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Statement of Undisputed Facts

 

 

Paul F. Eckstein (#001822)

Daniel C. Barr (#010149)

Ann Hobart (#019129)

Brown & Bain, P.A.

2901 North Central Avenue

Post Office Box 400

Phoenix, Arizona 85001-0400

(602) 351-8000

 

Attorneys for Defendant

Rick Ross

 

 

Arizona superior Court

Maricopa County

 

 

THE CHURCH OF IMMORTAL CONSCIOUSNESS, a non-profit corporation, on its own behalf and on behalf of its congregation; STEVEN MICHAEL KAMP, TRINA LAN KAMP, husband and wife, and in their capacities as ministers of the Church,

Plaintiff,

v.

RICK ROSS and JANE DOE ROSS; SCRIPPS-HOWARD BROADCASTING CO., a foreign corporation, d/b/a/ KNXV Television; TONI KOVALESKI, husband and wife; JOHN DOES; JANE DOES; BLACK AND WHITE CORPORATIONS; AND PARTNERSHIPS,

Defendant.

No. No. CV 95-18824

STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS

(Assigned to the Hon. Jeffrey S. Cates)

 

 

UNDISPUTED FACTS CONCERNING ROSS'

ALLEGED ACTS OF DEFAMATION

      1. Rick Ross is a nationally recognized consultant on cults and other potentially unsafe or controversial groups. [Affidavit of Rick Ross ("Ross Aff.") ¶ 1; Deposition of Steven Kamp ("S. Kamp Dep.") at 402:24-03:22 (attached to Affidavit of Daniel C. Barr ("Barr Aff.") as Exhibit A]
      2. The Church of Immortal Consciousness ("COIC" or "Church") is a religious organization, incorporated on a non-profit basis in 1983, most of whose members live collectively in Tonto Village, Arizona. [Plaintiffs' Separate Statement of Facts in Support of Their Response in Opposition to Defendants Scripps-Howard's and Tony Kovaleski's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dec. 30, 1996) ("Pl. SOF") ¶¶ 1, 3 (Barr Aff., Ex. B)]
      3. The COIC's principal spiritual teacher is Dr. Pahlvon Duran, who is claimed to have practiced a kind of medicine in England during the 14th century, and whose spirit purportedly speaks through the mediumship of plaintiff Trina Kamp. [Pl. SOF ¶ 2 (Barr Aff., Ex. B); Deposition of Trina Kamp ("T. Kamp Dep.") Vol. 2, at 324:4-325:6 (Barr Aff., Ex. C]

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp and Trina Kamp are the founders of the COIC and two of its five ministers. [Pl. SOF ¶ 2 (Barr Aff., Ex. B)]

 

 

Channel 15 Broadcast

 

 

  • In August 1995, a producer from KNXV Channel 15 contacted Ross, informed him that the station was investigating the COIC, and asked him if he was willing to review documentation on the COIC in the station's possession and, after performing this review, discuss the Church with the producer. [Rick Ross Rule 26.1 Disclosure Statement ("Ross DS" at 2 (Barr Aff., Ex. D)]

 

 

 

 

  • Ross agreed to review the materials and discuss the Church. Accordingly, Ross reviewed the documents concerning the COIC and its members listed in his Affidavit and attached thereto as Exhibits 1-8. [Ross DS at 2-3 (Barr Aff., Ex. D); Ross Aff. at 2-3]

 

 

 

 

  • These materials were a portion of the documentation that Channel 15 had obtained from the Arizona Charter School Program and a confidential report commissioned by that program investigating allegations that the Shelby School, an applicant for charter funding, was related to the COIC and that the COIC engaged in cult-like activities. [Sep. 10, 1996 Affidavit of Tony Kovaleski in Support of Defendant Scripps-Howard's Motion for Summary Judgment at 2 (Barr Aff., Ex. E)]

 

 

      1. After reviewing these materials, Ross concluded that the COIC was a destructive cult group. [Ross DS at 5 (Barr Aff., Ex. D); Ross Aff. at 2, 5]
      2. Ross based his conclusion that the COIC was a "cult" on the generally accepted definition of that term as a group greatly devoted to one individual or an idea, and his observation, in light of the materials reviewed, that the COIC is greatly devoted to an individual (Trina Kamp) and the idea that she is capable of channeling Dr. Duran into the present. [Ross DS at 3-4 (Barr. Aff., Ex. D); Deposition of Rick Ross ("Ross Dep.") at 55:8-58:9 (Barr Aff., Ex. F)]

 

 

 

  • Ross based his conclusion that the COIC was a destructive cult on evidence in the materials that (1) it has a pyramidal structure of leadership with the Kamps at the top; (2) the leaders have little real financial or decision-making accountability to the rest of the Church members; (3) it fosters an us-versus-them mentality (as seen by the problems with the other people in Tonto Village and the hiring of armed guards); (4) it has engaged in financial, emotional and psychological exploitation; (5) it has broken apart at least one natural family; (6) it isolates its members from the outside world; (7) and it has exercised undue influence on members of the group. [Ross DS at 4 (Barr. Aff., Ex. D); Ross Dep. at 97:4-114:25, 127:8-134:6; 137:1-139:15; 143:22-145:22, 147:12-150:22, 157:12-168:10 (Barr. Aff., Ex. F)]

 

 

 

 

  • Ross then informed the Channel 15 producer of these opinions. The producer asked Ross, and Ross agreed, to recount these opinions in a Channel 15 interview. [Ross DS at 4 (Barr Aff., Ex. D)]

 

 

 

 

  • Ross' interview was made part of a segment of an edition of Channel 15's news segment "The Investigators" narrated by Toni Kovaleski and broadcast on August 30, 1995. [Broadcast Transcript ("BT") (Barr Aff., Ex. G)]

 

 

 

 

  • Kovaleski introduced Ross as "a consultant on cults" who had "deprogrammed former cult members." [BT at 8 (Barr. Aff., Ex. G)]. Ross made only the following statements on camera:

 

 

I've seen it before, that this is nothing unique

. . . .

I think that when a group is gathered around an individual with the type of authority and power that we're seeing here, evidenced in these tapes, we're talking about a cult group--and we're talking about a destructive cult group.

[Id. at 14]

 

 

  • After this broadcast, Steven Rensch, a minister and attorney of the COIC, telephoned Ross. [Deposition of Steven Rensch ("Rensch Dep."), Vol. 1 at 81:14-17 (COIC minister), 157:13-24 (COIC lawyer), Vol. 2 at 163-64 (telephone conversation with Ross) (Barr Aff., Ex. H)] In the course of this conversation, Rensch admitted that the COIC (1) had openly hostile relations with non-member residents of Tonto Village that frequently culminated in violence; (2) employed armed guards in Tonto Village; and (3) had financial difficulties in its relations with at least one member. Having not convinced Ross to visit the COIC at Tonto Village because of the presence of armed guards, Rensch concluded the conversation by observing: "Rick, what goes around, comes around." [Transcript of Telephone Conversation Between Steven Rensch and Rick Ross ("TT") at 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 19-20, 25, 30-31, 46 (Ross Aff., Ex. 8)]

 

 

Arizona State University Lecture

 

 

  • A representative of Arizona State University ("ASU") contacted Rick Ross in August 1995 and asked him to give a lecture on cult groups at ASU. [Ross DS at 6-7 (Barr. Aff., Ex. D)]

 

 

 

 

  • The lecture that Ross delivered on November 14, 1995 concerned cult groups in general, with some emphasis on Arizona-based cult groups. It consisted of a lecture session that lasted approximately one hour and a question-and-answer session that lasted approximately 20 minutes. [Ross DS at 7 (Barr. Aff., Ex. D); see Transcript of Rick Ross' ASU Lecture ("LT") (Barr Aff., Ex. I)].

 

 

 

 

  • During the lecture, Ross described the characteristics found in most, but not all, cults. [LT at 3-4 (Barr. Aff., Ex. J)] He did not imply or assert that the COIC possessed all of these general characteristics.

 

 

 

 

  • Ross mentioned the COIC only briefly, including it on a list of Arizona-based cults. [Id. at 7] In those brief comments, Ross made the following statements about the COIC: (1) the COIC had harassed Ross; (2) COIC members had bought up "quite a few lots" in Tonto Village and hired armed guards, although the other residents of Tonto Village were "by [Ross'] guesstimate . . . basically retirees--not very threatening"; and (3) a former member claimed to have lost $70,000 to the COIC. [Id. at 7, 24.]

 

 

 

 

  • During the question and answer format, Steven Kamp stood up and demanded to know why Ross had called the Church a destructive cult. [Id. at 21-22] Ross tried to explain the basis of his opinion, but Kamp became angry and further pursued the issue. [Id. at 22-29] This confrontation continued until John Crawford, an ASU professor, interrupted Kamp with a question of his own. [Id. at 28] Kamp left the meeting, and the COIC was not discussed again. [Id. at 29, 29-39]

 

 

The New Times Article

      1. In a November 30, 1995 New Times article entitled "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlatans," Ross stated that the "evidence [on the COIC was] very solid and indicates [it] is a destructive cult." ["Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlatans," New Times, Nov. 30, 1995, at 18 (Barr Aff., Ex. J)] He stated that he is thorough when he investigates a group and decides to call it a cult. [Id. at 16] He also explained the information that he relied upon to conclude that the COIC is a cult. [Id. at 16, 20] Finally, Ross stated that the Church was "starting to look like a little Church of Scientology" because of its litigiousness. [Id. at 21]

UNDISPUTED FACTS SHOWING PLAINTIFFS CANNOT PROVE

ROSS' STATEMENTS ABOUT THE COIC WERE NOT TRUE

 

 

  • From its inception until the late 1980s, the COIC was located primarily in Mesa, Arizona, where group members lived collectively in a number of houses near the house of Trina and Steven Kamp. Each of these houses handled their finances on a collective basis, but finances for the collective as a whole were not centralized. [S. Kamp Dep. at 332:18-332:13 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp described the philosophy underlying the COIC's practice of collective living as a "personal spiritual philosophy" of his that was also "learned from the spirit" [Dr. Duran]. [S. Kamp Dep. at 364:16-366:1 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp "marketed" Trina Kamp as a medium for Dr. Duran through his company, Trance International, by sending a packet of newspaper articles featuring Trina Kamp to people who might be interested in setting up trance circles. Trance International also publicized relationship seminars offered by Steven and Trina Kamp. Steven Kamp testified that people who were introduced to the Kamps at such venues would then sometimes join the COIC. [S. Kamp Dep. at 178:11-181:2 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A); Steven Kamp's Feb. 16, 1987 Deposition from Kamp v. Henegan at 110:21-24 (Ross Aff., Ex. 3); T. Kamp Dep., Vol. 1 at 28:6-21 (Barr Aff., Ex. C); Trance International, Spiritual Integration and Psychic Development Program (Ross Aff., Ex. 40)]

 

 

 

 

  • When new members joined the collective during the Mesa years, they were assigned to a house by Dr. Duran. Similarly, Dr. Duran or Trina Kamp would determine where to move a collective member if problems emerged with an initial placement. [S. Kamp Dep. at 334:24-335:25 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp admitted that he and his wife were likely to have been the decision makers on major COIC matters. [Deposition of Steven Kamp ("S. Kamp Dep.") at 119:11-25 (naming the COIC and its first school), 138:6-139:22 (Steven Kamp acting, at his request, as president of the Shelby School), 142:8-144:11 (dismissing the Miller lawsuit), 150:1-3, 18-25 (deciding to sue Investigative Resources Services (IRS)) (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Financial decisions in the collective houses in Mesa were made by heads of households who were appointed by the Kamps because they had shown they could "handl[e] the money righteously in the priorities of [the Kamps'] spiritual philosophy." [S. Kamp Dep. at 348:6-349:25 (Barr. Aff., Ex., A); see also Deposition of Mark Butterfield ("M. Butterfield Dep.) at 22:5-23:1 (Barr Aff., Ex. K)]

 

 

 

 

  • Former COIC member Mark Butterfield, the head of his household in Mesa, ultimately was accountable to Steven and Trina Kamp for the way he handled the house's finances. [M. Butterfield Dep. at 22:5-23:1 (Barr. Aff., Ex. K)] For example, Steven and Trina Kamp decided when funds had to be transferred from one household to another and could request contributions from all houses for large purchases, like a truck for Trina Kamp. [Id. at 20:4-21:17]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven and Trina Kamp also designated individuals who in their absence could give expression to their spiritual philosophy. [S. Kamp Dep. at 105:2-25 (Exhibit A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Paulette Butterfield was described by Chuck Walker, COIC member and lawyer, as "the number two woman in the Church, next to Trina [Kamp]." [Id.; Deposition of Paulette Butterfield ("P. Butterfield Dep.") at 108 (Barr. Aff., Ex. L)] Walker also described the Butterfields' home in Mesa as "one of Duran's temples" and described Paulette as "the feminine voice of . . . the teaching in that temple." [Id. 110:2-110:8]

 

 

 

 

  • Former COIC member Sarah Light perceived that the Church was organized hierarchically, with people like Paulette Butterfield occupying an intermediate position between themselves and Trina and Steven Kamp, who were at the top of the pyramid. [Deposition of Sarah Light ("Light Dep.") at 36, 93:22-94:14, 190:9-192:4 (Barr. Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

 

 

  • COIC collective finances became centralized in the hands of Steven Kamp at the time that the Church moved to Tonto Village. Kamp has since ceded control of the finances to his son-in-law Steven Rensch, who in turn passed it to Kamp's adopted son William Kamp. [S. Kamp Dep. at 355:5-356:22 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp has discretion over what portion of members' contributions to the collective would be used as tithes to the COIC. [S. Kamp Dep. at 52:4-52:19 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)] Steven Kamp has similar discretion regarding the use of funds given to COIC members by their nonmember families. [Id. at 91:25-95:5]

 

 

 

 

  • A bank account currently held in Steven and Trina Kamp's names at the Founders Bank of Payson is used "like a tithing account for [Trina Kamp's] purposes to donate money to whatever she sees fit." The money deposited in that account comes from William Kamp, who currently handles the collective's finances. [Steven Kamp Dep. at 77:7-78:2 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A); Plaintiffs' Responses to Defendants' Second Set of Non-uniform Interrogatories ("Pl. Res. SSNUI") at 4 (Barr Aff., Ex. N)]

 

 

 

 

  • In connection with the COIC's permanent move to Tonto Village, Steven Kamp founded Tonto Village Investments, a business designed to hold property in Tonto Village in partnership, ideally with all members of the Church. Currently, only he and his wife and five of their eight children are partners. [S. Kamp Dep. 71:10-73:1, 364:12-366:16 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp acknowledged that COIC members have purchased as many as 20 lots in Tonto Village. [S. Kamp Dep. at 367:06-369:5 (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Two of the four Tonto Village Investments bank accounts are currently used to pay collective expenses for the COIC. [Deposition of William Kamp ("W. Kamp Dep.") at 69:24-71:23 (Barr. Aff., Ex. O); Pl. Res. SSNUI at 4 (Exhibit N)] Steven and Trina Kamp have check-signing authority over at least one of these accounts. [W. Kamp Dep. at 70 (Exhibit O); Pl. Res. SSNUI at 4 (Barr. Aff., Ex. N)]

 

 

 

 

  • Former COIC member David Morin described being exhorted to choose between his wife (who resisted financially merging with the collective) and the Church and being manipulated into disclosing his financial holdings, including his retirement funds. [Affidavit of David Morin ("Morin Aff.") at 2-4 (Ross Aff., Ex. 2)]

 

 

 

 

  • Morin's affidavit documented that he paid nearly $70,000 to members of the Kamp family, though he lived with the collective for only four months, and that he had to borrow money to travel back home when he and his wife decided to leave. [Id. at 4-6]

 

 

 

 

  • Former COIC member Sarah Light was pressured to sell her belongings in a garage sale and to sign her car over to the collective. [Deposition of Sarah Light ("Light Dep.") at 44:13-45:15 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)] As a result, Light had to borrow money in order to leave the COIC with her son. [Id. at 60:4-60:12]

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield claimed to have owned profitable rental property before joining the Church, which he sold to contribute to the collective. [M. Butterfield Dep. at 110:8-111:17 (Barr Aff., Ex. K)].

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield also claimed to have loaned Steven and Trina Kamp the down payment for their house at 915 East 7th Street in Mesa. [Id. at 16:20-17:1]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp claimed that the money he and Trina Kamp used to buy the 7th Street house was a gift from the Butterfields. [S. Kamp Dep. at 41:16-42:8 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Trina and Steven Kamp still own the house in Mesa, as well as a lot in Tonto Village that the Butterfields helped them to buy. [Id. at 345:22-347:2.]

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield claimed to have been unable to make payments on a house in Mesa that he tried to buy while a member of the Church. [M. Butterfield Dep. at 105:21-106:08, 144:14-18 (Barr Aff., Ex. K)]

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield described the COIC as a cult, which he defined as a group that exists for the benefit of its leaders and at the expense of its followers. [Id. at 84:7-87:8]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Rensch has testified that what outsiders find hardest to accept about the Church is the belief that in some instances, a child must leave its biological family to join a spiritual family. [Deposition of Steven Rensch ("Rensch Dep."), Vol. 1 at 174:18-175:10 (Barr Aff., Ex. H)]

 

 

 

 

  • Trina and Steven Kamp have four children who are not their biological children. [S. Kamp Dep. at 387:1-391:1 (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • William and Jonah came to the COIC with their biological mother but opted to remain as children of the Kamps when she left with their three biological sisters. [Id. at 189:1-195:10]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Rensch and his wife Marlow (Kamp) have an adopted son, Zeberiah, who is not the biological son of either parent. This child was the subject of one of the documents that Rick Ross reviewed before appearing on the KNXV broadcast, a letter in which Rensch warned Zeb's biological father to stay away from his son. [Deposition of Rick Ross ("Ross Dep.") at 131:10-132:7 (Barr Aff., Ex. F); Ross Aff. at 2 & Ex. 6]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp participated in "discouraging" contact between some children adopted into Church families and their biological families. [S. Kamp Dep. at 198:3-201:13 (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light testified that Steven Kamp once said to her son, Ian, while she was present: "[Y]ou and I both know that your mom is nuts, big time." [Light Dep. at 56:19-57:4 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

 

 

  • David Morin, Mark Butterfield and Sarah Light joined the Church after attending one of the Kamps' seminars. [Morin Aff. at 1 (Ross Aff., Ex. 2); M. Butterfield Dep. at 15:10-16:5 (Barr Aff., Ex. K); Light Dep. at 13:1-6 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

 

 

  • David Morin wrote that he and his wife paid the Kamps a $12,000 fee for a "Six Month Program" before coming to live with them in Mesa, understanding that this would pay for spiritual instruction as well as his room and board. [Morin Aff. at 1-2 (Ross Aff., Ex. 2)]

 

 

 

 

  • Soon after joining the Kamps in Mesa, Morin was pressured to pay sums in addition to the "Six Month Program Payment." [Id. at 2]

 

 

 

 

  • By the time Morin left the COIC, he had paid nearly $70,000 to the Kamps. [Id. at 4-5]

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield testified that the Kamps implied that if the Butterfields came to live with them in Mesa, the Kamps would teach them how to become seminar leaders themselves. [M. Butterfield Dep. at 60:11-21 (Barr Aff., Ex. K)]

 

 

 

 

  • The Butterfields never became seminar leaders as Steven and Trina had. [Id. at 128:17-130:3]

 

 

 

 

  • Mark Butterfield heard Trina Kamp acknowledge on several occasions that she chose the name "Dr. Duran" for the spirit that she trances, although according to Church teaching, he had a corporeal existence in the 14th century. [Id. at 53:23-55:3]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light was seduced by being identified as a member of the Kamps' spiritual family. [Light Dep. at 48:20-49:6, 50:6:24 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light testified that Steven and Trina Kamp were remote and inaccessible to her once she arrived in Mesa. [Id. at 32:10-33:2]

 

 

 

 

  • As a COIC member, Sarah Light rarely had access to Dr. Duran. [Id. at 84:8-25]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light testified that she was subordinated to other members when she lived with the COIC in Mesa. [Id. at 53:23-54:18, 65:1-4]

 

 

 

 

  • Because COIC members live collectively, share living facilities in close proximity to each other and are frequently employed in businesses founded and operated by others in the Church, Rick Ross concluded that their time is likely to be dominated by Church-related activities. [Ross Dep. at 144:2-11 (Barr Aff., Ex. F)].

 

 

 

 

  • When Sarah Light was a member of the COIC, she was discouraged from pursuing activities for her personal gratification, like reading and keeping a journal. [Light Dep. at 53:13-21, 54:22-56:3 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light complained that she could not choose her own food or sleep on her own schedule [id. at 59:5-24], that she could not retain any of her wages for personal expenditures [id. 52:5-21] and that she was not permitted to use her own car to take her son sight seeing. [Id. at 45:18-47:9]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light testified that the Church controlled her thoughts through its structured living arrangements:

 

 

I know that I was in an environment of a lot of control and manipulation, that I was only supposed to think certain ways, that because my food and sleep and schedule were being controlled, that I was not able to have my own individuality.

[Light Dep. at 71:3-7 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)]

 

 

  • Paulette Butterfield acknowledged that as a Church teacher she was responsible for conducting "processes" in which she and other members of the group would confront individuals over their personal failings. [P. Butterfield Dep. at 109:1-113:3, 105:20-106:10 (Barr Aff., Ex. L)]

 

 

 

 

  • The "processes" is a means of breaking down personal barriers to intimacy. [S. Kamp Dep. at 100:12-104:12 (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp attended processes that lasted as long as 14 hours. [Id. at 104:7-12]

 

 

 

 

  • Paulette Butterfield described processes as a form of "mental torture." [P. Butterfield Dep. at 99:5 (Barr Aff., Ex. L)].

 

 

 

 

  • In his affidavit, Morin recounted an incident in which Steven Kamp, having encouraged Morin to "open up" to him about his past relationships with women, confronted Morin's new wife with Morin's confession that he had sometimes resented women for using him financially, and challenged her to give her money to the Church if she loved her husband, because that is what Morin wanted. [Morin Aff. at 2-4 (Ross Aff., Ex. 2)]

 

 

 

 

  • Shortly after this incident, the Morins paid the Kamps over $50,000. [Id. at 4-5]

 

 

 

 

  • Sarah Light testified that Steven Kamp once pressured her to confess whether she believed the COIC was a cult by telling her the story of a woman who appeared to be a happy member of the Church but who left the collective through deceit to return to her parents and enter a cult deprogramming program. [Light Dep. at 73:17-74:6 (Barr Aff., Ex. M)] Light answered that the COIC was a family, not a cult. [Id. at 73:22]

 

 

UNDISPUTED FACTS SHOWING PLAINTIFFS CANNOT

PROVE ROSS' STATEMENT WERE MADE WITH ACTUAL MALICE

 

 

  • On November 5, 1993, the COIC and the Kamps immediate family sued Dave and Connie Miller of Tonto Village over allegations that the Millers spread false rumors that COIC members engaged in cult-like practices such as devil worship, satanic rituals including the sacrifice of animals, nude dancing, rituals involving children, drinking blood and selling children. [Complaint, Church of Immortal Consciousness v. Miller (CV93-223P) at 2 (Barr Aff., Ex. P)]

 

 

 

 

  • The COIC's February 25, 1994 Memorandum in Support of its Motion for a Change of Venue in the Miller suit asserted that the rumors allegedly spread by the Millers had affected virtually everyone in the Payson area:

 

 

[T]he prejudice with respect to the "cult in Tonto Village" has become so widespread that there is no one left without "knowledge" of and an opinion about [the COIC]. This prejudice extends not only to the average resident of the area but also to city, county, judicial, education and law enforcement officials.

[Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Change of Venue at 3 (Barr Aff., Ex. Q)]

 

 

  • The COIC issued deposition subpoenas to 13 of their Tonto Village neighbors as third-party witnesses, which led the Millers' lawyer, James E. Ledbetter, to protest the Church's abuse of discovery. [Feb. 2, 1994 Letter from James E. Ledbetter to Stephen R. Rensch, attaching Rensch's proposed deposition schedule (Barr Aff., Ex. R]

 

 

 

 

  • Similarly, a group calling themselves "Concerned Residents of Tonto Village" also wrote COIC attorneys protesting the way they were handling the Miller lawsuit. A copy of this letter was forwarded to Carolyn Dryer, Editor of the Mogollon Advisor, with the request that it be published. [Letter from Concerned Residents of Tonto Village to Rensch & Walker (received June 24, 1994), attaching Letter from Concerned Residents of Tonto Village to Carolyn Dryer (Barr Aff., Ex. S)]

 

 

 

 

  • COIC members filed an application for charter status for the Shelby School in December 1994. Shelby School v. Arizona State Bd. of Educ., 271 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 13, 13 (Ct. App. 1998). This application was preliminarily approved on March 27, 1995 but upon further review was denied on May 22, 1995. [Id. at 14]

 

 

 

 

  • The COIC wished to open the Shelby School to Arizona children outside the COIC. [Pl. SOF at ¶¶ 11-12 (Barr Aff., Ex. B)]

 

 

      1. The COIC voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the Millers before trial in July 1995, after the presiding judge permitted Trina Kamp to trance Dr. Duran into the courtroom to testify. [S. Kamp Dep. at 141:8-142:7 (Barr. Aff., Ex. A); see also "'Channeling' Session Makes Some Doubt Jurist's Prudence," Arizona Republic, July 27, 1995 (Ross Aff., Ex. 1)]

 

 

 

  • KNXV-reporter Toni Kovaleski observed that the COIC had retained armed guards in reaction to alleged assaults from other residents of Tonto Village [Deposition of Tony Kovaleski ("Kovaleski Dep."), Vol. 1 at 116:6-117:8, Vol. 2 at 64:15-22 (Barr Aff., Ex. T)] Steven Rensch testified that these guards were hired in the first days of August, 1995. [Rensch Dep., Vol. 1 at 156, 159 (Barr. Aff., Ex. H)].

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp arranged for Trina Kamp to trance Dr. Duran on a Payson-based radio talk show broadcast in early August 1995 [S. Kamp Dep. at 153:11-24 (Barr Aff., Ex. A)]

 

 

 

 

  • Steven Kamp agreed for him and his wife to be interviewed by a journalist whose article concerning the Miller lawsuit appeared on the front page of the Arizona Republic on July 27, 1995. Trina Kamp tranced Dr. Duran during that interview. [Id. at 158:11-159:4; see Ross Aff., Ex. 1]

 

 

 

 

  • Trina Kamp does not believe Ross made his comments about the COIC with actual malice:

 

 

Mr. Barnowski: Do you believe that Rick [Ross] believed that his statements about the church were probably false?

. . . .

Trina Kamp: I assume that Mr. Ross believes what he said.

[T. Kamp Dep., Vol. 2 at 313:10-14 (Barr Aff., Ex. C)]

 

Dated: July 8, 2000.

Brown & Bain, P.A.

 

 

By

Paul F. Eckstein

Daniel C. Barr

Ann Hobart

2901 North Central Avenue

Post Office Box 400

Phoenix, Arizona 85001-0400

Attorneys for Defendant

Copy of the foregoing hand-delivered

on July 8, 2000, to:

 

Honorable Jeffrey S. Cates

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge

201 West Jefferson

Phoenix, Arizona 85003

 

Michael Harper

Walker & Harper LLP

17100 E. Shea Boulevard, Suite 250

Fountain Hills, Arizona 85268

 

David J. Bodney

Sandra K. Sanders

Steptoe & Johnson LLP

40 North Central Avenue, 24th Fl.

Phoenix, Arizona 85004


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