Yesterday's Tampa Bay Times reports that a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit originally filed by the Church of Scientology against a former long-time official and her husband who the Church claims violated a confidentiality agreement by sending out e-mails to thousands of Scientologists criticizing the Church's operations. However, the suit backfired on the Church when, at a February hearing on a temporary injunction in a Texas state court, defendant Debbie Cook described physical abuse and detention of Scientology adherents. This led the Church to withdraw its request for a temporary injunction in its lawsuit. (See prior posting.) Cook and her husband Wayne Baumgarten claim that the confidentiality agreements should be voided because of the extreme duress they suffered before they left Scientology's Sea Org. Now however the suit has been dismissed, apparently with an agreement that neither side will speak about any aspect of the case.
