010 hearing, at the usual opening time, with an invitation to file an appearance at least twenty days before the hearing and to appear at the specified hearing, subject to the warning that filing an appearance after this period will mean the disqualification of Articles 38 and 167 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and that if she does not appear, the hearing will proceed in absentia, in order to consider the following
Conclusions
May it please the Honorable Judge, dismissing any claim to the contrary, to grant our petition to:
as a preliminary and precautionary measure: ascertain and declare the continuation and the perpetration of harm to the integrity, honor, and dignity of the Church of Scientology and its parishioners as a direct result of offensive and disparaging statements made by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini and of the continued public availability of these statements (in the form of books or postings in newsgroups or interviews), and consequently establish a precautionary withdrawal from distribution of the published works containing the offensive phrases, as well as prescribe a prohibition on further publication and distribution, in any form and by any means, of the contents and references of these publications;
on the substance of the complaint: ascertain and declare the grave and persistent damage inflicted by the defendant upon the integrity, honor, and dignity of the Church of Scientology and its parishioners;
consequently: determine that Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini is required to pay compensation for damage suffered by the Church of Scientology in Italy as the institution representing the Scientology religion on Italian territory and suffered by all profoundly injured parties, whose integrity has been damaged and who are offended by the words and statements made by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini, as described above;
order the defendant to pay an indemnity for the damage suffered by the Church of Scientology of Italy to its integrity and honor as a result of the derogatory and defamatory actions perpetrated by Mrs. Di Gasparro Gardini and compensate this damage, quantifiable as a lump sum of 1,000,000 (one million) euros plus interest, or an amount determined to be equitable;
order the defendant, in addition, to pay an indemnity for the moral damage suffered by the Church of Scientology of Italy, in terms of moral hardship and suffering inflicted upon the parishioners and ministers of the Italian Church of Scientology and compensate this damage, quantifiable as a lump sum of 1,000,000 (one million) euros, or an amount determined to be equitable.
Pre-trial documents:
The following documents are provided:
1. Copy of the Statute of the National Church of Scientology of Italy;
2. Copy of EXSCN newsgroup post, February 11, 2009;
3. Copy of EXSCN newsgroup post, August 21, 2009;
SETTE E SANTONI IN AFRICA - EXSCN | Google Gruppi
4. Copy of EXSCN newsgroup post, July 6, 2009;
5. Copy of EXSCN newsgroup post, September 16, 2009;
COME VI SEMBRA QUESTA??????????????? - EXSCN | Google Gruppi
6. Copy: Il Tirreno March 6, 2001;
Drammatico racconto su come Scientology cancella la personalità degli aderenti «Ho paura di essere uccisa» Grossetana rivuole i due 2 miliardi dati alla setta - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
7. Copy: Il Tirreno June 7, 2005;
8. Copy: Il Tirreno September 5, 2007;
Guerra a Scientology dalla Maremma - il Tirreno dal 1997.it » Ricerca
9. Copy: intervistemadyur.blogspot January 27, 2010;
10. Copy: City Daily January 20, 2010;
“Io non ho paura di Scientology” - City
11. Transcription: Lugano TV program, January 17, 2010;
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
RSI - Flash Player
12. Copy of the book "I miei anni in Scientology - Colloquio con Alberto Laggia" ["My Years in Scientology - As told to Alberto Laggia"] with evidence of past affronts;
The plaintiff reserves the right to supplement and better state and articulate the plaintiff's case, as well as to supplement the provided documentation and the petition for judicial inquiry, within the prescribed limitation periods.
The plaintiff requests that the court award legal fees and costs.
With regard to registration fees, the plaintiff states that the value of this dispute is indeterminable and, consequently, the applicable fee is 340 euros.
Rome, March 15, 2010
Marcella Coccanari, Attorney
Signed: Marcella Coccanari
SERVICE OF THE WRIT:
By request of Marcella Coccanari, attorney, as stated in the summons, notification is to be served to:
Maria Pia Di Gasparro Gardini, born in Rovereto on October 14, 1936, residing in Grosseto at Via Bonghi n. 1.
[Stamp:]
Grosseto, March 30, 2010
COURT OF GROSSETO
JUDICIAL OFFICIAL B3
Cipriani Gabriella