Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Erlich Declaration From: inFormer@informer.org (Rev Dennis Erlich) Date: 18 Feb 1999 09:51:30 PST -------- Harold J. McElhinny (Bar No. 66781) Rachel Krevans (Bar No. 116421) Stephen P. Freccero (Bar No. 131093) Ronald P. Flynn (Bar No. 184186) Jason A. Crotty (Bar No. 196036) MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 425 Market Street San Francisco, California 94105-2482 Telephone: (415) 268-7000 Facsimile: (415) 268-7522 Jana G. Gold (Bar No. 154246) MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP 755 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, California 94304-1018 Telephone: (650) 813-5600 Facsimile: (650) 494-0792 Attorneys for Defendant DENNIS ERLICH UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION RELIGIOUS TECHNOLOGY CENTER, a California non-profit corporation; and BRIDGE PUBLICATIONS, INC., a California non-profit corporation, Plaintiffs, v. DENNIS ERLICH, an individual, Defendant. No. C-95-20091 RMW (EAI) DECLARATION OF DENNIS L. ERLICH'S IN OPPOSITION TO RTC'S MOTION TO DISMISS COUNTERCLAIM FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT RESPECTING TRADE SECRETS Date: N/A Time: N/A Ctrm: Hon. Ronald M. Whyte AND RELATED COUNTERCLAIMS I, Dennis Erlich declare and state: 1. I am the defendant and cross-complainant in this action. I make this declaration based on personal knowledge and could testify competently to the facts stated herein if called on to do so. This declaration addresses three subjects: (1) RTC's contention that Scientology has tolerated my criticism without comment, except for this lawsuit, and my apprehension that I will be sued in the future on trade secrets claims; (2) the fact that Scientology's Advanced Technology is widely available on the Internet and should no longer be afforded trade secret protection; and (3) my interest in continuing to expose, discuss, and critique the Advanced Technology materials, as to which trade secret protection has been claimed. The Reasons For My Belief That Scientology Related Organizations Will Sue Me In The Future on Trade Secrets Claims. 2. I was a member of the Church of Scientology ("Scientology") from 1967 to 1982. In fact, I became an ordained "minister" of Scientology in 1969. While a member of Scientology, I studied the Advanced Technology levels, up to what is now the New OT VII. In late 1976 or early 1977, L. Ron Hubbard himself assigned me to the post of "Chief Cramming Officer" at the Flag Land Base. 3. The Chief Cramming Officer is a high ranking Sea Org technical official within Scientology, who is responsible for ensuring rigorous adherence to Hubbard's "tech" and what Scientology now calls Hubbard's "scriptures." When a Scientology adherent is unable to progress in their training program, and a supervisor is unable to correct the problem, the student and the supervisor are assigned to a Cramming Officer to correct the training. The Cramming Officer is also responsible for correcting auditors in applying Hubbard's "tech." This position required me to have not only a superior understanding of Hubbard's "tech," but also a librarian-like recall of the location in the material of various parts of the "tech." Scientologists are forbidden from discussing or critiquing Hubbard's works. (Indeed, the discussion of Hubbard's work is called "verbal tech" and is one of the highest crimes in Scientology). Thus, as a Cramming Officer I could not give verbal explanations to correct a problem, but would have to be able to locate and show the Hubbard work that "answers" any given problem. As a Cramming Officer, my familiarity with Hubbard's writings was legendary -- I was known for being able to reach into a drawer and pull out the exact paragraph that would answer the question of an auditor or student, or clear up their confusion with reference to an exact quotation from L. Ron Hubbard. 4. The Flag Land Base was, and remains, one of Scientology's world headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. I remained at that post until 1982, except for an approximately 4 month period in 1979, when I was sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force ("RPF") as "punishment" for allegedly bringing down "statistics" at Flag. For the first 10 days or so of my stint in the RPF, I was sent to the "RPF'S RPF" for making a joke about my impending sentence. For the first several of those 10 days, I was imprisoned in a chickenwire enclosure in the basement of the Fort Harrison Hotel. Nevertheless, within six months after my release from the RPF, after spending that six months performing "exorcisms" (for which Scientology charged $350 per hour), I resumed my post as Chief Cramming Officer at Flag by order of L. Ron Hubbard, and I remained there until 1982. 5. In 1982, I left Scientology when it became clear that new leadership, led by David Miscavige, was trying to purge officials who had strong ties to L. Ron Hubbard. In fact, even before I left, I was declared a Suppressive Person (supposedly for leaving the organization, although I had not done so). A "Suppressive Person" is anyone who is declared to be an enemy of Scientology, including former members, outside critics, and persons in professions hated by L. Ron Hubbard, such as psychiatrists. It is a matter of Scientology doctrine that a Suppressive Person can be cheated, lied to, and sued on any pretext whatsoever. It is also a matter of Scientology doctrine that if someone is publicly critical of or is investigating Scientology, the correct response is to do a "noisy investigation" to find or manufacture that person's crimes. For example, while I was in Scientology, I knew Scientologists who participated in something called "Operation Freakout" designed to frame author Paulette Cooper (who had written negative things about Scientology) for a bomb threat. I also know Scientologists who had infiltrated government offices to steal documents in order to intimidate government agencies into ceasing their investigations. 6. In 1984, as I began to recover from my Scientology brainwashing, I published some writings on cults, and became active in a community of people trying to help cult victims. In 1990, I began publishing the inFormer Newsletter, for victims of Scientology, law enforcement officials, and mental health professionals interested in Scientology and other cults. 7. I understand that in its motion to dismiss my trade secret declaratory judgment claim, plaintiff RTC asserts that Scientology took no action against me until I began posting their allegedly copyrighted and trade secret materials on the Internet. Although it is true that this is plaintiffs' first lawsuit against me, I have been harassed by Scientology related organizations since I began speaking out against the organization in 1984. The following are only a few examples of incidents that occurred before the date of the raid. 8. In 1984, shortly after an essay on cults I had written was published in an Omaha newspaper, the Scientology organization sent private investigators to harass my friends and associates, and to vilify me publicly. This conduct was consistent with the Scientology policies toward treatment of Suppressive Persons, described above. 9. In 1990, and again in 1991 when I was quoted in various newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, the Clearwater Sun, and the Hemet News, Scientology spokesmen had published in the Hemet New and in the Clearwater Sun false and defamatory information about me, including that I had been expelled from Scientology for selling and using drugs. Around the same time, my neighbors were leafleted with similar defamatory information. 10. In 1992 and 1993 I was deposed twice, for a number of hours in each deposition, in two of Scientology's lawsuits against the Cult Awareness Network, notwithstanding the fact that I had no information relevant to either of the lawsuits. 11. In 1994, I began to participate in the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology ("a.r.s."), where I quickly became one of the most vocal, and more importantly, one of the most knowledgeable participants on the newsgroup. I believe that this lawsuit represents an intensification of Scientology's efforts to silence me in response to my participation in the newsgroup, and is in keeping with Scientology's treatment of critics and other Suppressive Persons. Plaintiffs initiated this lawsuit by going into court without notice to me and by lying to the court about me in order to obtain a writ of seizure. They then used the writ to elicit the cooperation of the Glendale police department and of several off-duty officers to perpetrate a full-blown search of my home, which lasted seven hours. Shortly after the raid, plaintiff RTC published a picture of the raid in one of its news magazine, boasting that the raid was "the worst wake-up call this SP ever got." 12. Plaintiffs also brought trade secrets claims against me in this lawsuit and pursued them vigorously, even though they knew that the materials I had allegedly discussed and posted were already available on the Internet. 13. Scientology and individuals controlled by Scientology have continued their efforts to intimidate and harass me since this lawsuit began. 14. The notoriety surrounding the raid on my home caused a business deal I was working on at the time to collapse. The business I was working for suffered a downturn and I was unemployed. When I eventually found seasonal employment at KTLA in Los Angeles, I was pursued by Scientology private investigators in my car at high speeds for several mornings while on my way to work. (The identity of my pursuers was given to me by the Glendale police, when I reported these incidents). Shortly thereafter, a Scientology official from the Celebrity Center in Los Angeles contacted a colleague of mine, believing that he was my employer, and urged him to fire me. I was given to understand that this same Scientology official wrote a letter to the General Manager of KTLA, urging that I be fired. A well known Scientology investigator named Eugene Ingram later contacted the personnel office of KTLA on behalf of my ex-wife, purporting to need information about me. 15. Scientologists have repeatedly leafleted my neighborhood with fliers, including my picture, denouncing me as a bigot and worse. One of the most recent incidents of such leafleting occurred when I was in San Jose, attending a settlement conference in this action. 16. Scientology lawfirms have repeatedly abused "ex parte" procedures to obtain orders against me. In 1995, Kenneth Moxon, a well-known Scientology lawyer, went into the superior court in Los Angeles with a false declaration from a man named Robert Lippman, who I have never met, in an attempt to obtain a restraining order against me. (Mr. Lippman's accusations related to a 1991 event, when I supposedly threatened Mr. Lippman's life at a Cult Awareness Network (CAN) conference). I was never served with the ex parte papers, or with any restraining order itself (in fact, I do not even know if a restraining order ever issued). Scientology did use the TRO filing in the Los Angeles court, however, to obtain an ex parte TRO in Florida in March 1996 that prevented me from participating in peaceful protests of Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. Scientology lawyers used the ex parte procedure yet again in Florida in 1997 to prevent me from demonstrating, even though my attorney in Florida notified them that I was coming to Florida, and asked them to provide notice if they were going to seek a TRO. Ironically, the writ and injunction in this case were used as evidence supporting the TRO requests in Florida. 17. Scientologist have published nasty and defamatory statements about me on the Internet. Attached to this declaration as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of a website called the "Dishonor Roll of A.R.S. Bigots," along with pages from the website specifically devoted to slandering me. Ironically, the unflattering picture they have included was taken the day of the raid on my home. I have omitted material posted on the website that is taken from "confessions" that I and others made while in Scientology. 18. My knowledge of the internal workings of Scientology as a Scientology official, along with my years of experience being treated as a Suppressive Person, give me reason to believe that Scientology would sue me on a trade secret claim if I were to use or discuss the Advanced Technology materials publicly, no matter how weak their claim, if there was any way to avoid the consequences of the dismissal of this lawsuit or the alleged waiver of future claims. The Widespread Availability of Advanced Technology on the Internet. 19. At the time I was in Scientology, people auditing Advanced Technology courses were given the materials to take home for self-study and to apply the materials. Essentially, the materials were checked out on the honor system. The staff auditors who were trained on NOTS had their own course pack of materials, which they could take to their room or carry into session. In other words, security regarding these materials was fairly lax for many years. I am personally aware of copies of these materials that are still circulating that were made by people auditing the materials at that time. 20. Much of the Advanced Technology was in public circulation before I began participating in a.r.s. The copies of the Advanced Technology that I am accused of posting were sent to me, unsolicited, by mail or over the Internet. 21. The contents of the Advanced Technology has been publicly known for some time. For example, in 1991, TIME Magazine published an article called "Scientology: Cult of Greed and Power," in which the contents of OT III were discussed. The TIME article was only one of many widely circulated publications discussing this material. 22. Through the early 1990's, the contents of much of the Advanced Technology, from Grade 5 to the old OT VII, including the GPM material, and the OT I, OT II, and OT III material, was attached to an unsealed declaration filed by Steven Fishman in the public court record in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. 23. Scientology's raid on my home appeared to have caused a big increase in the number of people interested in this issue. In the months after this case began, there was a huge increase in the availability of the Advanced Technology on the Internet. 24. Today, it is very easy to download information about and copies of the Advanced Technology materials from the Internet. For example, Exhibits 2-11 are true and correct copies of anonymous postings from a.r.s. discussing or revealing the content of the Advanced Technology. I have downloaded these postings in the last few months, consistent with the injunction entered by this Court, that permits me to download materials for use in my defense. I did not request these materials or go looking for them; they were simply available on the newsgroup and were included in my normal download of the contents of the newsgroup. These downloads are merely examples of the materials publicly available on the Internet today. 25. Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of a series of anonymous postings I downloaded transcribing part of the OT III course. 26. Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of a series of anonymous postings from what appears to be a different source, again transcribing parts of the OT III course. 27. Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of a series of anonymous postings I downloaded discussing "power processing." These materials are part of Grade 5 and 5a, and they are part of the Advanced Technology. 28. Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of an anonymous posting I downloaded transcribing portions of Grade 6. These materials are part of the Advanced Technology. 29. Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of another anonymous posting I downloaded, apparently from a different source, again transcribing portions of Grade 6. 30. Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of an anonymous posting I downloaded transcribing the old OT I. 31. Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of a posting I downloaded that includes some summaries, and some transcriptions, of materials from OT I through OT VIII. 32. Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of an anonymous posting I downloaded that transcribes portions of NOTS Series 1. 33. Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of an anonymous posting I downloaded that transcribes portions of NOTS Series 2. 34. Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of an anonymous posting I downloaded that transcribes portions of NOTS Series 14. My Intention to Use and Discuss Advanced Technology in the Future 35. I have dedicated the rest of my life to helping people leave Scientology, and to seeking to prevent young people from getting lured in. In 1997, I incorporated the inFormer Ministry as a California non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, to further these goals. 36. I have found that one of the most effective ways to help current members recognize the scam that is being perpetrated on them, and to ensure that young people don't get caught up in the organization, is to discuss the contents of the Advanced Technology materials, and particularly OT III with them. Many people who are or were attracted to Scientology on the basis of dianetics or auditing are appalled when they learn what the supposedly secret "upper levels" are going to reveal. 37. I feel that I have a particular calling for this work, based on my own life experiences, and particularly my unique background in Scientology. As the former Chief Cramming Officer at the Flag Land Base, I am one of only a handful of people in the world who can translate the complexity of the vast array of Scientology dogma into terms that are understandable. 38. I have an ongoing interest in using and discussing these materials in my work, and intend to do so within the bounds permitted by law. I have no doubt, however, that Scientology will use any colorable legal theory to prevent me from continuing to use these materials in my ministry. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 16th day of February at Glendale, California. Dennis L. Erlich Rev Dennis Erlich * * the inFormer * *