2014-10-24, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
Ryan Hamilton Since January, we've been reporting on the 24 lawsuits filed by
Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton against Scientology's drug rehab network,
Narconon. And in that time, Hamilton's batting average has been remarkably high — in some cases, defendants
Narconon International and the Association for Better Living and Education (
ABLE) have thrown in the towel, settling to get out of the lawsuits as Hamilton has fended off the usual tactics by Scientology's attorneys.
Hamilton's suits focus on Narconon's deceptive practices, which are well established. Narconon makes a lot of promises to prospective clients about drug counseling, medical personnel, and effectiveness, but as Hamilton demonstrates in his pleadings, each of those promises are broken. Narconon patients actually get Scientology training rather than drug counseling, staff is made up of former patients not medical personnel, and the advertised rates of success can't be backed up with any scientific evidence.
But now, one of the early lawsuits has hit a snag. Federal District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel has granted some parts of a motion to dismiss against one of the early suits that Hamilton filed in March on behalf of
Angelo Amato.