What's new

Scientology Settles with Debbie Cook

freethinker

Sponsor
I don't fucking buy that, the church is getting what they wanted all along and no money is given up on either side. And how is she paying for that lawyer and getting her business going again?

Good fight, we'll call it a draw. WTF?
Before the unfounded speculation gets wilder than in the Zimmerman case, this excerpt from here:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1226702.ece

gives some actual data on the settlement:

"The next hearing in the lawsuit was scheduled for May 7. Now Cook, the church and their respective attorneys have laid down their arms. The agreement dated Monday allows both sides to essentially call it even and go their separate ways. Neither pays the other side money, and Cook and her husband are legally prohibited from ever again speaking ill of the church.

Under a judge's order it requires Cook and her husband, Wayne Baumgarten, to refrain from disclosing anything they know about the church to anyone, be it in conversation, an Internet posting or any other communication. Nor can they have any contact with anyone who has disparaged or intends to disparage the church."

So where is the money some of you are talking about?
 

Sindy

Crusader
Before the unfounded speculation gets wilder than in the Zimmerman case, this excerpt from here:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1226702.ece

gives some actual data on the settlement:

"The next hearing in the lawsuit was scheduled for May 7. Now Cook, the church and their respective attorneys have laid down their arms. The agreement dated Monday allows both sides to essentially call it even and go their separate ways. Neither pays the other side money, and Cook and her husband are legally prohibited from ever again speaking ill of the church.

Under a judge's order it requires Cook and her husband, Wayne Baumgarten, to refrain from disclosing anything they know about the church to anyone, be it in conversation, an Internet posting or any other communication. Nor can they have any contact with anyone who has disparaged or intends to disparage the church."

So where is the money some of you are talking about?

Hi everyone :wave:

and it continues...

"The church walks away having suffered through a day of brutal testimony that remains in the public record. Cook and her husband are back where they started before Cook sent out a New Year's Eve email to thousands of Scientologists that criticized the church's money raising tactics, questioned church management and called on parishioners to push for reforms. The church filed its lawsuit Jan. 27, alleging she violated a confidentiality agreement she signed when she left the church staff in 2007."

No, they are not back where they started. They are a lot less free.
 

Ho Tai

Patron Meritorious
Wow. If they settled, that probably means they gave up something.

That's interesting.
Not sure who you mean by "they", but if it's Cook and Baumgartner, they gave up the right to speak out in exchange for a shot at their eternal freedom. If "they" is CoS, it frustrates me to say that they gave up squat. They had the standard tech hold on Cook and played that card. If you are a true believer, you are screwed.
 

LA SCN

NOT drinking the kool-aid
Hi everyone :wave:

and it continues...

"The church walks away having suffered through a day of brutal testimony that remains in the public record. Cook and her husband are back where they started before Cook sent out a New Year's Eve email to thousands of Scientologists that criticized the church's money raising tactics, questioned church management and called on parishioners to push for reforms. The church filed its lawsuit Jan. 27, alleging she violated a confidentiality agreement she signed when she left the church staff in 2007."

No, they are not back where they started. They are a lot less free.

Exactly.

As of Monday they've had their one and only Free Pass.

Should she go public again, she is legal toast.
 

LA SCN

NOT drinking the kool-aid
I still maintain the church as real dirt on them and they used it to shut them up - their usual MO. mimsey

That may well be.

But they also had: a) a signed non-disclosure agreement which she violated;

(she never claimed she didn't violate it, she claimed it was signed under duress which claim the church gave her no chance to prove.)

and b) the advice of a good lawyer, who I believe told her to take the deal and stfu or be prepared to pay HUGE dollars and years to either her lawyers or the CofS or possibly both.
 

GoNuclear

Gold Meritorious Patron
Not surprising that Debbie settled just to make it stop.

But, kind of interesting is the covenant of that agreement (per Rathbun's blog of today) that she agreed to not have any part of the Indie Scientology movement.
WHAT COULD THAT MEAN?!

So, (if true) it either means that:

1) She doesn't ever plan to get any auditing/training ever again in Scientology.

Or....​

2) She plans to do her bridge in the Church of Scientology.


If it means she is off the Bridge, permanently, good for her. Good move.

If it means that she will return to the CoS to do her Bridge, OMG.

If this were a normal situation in life (not involving Scientology) #1 would be the only possible explanation.

But this is Scientology, where things do not need to make any sense.

So, it is quite conceivable (although wacky) that she might well be considering going back to the Mecca of Technical Perfection to get her case handled.

Wouldn't that be something?

Hoping she walks away from the Bridge and tries to get some enjoyment from the rest of her life.

I don't blame her or judge her. She has a debilitating physical condition, the fibro myalgia, is in her 50's, and needs the headaches of ongoing litigation with the Cof$ about as much as a hole in the head. The Cof$ probably paid her some money and purchased some silence, as well as knocking out a heavy hitting team member off the Marty crew. The only question is what was the cash price. The alternative? Look what they did to Jerry Armstrong. If there was ever a posterboy for Scientological harrassment, it is Jerry, with that rediculous 50k per utterance clause that they actually have been trying to enforce. But with the Cof$, it doesn't stop with lawyers. As Stacy Young (later Stacy Minton) of the LMT said, they come at you like the terminator, and will use all manner of dirty tricks to influence the outcome of a trial/sabotage your case.

As I see it, the most effective counter if you were fighting a case against them on the defense would be to go the Freeman on the Land route. If you google that, you will come up with all manner of interesting info. There are all manner of changes and complications that go along with that, but, once done properly, there is absolutely nothing for the Cof$ to go after with all of their high powered legal help, since they can only proceed against your legal fiction "person" which is a type of trust, and, once collapsed, they are left raging in their cage with nothing to proceed against. It may ALSO be a possible offense strategy, going after them not via court action but rather by filing UCC liens against them, haven't studied enough on that yet.

Pete
 

freethinker

Sponsor
Welcome back Sindy.:)
Hi everyone :wave:

and it continues...

"The church walks away having suffered through a day of brutal testimony that remains in the public record. Cook and her husband are back where they started before Cook sent out a New Year's Eve email to thousands of Scientologists that criticized the church's money raising tactics, questioned church management and called on parishioners to push for reforms. The church filed its lawsuit Jan. 27, alleging she violated a confidentiality agreement she signed when she left the church staff in 2007."

No, they are not back where they started. They are a lot less free.
 

The_Fixer

Class Clown
Wait, what? If it was all about ideals and taking down DM and not about money then why the hell would she take the settlement and stfu? It's the polar opposite actions of a martyr or true believer. If it was really all about the delusional mission of "saving the tech from DM" then she'd still be fighting, no amount of money would deter her.

Also, she won't be doing anything with Marty. He's already hinting as part of her settlement she will have no contact with the indies and may be turning over info about Marty and others as part of her settlement.

I do wonder if some of the "under the radar" Scientologist who donated directly to Debbie will have their names turned over to the cult - Marty implies it is a likely condition of any settlement. Pretty fucked up if so, but then I don't think any one thought Debbie was a paragon of virtue and integrity.

Debbie basically went against the entire PR image she created to get cash from the indies - as someone who was fighting to save the most valuable technology on the planet from an SP! Maybe she just did what every Scientologist is suppose to do - ask herself "What would Ron do." All of us here know Ron would have fucked over everyone, taken the money and ran like hell - so Debbie was just following Ron.

I do wonder how much her husband may have had to do with this. One thing I can reveal now, that I heard directly from a involved party, was that Wayne had openly expressed a desire to return to the SO - no shit. This was after the court testimony and everything. I guess it makes some sense, where as Debbie had to work her ass off Wayne was probably a bit of a prince in the SO. He had no heavy exec work load, but was married to the queen bee. So he prolly got most of the perks, with none of the bullshit most SO members endure.

I just hope they weren't stupid enough to actually believe they could return to the CoS fold in any capacity if they cooperated and settled. I could see the cult making all kinds of promises but I hope the couple isn't deluded enough to believe they could ever have any type of cordial relationship with the cult or any of it's members. If they are insanely deludedly though I wonder if the cult would trot them out as repentant and make them testify to the evil influence of the indies and their attack on the church. Hoo boy, it's far fetched, but not impossible to think about when you have people as deluded and mixed up as those two. See a whole Freedumb magazine about Debbies trip to the dark side , lol.

Ah, well, it will be interesting to see if we ever hear from Debbie and Wayne again or if they will go off into the sunset like so many other former execs. I hope some insiders keep an eye out for any sightings of her having any type of involvement with the cult over the next few years.

A few other things to consider here.

She has been a scio for many years and is probably unable to think like we do any more. She has probably written the original email hoping upon a groundswell of support from her fellow scios, which probably didn't materialise as well as she hoped for. I'll bet all those who did are running for cover right now.

She now faces a life ahead without scientology and its network. Scary prospect for a scio that still wants to be in.

Has she dished a lot of nasty stuff out herself over the years? It's quite a bit different being on the receiving end of it.

Add to that, no job (?), money prospects fading fast, cut off from the only world she knows and facing a huge legal threat. Her only supporters are her sworn enemies. A terrifying situation to be in. She would be quite aware of what the CoS is capable of.

It may have been too scary for her. Fear can override altruism.

Just looking at the latest posts, it looks like she was offered a way back in. Only she doesn't realise what she is now giving up. She isn't just dealing with OSA, but everything that is above that as well.

I wonder if we'll be hearing from her again?
 

GoNuclear

Gold Meritorious Patron
I'd been hoping this wouldn't happen but sadly expecting it.

Cult got bitch-slapped big-time in the courtroom on this and had to make it go away - money's no object when DM's safety (ie His continuing time out of jail) is at risk.

Debbie and Wayne have invested a lot of their lives into the cult and now have to start again. Both have helped the cult big-time in getting money and new blood in. And have no real skills in anything else. And they never really stopped being in the cult mentally and emotionally - expecting a pay-out for good and faithful service.

For the cult, it's yet another Phyrric victory - they stop the courtroom battle (not win it, just stop it) yet lose the PR battle yet again.

And lose more former True Believers and get no new ones.

Which leaves the Baumgartens in an interesting position - they may now have money but they've lost their cult and their families still in, and have probably lost most of the new friends who flocked to help them once they left the cult.

I'd rather be in my position - slowly recovering sanity and finances and not having to stay in denial for the rest of my days.

Personally, I'd take the money and run if it was substantial enough. She already scored one heck of a shot on those b'tards anyways, time to move on. Meanwhile, if there is one guy out there who has caught more of their crap than any other single individual, it is Jerry Armstrong, who will be haunted by Cof$ hired PI's either for the rest of his life or until the Cof$ is dismantled. It is a carrot vs. stick situation. I hope she received at least into the 7 figures, which would be fair considering not only the years of service but also the damage that Cof$ did to her as far as disconnecting her from her clientelle in her business.

Pete
 
I still maintain the church as real dirt on them and they used it to shut them up - their usual MO. mimsey

What is overlooked is that legally the church has a reasonable case to make concerning contract violation as well as the resources to drag this thing out for a very great time to come. That would be a world of potential hurt for Cook with a reasonable prospect of an eventual loss and little likelihood of a timely payout in the case of a 'win', at least not in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe. The Co$ are experts at delaying action. So even a 'win' could wind up bankrupting Cook, a 'loss' would just be a quicker death. In such circumstances taking the 'easy way out' is a sensible alternative, especially in light of the present health & financial difficulties being faced by Cook. Both sides drop present litigation and Cook can get on with her life.

Litigation is not a fun nor especially profitable activity on the whole, which is why cases overwhelmingly settle rather than get taken to court. That is the biggest ace in the hole that the church has: intimidation through the threat of extended litigation. It's an excellent reason to beat a tactical retreat and attorneys commonly advise minimizing risk and seeking a graceful way out.


Mark A. Baker
 

LA SCN

NOT drinking the kool-aid
What is overlooked is that legally the church has a reasonable case to make concerning contract violation as well as the resources to drag this thing out for a very great time to come. That would be a world of potential hurt for Cook with a reasonable prospect of an eventual loss and little likelihood of a timely payout in the case of a 'win', at least not in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe. The Co$ are experts at delaying action. So even a 'win' could wind up bankrupting Cook, a 'loss' would just be a quicker death. In such circumstances taking the 'easy way out' is a sensible alternative, especially in light of the present health & financial difficulties being faced by Cook. Both sides drop present litigation and Cook can get on with her life.

Litigation is not a fun nor especially profitable activity on the whole, which is why cases overwhelmingly settle rather than get taken to court. That is the biggest ace in the hole that the church has: intimidation through the threat of extended litigation. It's an excellent reason to beat a tactical retreat and attorneys commonly advise minimizing risk and seeking a graceful way out.


Mark A. Baker

Oh Good! You read my post! :thumbsup::biggrin:

That may well be.

But they also had: a) a signed non-disclosure agreement which she violated;

(she never claimed she didn't violate it, she claimed it was signed under duress which claim the church gave her no chance to prove.)

and b) the advice of a good lawyer, who I believe told her to take the deal and stfu or be prepared to pay HUGE dollars and years to either her lawyers or the CofS or possibly both.

:hysterical:
 

Hatshepsut

Crusader
Originally posted by The_Fixer

Just looking at the latest posts, it looks like she was offered a way back in. Only she doesn't realise what she is now giving up. She isn't just dealing with OSA, but everything that is above that as well.

I wonder if we'll be hearing from her again?

NAW, she can't go back in. She has to shy away from Independents but you can bet she knows how to get what she wants from private individuals .....who would NOT talk. That's if she is still a true believer. If life's taught her anything, it's that she needs her allies. She won't be a lone wolf, she just won't make herself obvious. As her mentor LRH said, "Being right is the strongest intention in the universe." I read that yesterday when I was throwing out Class VIII course materials.

She SHOULD look up that Freeman on the Land thing. Threatening to reveal the rest of the iceberg and tell what Davy did with all that money makes her a leper to churchies IMHO. There is NOT going to be any forgiveness on that count.
 
Last edited:

Stat

Gold Meritorious Patron
Threatening to reveal the rest of the iceberg and tell what Davy did with all that money makes her a leper to churchies IMHO.

Exactly. Debbie should demand some mils from DM (unless the new bank account is already created unofficially),
move to Canada or some place, take some lessons from Gerry Armstrong and reveal the fuck out of the rest of the iceberg already.
 

Stat

Gold Meritorious Patron
What is this shit, seriously? Is this 2012 or 1984?

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1226702.ece

"Under a judge's order it requires Cook and her husband, Wayne Baumgarten, to refrain from disclosing anything they know about the church to anyone,
be it in conversation, an Internet posting or any other communication. Nor can they have any contact with anyone who has disparaged or intends to disparage the church."
 
Top