Scientologists Settle McPherson Death Suit

For seven years, the estate of Lisa McPherson has been pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. Scientologists have of course been fighting the suit as hard as possible - and, apparently, with some underhanded tactics at times, if some of the critics are to be believed. Suddenly, and surprisingly, the Church of Scientology has settled the case.

The St. Petersburg Times reports:

The out-of-court agreement ends the last remaining legal threat facing the church after the widely publicized 1995 death of McPherson, a Scientologist who died after 17 days in the care of church members in Clearwater. Terms of the settlement, reached after several days of mediation in a St. Petersburg law office, were confidential. Lawyer Luke Lirot, who helped Tampa lawyer Ken Dandar represent the McPherson estate in numerous legal cases spawned by the wrongful death lawsuit, said it was time to end the exhaustive and expensive legal battle. "It was the best way to get these matters resolved and let everyone move on," Lirot said.

The agreement comes as the church enjoys unprecedented growth in Clearwater. To date, the church owns more than $50-million in Clearwater-area properties and is nearing completion of a $50-million Mediterranean Revival-style building nicknamed "Super Power." Additionally, the church now has 565 hotel rooms in and near downtown for visiting Scientologists who consider Clearwater their spiritual mecca.

I doubt that the Church of Scientology settled for the really low amounts they had been offering previously. I think that they finally caved in and went with a high amount because the case was finally going to go trial and all of their delaying tactics were used up. The case might have revealed quite a lot about them and would have been embarrassing - especially considering that the case was being tried in a place they call home, where the publicity would have been especially galling. It was best, then, to just pay up and get out.

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