Los Angeles Times, Jun 1, 1974
"Sect ordered to pay $300,000 to Victim"
A Superior Court jury Friday awarded $300,000 to L. Gene Allard, a
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., artist, who claimed the Church of Scientology made
him a victim of its "fair game" policy.
Allard, the church’s former bookkeeper in Los Angeles, sued for
malicious persecution after the Scientologists had him arrested in 1969
for allegedly stealing $27,713.90 in Swiss franc notes and its records.
The criminal charges against Allard were dismissed Dec. 29, 1969, for
lack of evidence. He denied ever taking any money.
The civil jury in the court of Superior judge Parks Stillwell on
Friday also denied the Scientologists’ countersuit seeking return of
the allegedly stolen money and $100,000 in punitive damages.
A deputy district attorney who recommended dismissal of the criminal
charges five years ago reported Allard did take the financial records
but handed them to Internal Revenue Service officials in Kansas City.
The prosecutor said Scientologists apparently hoped to discredit
Allard, whom they considered a possible witness against them in IRS
proceedings.
Charles O’Reilly, Allard’s attorney, argued the artist had been
persecuted in the criminal case as "fair game" under a policy
dictated by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1967 and subdued in
1968. Scientologist attorneys Michael Lawler and Meldon E. Levine
countered that Allard had not qualified as "fair game."
Evidence introduced by O’Reilly included a copyrighted "policy
letter" signed by Hubbard in Oct. 18, 1967 detailing
"penalties for lower conditions" for both land-based and sea
organizations (Hubbard lives on a Mediterranean-based ship). The letter
included the paragraph:
"SP (suppressive person) Order. Fair Game. May be deprived of
property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any
discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or
destroyed."
Also in evidence was a second copyrighted policy letter by Hubbard
dated Oct. 21, 1968 titled "Cancellation of Fair Game." It
stated:
"The practice of declaring people fair game will cease. Fair
game may not appear on any ethics order. It caused bad public relations.
This P/L (policy letter) does not cancel any policy on the treatment or
handling of an SP.
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