Suit Filed by Scientology Church Is Dismissed
A federal judge in Arlington, Va., on Friday dismissed a $20-million libel lawsuit that the Church of Scientology had filed against an executive with Eli Lilly & Co., the maker of Prozac.
The lawsuit accused Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., a vice president of the Indianapolis-based pharmaceuticals company, of maligning the church in comments published in USA Today. The newspaper was not named as a defendant.
The church believes that Prozac, an antidepressant, is unsafe and can lead to suicidal tendencies. Many members testified against the drug during hearings held last year by the Food and Drug Administration, which ruled Prozac safe.
“One thing we want you to understand is that the Church of Scientology is no church. It’s a commercial enterprise. . . . It is organized for only one purpose, which is to make money,” Daniels was quoted in the June 11, 1991, issue of USA Today.
The Rev. Heber C. Jentzsch said Judge Albert V. Bryan’s decision would be appealed.
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