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=== 1997–2004 — Florida: wrongful death of Lisa McPherson ===
On May 29, 2004, the Church paid an undisclosed amount to settle a wrongful death suit brought on behalf of McPherson's estate. This was separate from the criminal case filed against the Church of Scientology by the State of Florida. In an article on the civil suit, it describes legal attacks made by Scientology's attorneys:
[McPherson family attorney Ken] Dandar has persevered through a seemingly endless barrage of legal attacks. There have been nine attempts to disqualify him, and four attempts to remove Lisa's aunt, Dell Liebreich, as executor of Lisa's estate. Scientology attorneys have filed bar complaints against both him and Lirot, lawsuits against Lisa's family, and motions to remove judges and move the case to other venues. When asked how going up against Scientology compares to normal litigation, [First Amendment attorney Luke] Lirot replied, "It's like comparing LSD to orange juice." ... The wrongful death case went through four judges in seven years.
=== 1980–2002 — Larry Wollersheim litigation ===
In the case of Wollersheim vs. Church of Scientology (1980), former member Larry Wollersheim sued the organization for mental distress, and was awarded $30 million in damages. On appeal, the award was reduced to $2.5 million. In 1996, Wollersheim was awarded an additional $130,506.71 in attorney's fees incurred while defending against a church lawsuit that was dismissed for violating a California law prohibiting strategic lawsuits against public participation. The Church vowed not to pay the award, and the case dragged through the courts for 22 years, including two separate appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States and two additional appeals to the Supreme Court of California. In early 2002, the case was finally settled, with the Church of Scientology paying Larry Wollersheim $8,674,643.
=== 1984–2004 — Gerry Armstrong litigation ===
In 1984, the Church began a legal battle with Gerry Armstrong that spanned two decades. The Church sued Armstrong for providing confidential documents about L. Ron Hubbard to his own attorney. The court found that Armstrong's actions were justifiable and affirmed this conclusion in Church of Scientology v. Gerald Armstrong. Armstrong settled his counter-claims with the Church in December 1986 for $800,000 in exchange for his agreement to keep confidential his experience with the Church. The Church sued Armstrong for $10.5 million in 1995 and 2002 for allegedly violating the confidentiality agreement in 131 instances. A California appellate court awarded the Church $321,923 in damages and $334,671.75 in attorneys fees in 1995, and $500,000 in damages in 2004. The court noted that "Armstrong makes no claim that he has complied, or will ever comply, with the injunction" and that Armstrong claims to now reside in Canada.
=== 2009–2018 — DeCrescenzo forced-abortion and child-labor suit ===
In DeCrescenzo v. Church of Scientology International, Laura DeCrescenzo sued the organization in 2009 for forcing her to illegally work 14 hour days at age 12 and coercing her to get an abortion at age 17. In 2018, Scientology settled with DeCrescenzo three weeks before the case went to trial.
=== 2013–2017 — Garcia fraud and arbitration dispute ===
Garcia Saz et al. v. Church of Scientology Religious Trust et al. In 2013, former Scientology members Luis and Rocio Garcia sued the Church, alleging fraudulent tactics. U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore granted the Church's motion to compel the couple into internal "religious arbitration" per the contracts the Garcias had previously signed with the Church. The Church had not established any rules for how to conduct arbitrations and had never before held such an arbitration. For 2½ years the Church objected to each arbiter the Garcias suggested. Eventually the judge selected three Scientologists at random from a list of 500 provided by the Church and the two-day arbitration was held in 2017. The Garcias were not allowed to have an attorney present, bring witnesses, or record the proceedings, and a Church official removed all but 70 pages of the 900 pages of evidence the Garcias submitted. Their attorney called the arbitration "a sham". According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, "The panel ultimately refunded the Garcias $18,495 for unused deposits on religious services but did not acknowledge the claims of fraud, misrepresentation or breach of contract." An appeal by Garcia was unsuccessful.
=== Ongoing suits ===
As of the end of 2024, the following cases were still open.
==== 2019 — Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson ====
Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. In 2019, plaintiffs Chrissie Carnell Bixler, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Bobette Riales, and Jane Does #1 and #2 filed a civil suit against actor Danny Masterson for rape, and against the Church of Scientology for systematically stalking them after they went to the police. After a setback when a judge ruled they would have to "take their claims before an ecclesiastical tribunal composed of three Scientologists deemed to be in good standing with the church," the California Court of Appeal ruled that the plaintiffs could keep arguing their case in court. Meanwhile, Masterson was criminally charged with forcible rape, the parties agreed that discovery in the civil suit should be delayed pending the outcome of the criminal case, and in 2023 Masterson was convicted on two charges of rape. Even though the Church of Scientology wasn't a party in the criminal trial, it came to light that the Church had been actively interfering with the criminal case, including harassing the prosecutor as well as the LAPD witnesses. In December 2023, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint, adding a sixth complainant, Tricia Vessey, and adding civil RICO claims against the Church of Scientology. Scientology filed anti-SLAPP motions, which the judge denied. Scientology appealed and was granted until March 14, 2025 to file their brief.