Declaration of Mark Plummer in support of motion to reopen discovery

[December 11, 1998]

 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 95-K-2143

BRIDGE PUBLICATIONS, a California non-profit corporation,

Plaintiffs,

V.

F.A.C.T.NET, INC., a Colorado nonprofit corporation; LAWRENCE WOLLERSHEIM, an individual; and ROBERT PENNY, an individual,

Defendants.


DECLARATION OF MARK PLUMMER IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO REOPEN DISCOVERY


I, Mark Plummer, hereby declare:

1.    I am a resident of Austin, Texas. I am not a party to this action. The matters stated in this declaration are within my own personal knowledge, and if called upon to testify thereto, I could and would competently do so.

2.    I am a former member of the Church of Scientology, having joined in 1974. Beginning in 1975, I was on staff with Scientology's American Saint Hill Organization in Los Angeles ("ASHO-LA"), and I also became a member of Scientology's elite paramilitary group, the Sea Organization (or "Sea Org"), in that year. I finally departed Scientology staff in 1983.

3.    At the time I left the Church of Scientology, I possessed a number of documents that had been issued over the years as official church policy or dogma and had been published by various Scientology entities and distributed to staff members and/or the general public, including myself. Each of these documents came into my possession in one of two ways. They were either a) given to me by other Scientology staff members as a part of the general distribution effort; or b) obtained by me when I went to the premises of the "Pubs Organization" (the predecessor entity to Bridge Publications, Inc.). In the latter case, I was retrieving documents for inclusion in my own "hat packs" or "course packs," which are packets of documents compiled to instruct individuals on how to do their jobs or learn a Scientology-based skill or lesson. In each case, the documents I obtained were mimeographed or printed original issues.

4.    My first communication with anyone at FACTNet or the offices of lawyers representing the defendants in this case came in mid to late October 1998, when I learned that the documents I had might be relevant to this case. Upon being contacted by Daniel Leipold, Mr. Wollersheim's attorney, I agreed to make those documents available. I have since been advised that a number of the documents I have had for years were, in fact, some of the ones for which BPI is claiming copyright protection in this case.

5.    Accompanying this declaration are true copies of the relevant documents, as set forth below. Except as otherwise set forth below, each of these documents is unaltered from the condition in which I originally received it. Further, these documents have continuously been in my possession until I recently transferred them to the law firm of Morrison & Foerster for possible use in the defense of Dennis Erlich in the case of Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communications, et. al. Upon being advised that the documents may be useful in the present case, I authorized Morrison & Foerster to transfer them to the law firm of Leipold, Donohue & Shipe in or about mid-October, 1998.

6.    I have submitted my originals of the following documents to Leipold, Donohue & Shipe. The below-listed copies submitted with this declaration are true and correct copies of the originals, except that notations have been added to them for the Court's assistance, as follows: the notations "Defendants' Original" and "No Copyright Notice" have been placed on these copies. Otherwise, the documents are unaltered from their original state.

a.    HCO Policy Letter of June 2, 1959. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-4.

b. HCO Bulletin of 3 February 1959. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-384.

c. Professional Auditor's Bulletin No. 6. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-1292.

d. Professional Auditor's Bulletin No. 72. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-1305.

e. Professional Auditor's Bulletin No. 13. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-1415.

f. Professional Auditor's Bulletin No. 14. Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. B-1417.

g. Executive Directive From L. Ron Hubbard (LRH ED 67 INT). Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. C-117.

7.    As to the following documents, the originals in my possession differ slightly in their appearance from the "originals" submitted by BPI, although, like the documents in my possession, the BPI "originals" contain no notice of copyright. However, I note that the BPI copyright registrations for these documents indicate the date of first publication was August 10, 1983, in a copyrighted compilation with other materials. As to each of the documents listed below, this assertion by BPI is wrong. Each of them was published before the compilation was assembled in 1983. I obtained each of them well before 1983 (the year I left Scientology staff), incident to their having been individually published for wide distribution among Scientology staff members and/or others.

a.    Executive Directive from L. Ron Hubbard (LRH ED 102 INT). Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. C-118.

b. Executive Directive from L. Ron Hubbard (LRH ED 258 INT). Corresponds to BPI's Exhibit No. C-148.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.

    Executed this ___ day of November, 1998 at Austin, Texas.

                    (signed) MARK PLUMMER