In a somewhat puzzling opinion in Mosby v. Kleinguetl (TX App., March 4, 2021), a Texas state appellate court affirmed a trial court's dismissal on ecclesiastical abstention grounds of a husband's suit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and one of its marriage counselors. Claiming, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent counseling, plaintiff alleged that his wife developed a relationship with the counselor and that she eventually sued for divorce. Despite its affirmance of the trial court's dismissal, the appellate court's opinion seems to conclude that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does not apply:
[T]he allegations at issue here do not clearly intrude upon a religious matter or interfere with the Archdiocese’s ability to manage its internal affairs. Mosby does not allege that the conduct forming the basis of his claims (i.e., the “family and marriage counseling” Kleinguetl provided to Cynthia) was grounded in religious doctrine or otherwise undertaken pursuant to guidance from the Archdiocese. Instead, Mosby alleges that Kleinguetl was having a “personal relationship” with Cynthia and had a history of “inappropriate relationships with others”. These general allegations do not implicate any religious standards or indicate that judicial resolution of this dispute will encroach upon the Archdiocese’s internal affairs or religious doctrine. Therefore, they do not affirmatively demonstrate that the underlying dispute is inherently ecclesiastical as necessary to warrant First Amendment protection.
The court went on:
Construing Mosby’s allegations liberally and taking them as true, we cannot unequivocally hold that Mosby’s pleadings demonstrate an incurable jurisdictional defect....
Then the court concluded:
Here, Mosby had an opportunity to cure the jurisdictional defects and did not do so. After Kleinguetl and the Archdiocese filed their pleas to the jurisdiction, Mosby twice amended his pleadings but failed to present any additional facts sufficient to invoke the trial court’s jurisdiction. Mosby is not entitled to an additional opportunity to replead.
Southeast Texas Record reports on the decision.
