Leah won !! Cult slapped. Settles and pays Leah for its malicious malfeasance $$$$$$$$ Tony Ortega explains 31 July 2026

[Karen#1]

Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit​ Tony Ortega [Leah and her attorney, Amit Vora] Just in this afternoon, the Second Appellate District has ruled in Leah Remini’s lawsuit, and the court has made some historic statements about the Church of Scientology and evidence of its “actual malice.” Leah sued Scientology in 2023 over allegations that she’s been subjected to a horrendous smear campaign by Scientology. The church argues that Leah started the “war of words” with her A&E television show, and that the names they call her are protected by the First Amendment. The appeals court ruling does agree with Scientology that a large number of the statements Leah says are defamatory should be stricken from the lawsuit. But the ruling restored other statements that the lower court removed. So in that sense, it’s a mixed ruling. But much more important is Leah has numerous statements that she can proceed with as defamatory, and although she is a public figure, the court says, she has proved “actual malice” at this point, and the language from the court is pretty devastating: Remini’s evidence tends to demonstrate an established pattern and practice of deliberate attacks by Defendants (and those directed by Defendants) intended to sully the reputations of perceived opponents, which includes the dissemination of defamatory statements. That’s huge. Also, as TX Lawyer points out to us, RTC was unable to get itself out of the lawsuit. The appellate court here agrees that Mike Rinder and Claire Headley’s declarations were admissible because they describe RTC’s intent, knowledge, and habit or custom. In other words, Leah does not need direct testimony that RTC was responsible for all these individual incidents, because RTC’s history of directing attacks and harassment against Scientology’s enemies is enough to prove that responsibility. David Miscavige is not going to be happy that Leah is breaking through his corporate veil there. Amazing stuff. Here is the entire ruling. We look forward to your thoughts on it. Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit Just in this afternoon, the Second Appellate District has ruled in Leah Remini’s lawsuit, and the court has made some historic statements about the Church of Scientology and evidence of its “actual malice.” tonyortega.substack.com

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Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit​

Tony Ortega Jul 31

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[I M Dex]

I'm practically giddy with joy for Leah, I don't see where the financial judgment is given, did I miss that, the amount? I hope it equals or surpasses some of the larger donations by Scientology "whale" contributing drones. I'm sorry to see "not to be published", which I assume means it can't be cited as case law; but nevertheless, courts will have it on their minds as having broken ground in lawsuits against the cult for this brand of criminal activity.
And the Second Appellate District, in seeing through the cult's and their lawyers' bullshit, gets a pass on their obnosis drills.

 

[Hatshepsut]

I wish Mike Rinder could have been paid through the ruling while he was living to enjoy it. His stress was mostly due to defending from the attacks. I know Leah has tons of gratitude for Mike and Claire.

 

[Karen#1]

The most powerful passage is:

“Remini’s evidence tends to demonstrate an established pattern and practice of deliberate attacks by Defendants…intended to sully the reputations of perceived opponents, which includes the dissemination of defamatory statements.”

For years, Scientology has portrayed every attack on a critic as an isolated response, an exercise of religious freedom, or a spontaneous “war of words.” Here, a California appellate court recognized evidence of something organized and institutional: a pattern of deliberate attacks against perceived enemies.

 

[HelluvaHoax!]

..

For purposes of clarity, the above ruling is legal wrangling IN ADVANCE of the actual trial. It was a feverish dispute over what could and could not "come in" when the trial proceeds.

Some critical advantages were gained by Leah for purposes of prevailing at trial.

What just happened was a California appellate court essentially "cleaned up" some of the pretrial issues (on both sides) and thereby brought focus to what the trial judge/jury is charged to determine in the final adjudication.

Ergo, no monetary judgment nor settlement is in play at this pre-trial moment. But it obviously is very encouraging news for Leah because the appellate court did not get sucked into the cult's well-rehearsed (over the past 75 years) gaslighting quicksand techniques, misdirection, "acceptable truths" and other such rhetorical booby traps.

CONGRATS LEAH. One can safely assume that the cult is debating if they can make this go away by paying enough to get Leah to sign a CONFIDENTIAL settlement. My guess is that the cult desperately wants to settle but is terrified to show that card (at this point) to Leah's lawyers without weakening their position in the case and any future settlement that might be possible.

My best fully speculative guess: At this point I'd guess that the cult would happily write a $100M check if the case could go away and if Leah was bound to secrecy about any settlement. The cult risks the numbers escalating quite easily to $250M or more when the ruling parties take a peek at the BILLIONS of assets the church has. So, I'd peg the opening chess move to be a $100M offer to settle and that number might well escalate up to $145M to $180M in the final settlement. *

Sending all good wishes to Leah that the trial will go well and that the settlement talks will go even better. And then I wish Leah "HAPPY SHOPPING!!!" when she banks the dough. LOL

* However there is another factor that could send a settlement in a different direction. The "exhaustion" factor for Leah. Litigation is an exhausting and very disturbing hobby. Litigating with a sadistically deranged cult is infinitely worse. Therefore, the cult knows this and they might try to lowball the settlement offer and hope that Leah will "start there" and ultimately take some pocket change out of the cult's piggy bank. Something like this....a settlement at $25 or $30M with a $5M downpayment and perhaps $2M each year for a dozen or so years. Leah might really start to think about that and might come back with a counter-offer that the cult ALSO has to pay all her legal bills (at the settlment closing) and she might try to bump up the up front cash to $10M. It's all in play, and she might be thrilled to bank $10M up front—and let the payments roll in annually for the next 12 years...knowing that "IT'S FINALLY OVERRRRRRR!!!" It'll be very interesting to see what they can settle on. I can't imagine the cult would allow a judge or jury to make the final determination of damages because that's a wild card that the cult knows can soar into upper space. Fun times for the cult, right? LOL

..

 

[Type4_PTS]

BREAKING: Scientology Leader David Miscavige Dealt Major Blow in Leah Remini Lawsuit​

The ruling clears the way for Remini to seek discovery from Miscavige and his close aides, something Scientology attorneys have fought hard to prevent in the past.​

Yashar Ali
Jul 31, 2026

BREAKING: Scientology Leader David Miscavige Dealt Major Blow in Leah Remini Lawsuit

The ruling clears the way for Remini to seek discovery from Miscavige and his close aides, something Scientology attorneys have fought hard to prevent in the past.

www.thereset.news

A California appeals court has dealt a major blow to Scientology leader David Miscavige in Leah Remini’s lawsuit, clearing the way for Remini to seek discovery from Miscavige and his close aides, including depositions.

For many years, Scientology attorneys have gone to great lengths to avoid having Miscavige personally exposed in litigation, and they have settled claims, such as that of former top official Debbie Cook, to prevent Miscavige from facing such legal vulnerabilities.

Scientology, which had a well-earned reputation for being highly litigious for decades, has not actively sued anyone for defamation or breach of confidentiality in well over a decade in order to protect Miscavige from the possibility of discovery and a deposition.

The court ruled that key portions of Remini’s lawsuit against Scientology — which operates like a borderless totalitarian state — can move forward.

Most significantly, Religious Technology Center (RTC), the organization chaired by David Miscavige that controls all other Scientology organizations, will remain a defendant.

That keeps the organization at the top of Scientology’s hierarchy in the case and opens the door to discovery into Miscavige’s role, RTC’s control over Scientology’s global intelligence agency, the Office of Special Affairs, Scientology’s chain of command, and the roles these organizations played in the campaign against Remini.

Scientology attorneys often seek to protect Miscavige by claiming that RTC has no role in Scientology’s day-to-day operations, but that is false.

Miscavige, through his chairmanship of RTC, has complete control over every Scientology organization and every Scientologist, the same level of control exerted by totalitarian leaders of fascist states.

Remini submitted testimony from former senior Scientology officials Mike Rinder and Claire Headley stating that RTC directed operations used to attack, silence, and intimidate Scientology’s perceived enemies.

The appeals court ruled that their testimony could potentially be used to establish RTC’s knowledge of, intent behind, and responsibility for the campaign against Remini.

(Remini is a close friend of mine. Rinder, who passed away in 2025 after battling cancer, and Headley are also friends.)

In 2023, Remini sued the Church of Scientology International and Religious Technology Center following a years-long campaign of harassment, stalking, defamation, and interference with her business relationships in retaliation for her advocacy on behalf of Scientology victims and survivors, as well as her years-long effort to determine the whereabouts, health, and safety of her friend Shelly Miscavige.

Shelly Miscavige, David Miscavige’s wife, has not been seen publicly in more than 20 years.

<snip>

Full Post at Link Above

 

[Isaac]

Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit​ Tony Ortega [Leah and her attorney, Amit Vora] Just in this afternoon, the Second Appellate District has ruled in Leah Remini’s lawsuit, and the court has made some historic statements about the Church of Scientology and evidence of its “actual malice.” Leah sued Scientology in 2023 over allegations that she’s been subjected to a horrendous smear campaign by Scientology. The church argues that Leah started the “war of words” with her A&E television show, and that the names they call her are protected by the First Amendment. The appeals court ruling does agree with Scientology that a large number of the statements Leah says are defamatory should be stricken from the lawsuit. But the ruling restored other statements that the lower court removed. So in that sense, it’s a mixed ruling. But much more important is Leah has numerous statements that she can proceed with as defamatory, and although she is a public figure, the court says, she has proved “actual malice” at this point, and the language from the court is pretty devastating: That’s huge. Also, as TX Lawyer points out to us, RTC was unable to get itself out of the lawsuit. Amazing stuff. Here is the entire ruling. We look forward to your thoughts on it. Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit Just in this afternoon, the Second Appellate District has ruled in Leah Remini’s lawsuit, and the court has made some historic statements about the Church of Scientology and evidence of its “actual malice.” tonyortega.substack.com

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Court finds 'practice of deliberate attacks' by Scientology in (largely) upholding Remini lawsuit​

Tony Ortega Jul 31

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We would all like to congratulate Leah Remini and the others who helped her on piercing the corporate veil of the evil criminal human trafficking Cult of Scientology and its leader, The Demon David Miscaviage

Please ......continue

 

[ILove2Lurk]

For purposes of clarity, the above ruling is legal wrangling IN ADVANCE of the actual trial.

Thanks so much for that simple explanation. Some of us have zero IQ or skill/interest in reading (TLDR) legal documents.

One thing that comes to mind and that I checked on it with AI is the Larry Wollersheim lawsuit. I was curious how far
they'd go before they threw the towel into the ring.

​

AI:​

The Church of Scientology appealed the Wollersheim case as far as the Supreme Court of the United States,​

dragging the legal battle through the courts for 22 years across multiple state and federal levels.​

​

Court Levels and Appeals​

• State Trial and Appellate Courts: After a 1986 jury initially awarded Larry Wollersheim $30 million, the California Court of Appeal reduced the damages to $2.5 million while affirming the liability for emotional distress.
• State Supreme Court: The Church petitioned for review in the Supreme Court of California twice, which declined to overturn the core liability.
• Federal and Supreme Court Action: The Church pursued appeals and petitions for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States twice, alongside separate federal district and RICO actions, before finally exhausting its options and paying over $8.6 million to settle the judgment in 2002.

Both Debbie Cook and Marty Rathbun were pretty quick, in contrast.

That pointed out, the Wollersheim case was stretched out during a time when the Internet was not as popular
and news wasn't blasted on everyone's phone instantly 24/7. The bad PR they're facing nowadays, well, I don't
think they can afford another drag through the mud for 22 years. I'm hoping.