David Miscavige, leader of the Church of Scientology, can’t run forever from a lawsuit accusing him of human trafficking, according to a ruling by a U.S. magistrate judge. Judge Julie S. Sneed has determined that Miscavige is “actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service” after three former church members accused him of forcing them into the organization as kids and making them work for little to no pay into adulthood. Despite his efforts, Sneed has now issued an order officially declaring him served in the case. Many of the accusations come from when the plaintiffs spent working on the Freewinds, a Caribbean cruise ship that hosts high-level Scientology officials. Attorneys for the plaintiff tried to serve Miscavige with court documents 27 times at 10 locations in Clearwater, Florida, and Los Angeles, and documents mailed to the Church of Scientology were lost or returned to sender. Miscavige’s legal fate still hangs in the balance, though. Lawyers for the church have attempted to force the case into arbitration, citing agreements the defendants signed years earlier stating that they would settle all disputes internally, while the plaintiffs claimed they signed the agreements under duress.
