Danny Masterson Rape Case Must Use Scientology Church Judges in Break for 'The Ranch' Star

Former The Ranch star Danny Masterson seems to have caught a break in the stalking case brought against him by his rape accusers, as a court has ruled that they must use Scientology church judges. Masterson has been facing allegations of rape, and subsequent stalking, from Chrissie Carnell Bixler — wife of Marz Volta singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala — as well as another woman. The group, who brought a lawsuit in 2019, has accused the Church of Scientology of stalking them as well.

According to TMZ, the Los Angeles Superior Court has now ruled that the accusers must "use Scientology internal Ethics, Justice, and binding religious arbitration procedures" to settle their dispute. This is due to the individuals all previously signing a binding agreement, when they were members of the church, that states they are obligated to allow the church to resolve "any dispute, claim or controversy" that comes up. This specific arbitration clause also stated that the dispute is to be resolved by "application to senior ecclesiastical bodies, including, as necessary, final submission of the dispute to the international justice Chief of the Mother Church of the Scientology religion."

1. NEWS

3 of the 4 women who have accused Danny Masterson of rape & Scientology of harassing them in a suit have been dealt a blow by a judge

The women, who were Scientology members, will have to resolve this in religious arbitration. Who will the arbitrator be? A Scientologist pic.twitter.com/pHW7LGd5CU

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) December 31, 2020

The new ruling comes almost one year after Bixler-Zavala took to social media to accuse the Church of Scientology of poisoning his and his wife's dogs. "I'm at the vet dealing with another hurt animal. This is what I've been finding in my front and backyard," he wrote in an Instagram post. "This is what Scientology does when you speak about the predators they protect."

"We had to put her down today. This was the result of eating rat poison rolled up in raw meat," Bixler-Zavala added in another post. "This is the 2nd dog we've had to put down due to the harassment from private investigators and Scientologists. This only makes us stronger. My boys named her biscuit. They still don't understand what's happening. We said goodbye to her and let her go peacefully."

The Church of Scientology has denied the allegations of stalking and dog poisoning. Masterson has repeatedly denied the rape accusations against him, which involve at least two other women, as well. Notably, the stalking case appears to be separate from the rape case moving forward in L.A. courts sometime this year.