 Noah Lottick's parents submitted affidavits in the case, in which they "affirmed the accuracy of each statement in the article"; Edward Lottick "concluded that Scientology therapies were manipulations, and that no Scientology staff members attended the funeral" of their son. During the litigation, the Church of Scientology attempted to subpoena Behar in a separate ongoing lawsuit with the Internal Revenue Service, and accused a federal magistrate of leaking information to him. Behar was questioned for over 190 hours during 30 days of depositions with Scientology attorneys in the libel case. One question was about Behar's life in his parents' home while he was still inside the womb. St. Petersburg Times explained that this question was prompted by Scientology teachings that certain problems come from prenatal memories. Behar told the St. Petersburg Times he "felt it was extremely excessive". In a countersuit, Behar brought up the issues of Church of Scientology private investigators and what he viewed as harassment. By July 1996, all counts of the libel suit had been dismissed. In the course of the litigation through 1996, Time Warner had spent $ 7.3 million in legal defense costs. The Church of Scientology also sued several individuals quoted in the Time article.
