Court Says First Amendment Precludes Jurisdiction Over Suit For Injuries During Healing Service

In Kubala v. Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan, 2011 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1260 (CT Super. Ct., May 20, 2011), a Connecticut state trial court dismissed a lawsuit brought against a Catholic priest, his church and the Hartford Diocese seeking damages for injuries plaintiff received when, during a Catholic Charismatic Renewal healing service, she was physically injured.  When plaintiff was "prayed over" during the service, she fell backward, hitting her head and sustaining painful injuries. She claimed the injuries were the result of defendants failing to exercise the degree of care usual for such services. The court concluded that the  federal and state constitutions' free exercise and establishment clauses preclude it from deciding the case.  The claim is essentially one of clergy malpractice. "[S]ince the plaintiff's claims are inextricably intertwined with the religious context in which the incident occurred, the court cannot apply neutral principles of secular law to this case."