'Inquisition': Ex-Scientologist Claims She Was Yelled at and Labeled a 'Liar' During Private Church Hearing Over Kidnapping Allegations
Oct. 24 2023, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
A woman suing the Church of Scientology claims she endured a horrific “inquisition” style arbitration hearing where she was repeatedly screamed at and viciously called a "liar," according to shocking court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com.
Valarie Haney sued the church in 2019, claiming she was once held against her will and abused while working in the Sea Org near Hemet, California, before making a mad dash to freedom in the trunk of a car driven by an unnamed actor.
Since the escape, Haney alleged she’s been subjected to harassment, including surveillance, intimidation, and internet attacks — charges that the church has vehemently denied.
Ex-Scientologist Valarie Haney filed a lawsuit against the church in 2019.
Haney was forced into arbitration by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge after Scientology argued she signed an employee contract, and she must first try to resolve the matter before a church panel before the case could proceed to civil court.
In a stunning court filing, Haney’s renowned Scientology-fighting attorney Graham E. Berry blasted the arbitration as a kangaroo-style court where her lawyers were not allowed in the room, claiming she was brow-beaten by a team of Scientology pit bulls.
“(Haney) likens the Defendant's ‘religious arbitration’ process to be more akin to an inquisition than a proper and efficient arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act or the California Arbitration,” Berry wrote in a brief describing the 2-1/2-day hearings from October 16-18.
Haney was ordered by a judge to endure a Scientology arbitration panel she described as being like an inquisition.
“Not surprisingly, she feels that this ‘religious arbitration’ process is completely unfair, unjust, biased, prejudiced, abusive, and predetermined.”
Haney’s attorneys allegedly weren't allowed in the hearing while the panel agreed to let church lawyers in the room. The panel was also accused of allowing others to scream at Haney — including her ex-husband, who accused her of filing the lawsuit to earn cash.
“The conduct of the chairman of the three arbitrators, Sarah Heller, in repeatedly and regularly calling the Plaintiff a liar, and permitting their witnesses to accuse Plaintiff of being a liar, merely continues some of the abuse that Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint alleges,” court documents stated.
“For example, Danny Light, her former husband who is still in the CSI Sea Organization, screamed at her that ‘there's no money in this, and why are these allegations put out? So, she can get a payout? Because she won't and [referring to the First Amended Complaint] there's nothing here that's not a lie.’”
As RadarOnline.com reported, the arbitration hearing was delayed for months because Scientology kept rejecting Haney’s handpicked panel member – which included the group’s most famous followers, actors Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Moss.
The embattled church as had to fend off a series of allegation by former members.
Once they were rejected, Haney pushed for Shelly Miscavige – the wife of church leader David Miscavige, who has not been seen in public since 2007. Berry also charged Haney was unable to cross-examine witnesses directly, and that all questions were filtered through the panel’s chairperson.
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Haney wanted Shelly Miscavige, the wife of leader David Miscavige, to sit on the arbitration panel.
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“Besides, she was not a lawyer, had no legal training, was brought up in a cult, and was ill-equipped to conduct witness examinations and cross-examinations,” the court documents stated.
Even more shocking, the church reportedly put one of Haney’s alleged abusers on the panel.
“Therefore, the three-person Arbitration panel included two members who were either witnesses to Plaintiff's alleged abuse or were themselves one of the abusers.
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