Abstention Required In Suit For Defamation In Excommunication Proceedings

In Pfeil v. St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, (MN Sup. Ct., April 6, 2016), the Minnesota Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision (2 justices not participating), held that under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the 1st Amendment prohibits holding a church and its pastors liable in a defamation action for statements made during church disciplinary proceedings seeking to excommunicate plaintiffs. The majority concluded:

Ultimately, adjudicating [plaintiffs'] claims would excessively entangle the courts with religion and unduly interfere with respondents’ constitutional right to make autonomous decisions regarding the governance of their religious organization.

Justice Lillehaug's dissenting opinion complained:

 Today the court creates what is, essentially, an absolute privilege to defame in “formal church discipline proceedings.” No matter how false and malicious the statement, and no matter how much the victim is damaged, there is no remedy whatsoever in Minnesota’s courts.

Church of Cannabis Leader Sues Former Police Chief For Defamation

According to a report yesterday from WKYC News, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the founder of the First Church of Cannabis has filed a defamation against the city's former police chief Rick Hite.  At a police news conference shortly before the church's inaugural service, the police chief warned that anyone smoking marijuana at the church would be prosecuted.  Referring to the Church's leader Bill Levin, the police chief said: "As Jim Jones once did within our state, he led a group of people into a place of no return. We don't want that to happen again in this state."

Defamation Suit Stemming From Ground Zero Mosque Plans Dismissed

Forras v. Rauf, (DC Cir., Feb. 12, 2016), is another installment in the battle that began in 2010 over plans to build the so-called "Ground-Zero Mosque" near the site of the 2001 World Trade Center Attacks.  When the plans were announced, former firefighter Vincent Forras filed suit attempting to stop the project, contending it was a public nuisance and asserting claims for infliction of emotional distress and assault. (See prior posting.) In seeking dismissal of the case, defendant Imam Rauf's attorney submitted an affidavit contending that the lawsuit was motivated by "blind bigotry."  Forras' suit was dismissed, but he and his attorney Larry Klayman then sued Rauf and Bailey in federal district court in the District of Columbia for defamation. In this opinion, the D.C. Circuit held that the defamation suit should be dismissed because there is no personal jurisdiction in D.C. over defendants under D.C.'s long-arm statute.

Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Because Accusations Require Religious Determination

Yesterday's New Jersey Law Journal reports on a Jan. 6 decision by a Bergen County trial court dismissing a defamation action brought by Raghd Alashaal Faisal Alhusaini who lives in Saudi Arabia against her half-sister, Malak Alshaal Faisal Alhusaini.  Plaintiff claimed her sister defamed her in social media postings by accusing her of having had sexual relations with multiple men under a marriage arrangement known in Sunni Islamic law as "Misyar,"  The court held that it lacks jurisdiction to decide whether accusing someone of engaging in Misyar is defamatory because that is a non-secular issue. Plaintiff also objected to a statement that her father had "disowned" her.  The court held that this is merely a non-actionable statement of opinion.

Priest Charging Injury From False Accusations May Proceed With Most of His Claims

This week, a Missouri federal district court handed down two decisions in a suit by a Catholic priest who claims he has been falsely accused of child sexual abuse.  According to the court:

Plaintiff Reverend Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang is a Chinese-born ordained Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Jiang asserts that ... A.M. and N.M. falsely accused him of sexually abusing their minor son for the purpose of monetary gain. Jiang also asserts that [two] officers of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, conducted an inadequate investigation of the abuse allegations and targeted plaintiff for prosecution because of his religion and ethnicity. He alleges that [the City] ... failed to properly train the officers.... Jiang further asserts that ... Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests ... led a public smear campaign against him which included making false accusations of child molestation in the media. The criminal case against Jiang ... was voluntarily dismissed shortly before trial....

According to the complaint ... had they conducted a more thorough investigation, they would have learned that the minor child had made unfounded claims of sexual abuse in the past and that he was mentally and emotionally troubled; that defendants A.M. and N.M. had a history of making unfounded allegations against the Catholic Church for financial gain; and that there were circumstances that made it impossible for plaintiff to have committed the abuse as alleged.

In Jiang v. Porter I, (ED MO, Dec. 28, 2015), the court denied SNAP's motion to dismiss the conspiracy, defamation and infliction of emotional distress claims against it, and concluded that the lawsuit is not covered by Missouri's anti-SLAPP statute.

In Jiang v. Porter II, (ED MO, Dec. 28, 2015), the court dismissed the vicarious liability,  unconstitutional policy and practice, failure to train and supervise, and infliction of emotional distress claims against the City of St. Louis.  However the court refused to dismiss equal protection, due process, abuse of process, infliction of emotional distress and civil rights conspiracy claims against two police officers.

Church Official's Defamation Suit Dismissed On Ecclesiastical Abstention Grounds

In Dermody v. Presbyterian Church (USA), (KY Cir. Ct., Sept. 21, 2015), a Kentucky trial court dismissed on ecclesiastical abstention grounds a defamation suit by PCUSA's former Deputy Executive Director of Mission against PCUSA.  Plaintiff Roger Dermody based his claim on PCUSA's informing people outside the governing body of the church that Dermody had violated PCUSA's ethics policies, apparently by allowing pastors under his supervision to set up a new non-profit organization to support the creation of new worship communities. The court concluded that if it were to adjudicate the defamation claim and the defense of truthfulness, it would have to determine whether Dermody had in fact committed ethics violations, which would require it to interpret church doctrine and policies. [Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Canadian Muslim Group Sues Prime Minister's Office For Defamation

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) announced on Monday that it has commenced a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and  Jason MacDonald, the Prime Minister’s Communications Director. After NCCM sent a letter to the Prime Minister's office in January objecting to the inclusion of a particular rabbi on the Prime Minister's visit to Israel, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said that NCCM is "an organization with documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas." On Jan. 28, NCCM initiated a libel notice  against the Prime Minister's Office. Since there has been no retraction, NCCM filed suit. OnIslam reports on the lawsuit.