A California appeals court handed the Church of Scientology a narrow win Friday, trimming actress Leah Remini’s defamation lawsuit while allowing most of her claims to proceed to trial. The ruling cuts both ways in a case that’s tested the boundaries between religious criticism and personal attacks.
The three-judge panel ordered the trial court to strike roughly a dozen additional statements from Remini’s complaint, ruling she can’t sue over being labeled an “unhinged religious bigot” or “a one-woman hate machine.” Those comments fall under First Amendment protections for opinion, the court found.
Lower Court Had Already Cut Half the Claims
A Los Angeles superior court judge slashed about half of Remini’s original defamation claims in 2024, agreeing with the church’s anti-SLAPP motion that many statements qualified as protected speech. The judge also tossed several claims as too old under California’s statute of limitations. But harassment claims survived intact.
Both sides appealed. The church wanted more claims dismissed. Remini wanted her struck claims restored.
Twitter Posts Reset the Clock on Three Claims
The appeals panel gave Remini one significant win: It found the lower court wrongly dismissed three defamation claims as time-barred. While the church first called Remini a “liar” in early 2022, it repeated the statement on Twitter later that year. Under California law, republishing defamatory content restarts the statute of limitations clock.
Those three claims are now back in play.
What Happens Next
The case returns to Los Angeles Superior Court for trial on the surviving claims. Remini, who left Scientology in 2013 after three decades as a member, has become one of the church’s most prominent critics through her memoir and Emmy-winning documentary series.
The church has consistently defended its statements about Remini as truthful responses to what it calls her coordinated campaign of religious bigotry. Anti-SLAPP laws exist precisely to protect defendants from lawsuits designed to silence legitimate public criticism.
Friday’s ruling suggests California courts see this dispute as neither pure protected speech nor clear-cut defamation, but something messier requiring a jury to sort out. The trial date hasn’t been set.
Key Points
- Appeals court ordered additional defamation claims struck, including “unhinged religious bigot” and “hate machine” labels
- Three previously dismissed claims revived because church reposted them on Twitter, restarting statute of limitations
- Most of Remini’s harassment and remaining defamation claims survive and head to trial
https://www.courthousenews.com/appeals-court-gives-leah-reminis-defamation-suit-against-church-of-scientology-another-trim/ – August 01, 2026
