UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

TAMP A DIVISION
LUIS A. GARCIA SAZ, and wife, MARIA
DEL ROCIO BURGOS GARCIA, Case No. 8:13-CV-220-T27 TBM
Plaintiffs,
vs.
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SERVICE
ORGANIZATION, INC. , and CHURCH OF
SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SHIP SERVICE
ORGANIZATION, INC. ,
Defendants.
______________________________________ !
PLAINTIFFS' RESPONSE TO
MOTION TO STRKE AFFIDAVIT OF MIKE RINDER
Plaintiffs, LUIS A. GARCIA SAZ and wife MARIA DEL ROCIO BURGOS GARCIA,
by and through their undersigned attorneys, hereby file this response to Defendants' Motion to
Strike Affidavit of Mike Rinder (the "Motion") [D.E. 134] and state:
1. The Motion is without merit.
2. Defendants' allegations regarding Mr. Rinder' s knowledge being based upon
confidential, proprietary or legal communications have no basis in fact. Mr. Rinder testified
concerning his personal knowledge, and there is no evidence whatsoever that he received any
information from any attorney or from any other person. Defendants are, in effect, rearguing
their Motion for Disqualification, which this Court denied. That motion contained ad hominem
allegations against counsel , and this Motion inexplicably does the same.
3. There is no evidence that Mr. Rinder has repeated confidential communications.
To the contrary, he is stating what he knows of his own knowledge without reliance on anyone
Case 8:13-cv-00220-JDW-TBM Document 135 Filed 10/22/14 Page 1 of 3 PageID 2997
else's information or beliefs. Mr. Rinder's status in this case, as consultant, is well known to the
Court and not a secret. The Defendants' position that Mr. Rinder should not be permitted to
participate in this case was rejected by this Court in the Motion to Disqualify. Nothing has
changed since the Court's ruling. Defendants' argument should be rejected now as well.
4. Defendants' allegations stating that the undersigned counsel violated the Rules of
Professional Conduct by paying a fact witness for testifying are not only wholly devoid of
factual support but in any context outside litigation would be libel per se. There is not a scintilla
of evidence that Mr. Rinder has been paid for his testimony or for anything related to his
affidavit.
5. Remarkably, the absence of any factual support for the filing the Motion did not
keep the Defendants from precariously impugning the character of undersigned counsel in stating
that he paid a non-expert witness to testify in violation of the rules of professional conduct.
Nothing could be further from the truth and, if necessary, the undersigned will testify that there
has not been a dime paid or even charged by Mike Rinder for his testimony.
6. It is sad, indeed, that Defendants have chosen to attack both counsel and the
witness without a good faith basis for making these allegations. Conduct like this should be not
be condoned and is worthy only of sanctions for its unscrupulous purpose. The Motion should be
denied.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
We hereby certify that, on October 22, 2014, we electronically filed the foregoing
document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. We also certify that the foregoing
document is being served this day on all counsel or pro se parties identified below in the manner
specified, either via transmission ofNotices of Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF or in
some other authorized manner for those counsel or parties who are not authorized to receive
electronically Notices of Electronic Filings.
Case 8:13-cv-00220-JDW-TBM Document 135 Filed 10/22/14 Page 2 of 3 PageID 2998
F. Wallace Pope, Jr. , Esq.
FBN 124449
Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel
& Bums, LLP
911 Chestnut Street
Clearwater, FL 33757
Phone: (727) 461-1818
Fax: (727) 462-0365
E-mail : wallyp@ipfirm.com
Counsel for Flag Church & Ship
Church
Of Counsel :
Eric Lieberman
ore Babbitt, Esq.
Florida Bar No: 091146
Babbitt Johnson Osborne & LeClainche, P.A.
1641 Worthington Road, Suite 100
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
Phone: 561-684-2500
Fax: 561-684-6308
tedbabbitt@babbitt-johnson.com
Nathan M. Berman, Esq.
FBN 329230
E-mail: nberman@zuckerman.com
Lee Fugate, Esq.
FBN 170928
E-mail: lfugate@zuckerman.com
Jack E. Fernandez, Esq.
FBN 843751
E-mail: jfemandez@zuckerman.com
Mamie V. Wise, Esq.
FBN 65570
E-mail: mwise@zuckerman.com
Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP
101 E. Kennedy Blvd. , Suite 1200
Tampa, FL 33602
Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky
& Lieberman, P.C.
Phone: (813) 221-1010
Fax: (813)223-7961
Suite 1700
45 Broadway
New York, NY 1 0006
(212) 254-1111
Marie Tomassi, Esq.
FBN 772062
Trenam Kember Scharf Barkin Frye
O' Neill & Mullis, P.A.
Bank of America Building
200 Central A venue, Suite 1600
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Phone: (727) 820-3952
Fax: (727) 820-3972
E-mail: mtomassi@trenam.com
Counsel for lAS Administrations, Inc.
And U.S. lAS Members Trust
Counsel for Church of Scientology
Religious Trust
Case 8:13-cv-00220-JDW-TBM Document 135 Filed 10/22/14 Page 3 of 3 PageID 2999