Scientology Church Withdraws Temporary Injunction Request To Avoid More Damaging Testimony [Corrected]

According to the San Antonio Express-News, the Church of Scientology last Friday decided to withdraw its request for a temporary injunction in a suit against a former church official and her husband after testimony by defendant in a Texas state court in the case described physical abuse and detention of Scientology adherents who fell out of favor with church leadership.  Debbie Cook, who spent 29 years with the church, including 17 as an official at its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, left the church in 2007. In exchange for a payment of $100,000, she and her husband signed a nondisclosure agreement. However last December she sent out an e-mail to other Scientologists charging that the church had strayed from the teachings of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. In January, the Church sued charging breach of the nondisclosure agreement. But in court, Cook's attorney argued that the agreement was signed under extreme duress. The Express-News described Cook's testimony supporting this defense as "lurid and highly damaging" to the church. In moving for dismissal of its case, attorney for the Church of Scientology said that withdrawal  will "prevent the defendant from using the court as a pulpit for false statements." [An earlier version of this posting incorrectly reported that the entire lawsuit, rather than just the request for a temporary injunction, had been withdrawn.]