Christofferson v. Church of Scientology of Portland

• Jurisdiction: Oregon
• Decision Date: 10 June 1982
• Docket Number: No. A7704-05184,A7704-05184
• Citation: Christofferson v. Church of Scientology of Portland, 644 P.2d 577, 57 Or.App. 203 (Or. App. 1982)
• Parties: , 40 A.L.R.4th 1017 Julie CHRISTOFFERSON, Respondent, v. CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF PORTLAND, an Oregon nonprofit corporation, Church of Scientology, Mission of Davis, a nonprofit California corporation doing business in Oregon, Delphian Foundation, an Oregon nonprofit corporation, and Martin Samuels, Appellants. ; CA 15952.
• Court: Oregon Court of Appeals

Page 577

644 P.2d 577

57 Or.App. 203, 40 A.L.R.4th 1017

Julie CHRISTOFFERSON, Respondent, v. CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF PORTLAND, an Oregon nonprofit corporation, Church of Scientology, Mission of Davis, a nonprofit California corporation doing business in Oregon Delphian Foundation, an Oregon nonprofit corporation, and Martin Samuels, Appellants.

No. A7704-05184; CA 15952.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted Sept. 3, 1981.

Decided May 3, 1982.

Reconsideration Denied June 10, 1982.

Charles J. Merten, Portland, and Emily M. Bass, New York City, argued the cause for appellants. On the briefs was Charles J. Merten, Portland.

Garry P. McMurry, Portland, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Patric J. Doherty, Ronald L. Wade, Rankin, McMurry, VavRosky & Doherty, William T. Powers and Powers & Powers, Portland.

Elden M. Rosenthal and Leslie M. Roberts, Portland, filed a brief amicus curiae for Cooperating Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

James K. Hopps, Portland, Lee Boothby, and Robert W. Nixon, Washington, D. C., filed a brief amicus curiae for Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Before GILLETTE, P. J., YOUNG, J., and ROBERTS, J. Pro Tem.

GILLETTE, Presiding Judge.

Defendants appeal from the judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff in her action for fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress ("outrageous conduct"). ¹ Plaintiff's fraud cause of action alleged 14 misrepresentations which induced her to pay some $3,000 to defendants. Her cause of action for outrageous conduct alleged in two counts a scheme to gain control of her mind and to force her into a life of service to defendants and a course of retaliatory conduct after plaintiff disassociated herself from defendants. Defendants interposed various defenses, including a defense based upon the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages. We reverse and remand.

THE PARTIES AND THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a young woman who moved to Portland from Eureka, Montana, in July, 1975, shortly after she graduated from high school, intending to obtain some work experience before going to college in the fall to study civil engineering. When she first arrived, she stayed for a few days with a friend from Montana, Pat Osler, and then moved into an apartment with a young woman she met through Osler. She soon found a job with an engineering firm and worked there full-time.

Defendants are the Church of Scientology of Portland (COSOP), a religious corporation; the Church of Scientology, Mission of Davis (the Mission), also a religious corporation; the Delphian Foundation (Delphian), a non-profit educational institution not expressly organized as a church-related school; and Martin Samuels, an ordained minister of the Church of Scientology and the president of the Mission and Delphian.

The beliefs of Scientology were summarized in Founding Church of Scientology v. United States, 409 F.2d 1146, 1151-52, (D.C.Cir.1969), in a manner which appears to be accurate according to the record before us in this case:

"The movement apparently rests almost entirely upon the writings of one man, L. Ron Hubbard, an American who maintained the headquarters of the movement in England at the time this action was brought. In the early 1950's, Hubbard wrote tracts elucidating what he called 'Dianetics.' Dianetics is a theory of the mind which sets out many of the therapeutic techniques now used by Scientologists, * * *.

"The basic theory of Dianetics is that man possesses both a reactive mind and an analytic mind. The analytic mind is a superior computer, incapable of error, to which can be attributed none of the human misjudgments which create social problems and much individual suffering. These are traceable rather to the reactive mind, which is made up of 'engrams,' or patterns imprinted on the nervous system in moments of pain, stress or unconsciousness. These imprinted patterns may be triggered by stimuli associated with the original imprinting, and may then produce unconscious or conditioned behavior which is harmful or irrational.

"Dianetics is not presented as a simple description of the mind, but as a practical science which can cure many of the ills of man. It terms the ordinary person, encumbered by the 'engrams' of his reactive mind, as a 'preclear,' by analogy to a computer from which previously programmed instructions have not been erased. The goal of Dianetics is to make persons 'clear,' thus freeing the rational and infallible analytical mind. The benefits this will bring are set out in considerable and alluring detail. All mental disorders are said to be caused by 'engrams,' as are all psychosomatic disorders, and that concept is broadly defined.

"A process of working toward 'clear' is described as 'auditing.' This process was explicitly characterized as 'therapy' in Hubbard's best-selling book DIANETICS: THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH (1950). The process involves conversation with an 'auditor' who would lead the subject or 'preclear' along his 'time track,' discovering and exposing 'engrams' along the way. Though auditing is represented primarily as a method of improving the spiritual condition of man, rather explicit benefits to bodily health are promised as well. Hubbard has asserted that arthritis, dermatitis, asthma, some coronary difficulties, eye trouble, bursitis, ulcers and sinusitis are psychosomatic and can be cured, and further that tuberculosis is 'perpetuated by engrams.'

" * * *

"The Hubbard Electrometer, or E-meter, plays an essential, or at least important, part in the process of auditing. The E-meter is a skin galvanometer, similar to those used in giving lie detector tests. The subject or 'preclear' holds in his hands two tin soup cans, which are linked to the electrical apparatus. A needle on the apparatus registers changes in the electrical resistance of the subject's skin. The auditor asks questions of the subject, and the movement of the needle is apparently used as a check of the emotional reaction to the questions. According to complex rules and procedures set out in Scientology publications, the auditor can interpret the movements of the needle after certain prescribed questions are asked, and use them in diagnosing the mental and spiritual condition of the subject." (Footnotes omitted).

From Dianetics developed Scientology, which incorporates Dianetics, but includes broader concepts. As characterized in Founding Church, supra:

"With Scientology came much of the overlay which lends color to the characterization of the movement as a religious one. Hubbard has claimed kinship between his theories and those espoused by Eastern religions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. He argues that man is essentially a free and immortal spirit (a 'thetan' in Scientological terminology) which merely inhabits the 'mest body' ('mest' is an acronym of the words matter, energy, space, time). Man is said to be characterized by the qualities of 'beingness,' 'havingness,' and 'doingness.' The philosophical theory was developed that the world is constructed on the relationships of 'Affinity,' 'Reality' and 'Communication,' which taken together are denominated 'the ARC Triangle.' " 409 F.2d at 1152. (Footnotes omitted).

The thetan is said by Hubbard to be immortal; it is the spirit controlling the body, through the mind. After the death of the body, the thetan "exteriorizes" and returns in another body. The thetan does not care to remember the life just lived when separated from the body and mind, but because each individual comes back, he is responsible for what goes on today because he will experience it tomorrow.

Plaintiff became involved with Scientology ² almost immediately upon arriving in Portland. Her friend Osler was taking courses from the Mission and, on his advice, she enrolled in a communications course offered by the Mission. As part of the enrollment process, she also applied for membership in the Church of Scientology. Because she was not yet 18 years old, she was told that she must obtain her mother's consent to receive the services offered by the Mission. She telephoned her mother and dictated a consent form which her mother typed, signed and returned.

Plaintiff paid $50 for the communications course and began attending classes at the Mission every evening after work and at least one day on the weekends. Before completing the communications course, she signed up for another course and continued to participate in courses and services offered at the Mission until the beginning of October, 1975.

In early September, plaintiff applied to become a provisional staff member at Delphian, located at Sheridan, Oregon. She informed her parents that she had decided not to attend college that fall. Moving to Delphian in early October, she worked as a provisional staff member until the beginning of December. At that time, she was asked to leave Delphian until she could convince her mother to stop opposing her involvement in Scientology. Plaintiff moved from Sheridan back to Portland and worked as a waitress. While there, she worked with a staff member of the Mission, attempting to convince her parents not to interfere with Scientology.

Plaintiff went home for Christmas and then returned to Portland in the early part of January, 1976. She lived with several people, mainly Scientologists, and continued to work as a waitress. She did not participate in courses or programs at the Mission, but continued to work on "handling" her parents. In April, 1976, plaintiff went to her parents' home in Montana to "handle" them, that is, to convince them to accept her involvement in Scientology, or else to "disconnect" from them. When she reached home, she was locked in the house and "deprogrammed." She did not return to her involvement with Scientology and, in fact, became active in...