Order That Krishnas Sell Temples Is Blocked : Lawsuit: The Krishna society is appealing a $5-million judgment, and a U.S. Supreme Court justice has asked the high court to consider the appeal.

U. S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has temporarily blocked a court order forcing the International Society of Krishna Consciousness to sell five of its temples, among them the one in Laguna Beach, to pay a $5-million judgment against the organization.

A California Supreme Court justice had ordered the sale last year to fulfill the judgment on a suit brought in 1977 by a Cypress mother who said her 15-year-old daughter had been kidnaped and brainwashed by the sect.

In 1983, after a five-month trial, a California jury awarded Marcia George and her daughter, Robin, $32.5 million in damages. After several appeals, the amount was reduced to $2.9 million plus interest, for a total of about $5 million.

“I am not surprised by the ruling to postpone at all,” said Robin George, now 30 and living and working in Orange County as an interior designer. “When you become involved in something like this, you expect it to drag on and on. They said they would appeal until the end, and they have. But I think--or at least hope--this will end soon and that my mother and I get what we’ve asked for.”

The Krishna society argues that the judgment is a violation of its right to freedom of religion, and it appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the award.

To prevent the seizure of the society’s assets, O’Connor requested April 2 that the high court consider the Krishna appeal, according to a statement by the society’s office in the Washington area.

“We are not surprised at all about this because the Krishnas have been very successful at persuading people that this case has somehow been unfair,” said Lydne Selden, a San Diego attorney representing the Georges. “But every court that has taken the time to look into the organization with any type of depth always rules in Robin and her mother’s favor.”

The Georges accuse the Krishnas of false imprisonment in connection with Robin’s involvement with the sect and of causing emotional distress and wrongful death. According to the suit, Robin’s father, James George, died of a heart attack shortly after his daughter returned home because of stress related to her absence.

Krishna society attorney Walter Yoka argued that the damage awards could wipe out the Krishna religion.

“There is this misconception that this group is extremely wealthly,” Yoka said in an interview. “That isn’t the case. These people function by offering a place for people to worship in. Closing the temples would certainly cause a great deal of problems for them.”

Staff writer Allison Samuels contributed to this report from Orange County.