Opinion ID: 1311766
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Nature of the Fraud Claim

Text: (3) The necessary elements of fraud are: (1) misrepresentation (false representation, concealment, or nondisclosure); (2) knowledge of falsity (scienter); (3) intent to defraud (i.e., to induce reliance); (4) justifiable reliance; and (5) resulting damage. ( Seeger v. Odell (1941) 18 Cal.2d 409, 414 [115 P.2d 977, 136 A.L.R. 1291].) Molko and Leal contend specified members of the Unification Church knowingly misrepresented the Church's identity with the intent to induce each of them to associate with and ultimately join the Church. Molko and Leal further contend they justifiably relied on those misrepresentations in unknowingly agreeing to participate in Church activities, and suffered psychological and financial damage as a result of their involvement with and membership in the Unification Church. They state they would not have chosen to associate with the Church had they known its true identity. The Church concedes for pleading purposes its members knowingly misrepresented the Church's identity to Molko and Leal. It further concedes the misrepresentations were made with the intent to induce Molko and Leal first to associate with Church recruiters and later to continue participating in Church activities. Nor, finally, does the Church contest plaintiffs' claims that they suffered damages as a result of their involvement with the Church. The Church contends, however, that it is entitled to summary judgment because the undisputed facts conclusively negate the element of justifiable reliance. (4) Justifiable reliance exists when the misrepresentation or nondisclosure was an immediate cause of the plaintiff's conduct which alters his legal relations, and when without such misrepresentation or nondisclosure he would not, in all reasonable probability, have entered into the contract or other transaction. ( Wennerholm v. Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med. (1942) 20 Cal.2d 713, 717 [128 P.2d 522, 141 A.L.R. 1358]; Spinks v. Clark (1905) 147 Cal. 439, 444 [82 P. 45].) The Church contends that because Molko and Leal learned the Church's true identity prior to becoming formal members, the misrepresentations were cured and Molko and Leal could not have justifiably relied on them in deciding to join the Church. (See, e.g., Neet v. Holmes (1944) 25 Cal.2d 447, 459 [154 P.2d 854] [plaintiff who went ahead with transaction after learning true facts waived the fraud].) Molko and Leal admit they were aware of the Church's identity at the time they formally joined. However, they contend that by the time the Church disclosed its true identity, the Church's agents had rendered them incapable of deciding not to join the Church, by subjecting them, without their knowledge or consent, to an intense program of coercive persuasion or mind control. [10] They contend, in other words, that the Church deceived them into a setting in which they could be brainwashed, and that the Church could not then cure the deception by telling them the truth after their involuntary indoctrination was accomplished. [11] Molko and Leal therefore contend that a triable issue of fact remains as to whether the Church brainwashed them prior to disclosing its identity. If the answer is affirmative, they urge, they have established justifiable reliance. Although Molko and Leal are far from the first to advance a brainwashing theory in a case involving religious recruitment and indoctrination (see, e.g., Katz v. Superior Court (1977) 73 Cal. App.3d 952 [141 Cal. Rptr. 234]; Meroni v. Holy Spirit Assn. (1984) 125 Misc.2d 1061 [480 N.Y.S.2d 706]; Orlando v. Alamo (8th Cir.1981) 646 F.2d 1288; Turner v. Unification Church (1st Cir.1979) 602 F.2d 458; Lewis v. Holy Spirit Ass'n for Unification (D.Mass 1983) 589 F. Supp. 10; Schuppin v. Unification Church (D.Vt. 1977) 435 F. Supp. 603), they are the first to do so in this court. We therefore find it appropriate to briefly review the concept of brainwashing. (5) Brainwashing is a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas. (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dict. (1987) p. 175.) The specific methods of indoctrination vary, but the basic theory is that brainwashing is fostered through the creation of a controlled environment that heightens the susceptibility of a subject to suggestion and manipulation through sensory deprivation, physiological depletion, cognitive dissonance, peer pressure, and a clear assertion of authority and dominion. The aftermath of indoctrination is a severe impairment of autonomy and [of] the ability to think independently, which induces a subject's unyielding compliance and the rupture of past connections, affiliations, and associations. ( Peterson v. Sorlien (Minn. 1981) 299 N.W.2d 123, 126 [11 A.L.R. 4th 208].) The brainwashing concept is controversial. Some highly respected authorities conclude brainwashing exists and is remarkably effective. (See, e.g., Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (1961); Schein, Coercive Persuasion (1961).) Some commentators additionally conclude that certain religious groups use brainwashing techniques to recruit and control members. (See, e.g., Delgado, Religious Totalism: Gentle and Ungentle Persuasion Under the First Amendment (1977) 51 So.Cal. L. Rev. 1, 3-9; Rudin & Rudin, Prison or Paradise? The New Religious Cults (1980) pp. 20-25; Clark et al., Destructive Cult Conversion: Theory, Research and Treatment (1979) pp. 1-15.) Courts have recognized the existence of brainwashing in religious settings. (See Peterson v. Sorlien, supra, 299 N.W.2d at p. 126; Meroni v. Holy Spirit Assn., supra, 125 Misc.2d 1061, 1067.) To the contrary, other authorities believe brainwashing either does not exist at all (see Coleman, New Religions and the Myth of Mind Control (1984) Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 322, 323) or is effective only when combined with physical abuse or physical restraint (see Scheflin & Opton, The Mind Manipulators (1978) p. 23). We need not resolve the controversy; we need only conclude that the existence of such differing views compels the conclusion that Molko and Leal's theory indeed raises a factual question  viz., whether Molko and Leal were brainwashed  which, if not prohibited by other considerations, precludes a grant of summary judgment for the Church.