Settlement Reached In Correctional Employee's Suit Over Religious Curriculum for Inmates

The state of Tennessee last month agreed to a settlement of $45,948, plus up to $35,000 in attorneys' fees, in a suit that was brought by an employee of a state corrections agency who complained that the program he was required to teach to inmates was heavily religious. The program was based on the book This Ain’t No Practice Life by Michael Burt  Also under the agreement, the employee will leave the agency next June. (Full text of settlement agreement).  The agreement followed a federal district court's entering of a preliminary injunction in favor of the employee last February.  In Baker v. State of Tennessee, (MD TN, Feb. 17, 2017), the court, finding a strong likelihood of an Establishment Clause violation, said:

The fact that the Coaching Program as a whole may have a secular purpose of rehabilitating TDOC inmates and preparing them for release and reentry does not mitigate the fact that there is likely no secular purpose to the inclusion of religious-based content in the Coaching Program’s materials.

Reporting on the settlement, WSMV News adds that the challenged program, which has now been canceled, cost the state $300,000 to implement.

Suit Challenges Tennessee's Therapist Bill

A suit was filed last week in a Tennessee federal district court challenging the constitutionality of  Tennessee's "Therapist Bill" (TN Code 63-22-302) that provides:

No counselor or therapist providing counseling or therapy services shall be required to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist; provided, that the counselor or therapist coordinates a referral of the client to another counselor or therapist who will provide the counseling or therapy.

The complaint (full text) in Copas v. Haslam, (MD TN, filed 11/13/2017) contends that, despite the broad wording of the section:

The Tennessee Legislature intended for the Bill solely to allow religious counselors to discriminate against the LGBT community.

It asserts that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Establishment Clause.  JURIST reports on the lawsuit.

Tennessee Supreme Court: Resolves Approach In Church Property Dispute

In Church of God In Christ, Inc. v. L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., (TN Sup. Ct., Sept. 21, 2017), the Tennessee Supreme Court, in a church property dispute, concluded that a break-away local church held its property in trust for its parent body, Church of God In Christ, Inc. The court held that in church property disputes, Tennessee courts should apply the "hybrid" version of the "neutral principles" doctrine:

In applying the hybrid approach, Tennessee courts may consider any relevant statutes, the language of the deeds and any other documents of conveyance, charters and articles of incorporation, and any provisions regarding property ownership that may be included in the local or hierarchical church constitutions or governing documents. But ... a civil court must enforce a trust in favor of the hierarchical church, even if the trust language appears only in the constitution or governing documents of the hierarchical religious organization.

The court also held that civil courts should defer to the decision of the Ecclesiastical Council as to who should be pastor of the church.

A concurring opinion by Justice Curry questioned the majority's treatment of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine as a bar to jurisdiction rather than as an affirmative defense.  The Court also issued a press release summarizing its decision.

Case Remanded For Determination of Whether Church Is Hierarchical

In  Slagle v. Church of the First Born of Tennessee, (TN App., Aug. 7, 2017), a case involving a dispute over control of church property after a split among church members, a Tennessee appellate court remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of whether the church was congregational or hierarchical. In doing so, the court noted that a church may be congregational in some respects while it is hierarchical in other respects. The court noted that here the relevant question is whether the church is congregational for purposes of ownership and control of property.

New Tennessee Law Requires Religious Holy Day Accommodation For School Athletics

On May 2 (bill history), Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 1012, as amended, which gives students' religious observances priority over athletic schedules.  The new law provides:

A local education agency, local school board, school, educator, or employee or the employee's representative may not require a student to attend a school athletic event, or event related to participation on a school athletic team, if the event is on an official school holiday, observed day of worship, or religious holiday. The parent or legal guardian of a student participating in a school athletic event may provide written notice that the student will not be in attendance to the coach or administrator of the athletic event at least three (3) full school days prior to the event. Prior written notice to the coach or administrator of the school athletic event may not be required if the absence is due to an unforeseen emergency.

In comments published by Forbes after the bill's enactment, the sponsor of the parallel measure in the state House of Representatives appears to understate the mandatory excusal requirement of the law, saying:

What we're trying to do is bring awareness and realization to athletic programs that the school and administration have leeway when it comes to answering the needs of families. It provides a platform for discussion to take place.

Sikh Neurologist Brings Title VII Suit Against Practice Group

The Sikh Coalition this week announced the filing of a Title VII lawsuit on behalf of a neurologist who claims that he was not hired by a physician‐owned  multi‐specialty medical group in Clarksville‐Montgomery County, Tennessee because of his religion, race and national origin.  The complaint (full text) in Singh v. Premier Medical Group, P.C., (MD TN, filed 12/27/2016) alleges:

Only after requesting information regarding Plaintiff’s appearance, and receiving and reviewing photographs of Plaintiff and information about his Sikh religious beliefs did Defendants refuse to hire Plaintiff.

Muslim Safety Officer Awarded $100,000 In Discrimination Suit

In Dingus v. Tennessee Department of Safety, (ED TN, Sept. 20, 2016), a Tennessee federal district court, on remand from the 6th Circuit, awarded damages of $100,000 to a former Tennessee safety officer for mental anguish and emotional distress he suffered as a result of religious discrimination.  De'Ossie Dingus, a Sunni Muslim, sued under Title VII claiming discrimination and harassment over the years. Knoxville News Sentinel reports on the decision.

Gay Student Sues Catholic High School That Barred His Bringing Same-Sex Date To Homecoming

Lance Sanderson, a former student at Memphis, Tennessee's Christian Brothers High School, filed suit in a Tennessee state court on Tuesday alleging that the private Catholic boy's school-- which receives federal funds-- violated Title IX when it prohibited him from bringing his same-sex date from another school to the school's Homecoming Dance.  NBC News reports that the suit seeks $1 million in damages for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent training and a violation under Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments.  The Obama administration, and several courts, have recently concluded that Title IX is broad enough to include sexual orientation discrimination. IdentitiesMic has more details on the failed attempts by the school to work out a compromise with Sanderson, and its ultimate policy statement that technically would have allowed him to bring a same-sex date from his own school.

Does Sharia-Compliant Financing By Non-Profit Cause Loss of Property Tax Exemption?

In what may well be a case of first impression, the Islamic Center of Nashville on Monday filed suit in a Tennessee federal district court challenging its inability to maintain its property tax exemption after it financed new building construction employing a well-recognized Sharia-compliant technique that uses a legal fiction to avoid borrowing at interest. The Islamic Center of Nashville has continuously operated the Nashville International Academy, a grade K-8 school, at the same site since 1995.  In 2008 it constructed a new school building on the site, financing the construction through a 5-year Ijara agreement.  The agreement involved transfer of title to an entity owned by the bank in exchange for construction funds, repayment captioned as rent, and a return of title once the required number of "rent" payments had been made.

Tennessee Code Sec. 43-610.7 exempts from property tax:

real and personal property owned by religious, charitable, scientific or non-profit educational institutions which is occupied and used by such institutions purely and exclusively to carry out one or more of its purposes....

In May 2016, the Tennessee State Board of Equalization Appeals Commission concluded (full text of opinion) that, while it was sympathetic with the Islamic Center's sincere desire to comply with its religious principles, the formal transfer of title to an entity owned by the bank meant that the property was not exempt from taxation from 2008 to 2013 (when the Islamic Center regained formal title). The Islamic Center then sued for a declaratory judgment and damages.  The complaint (full text) in Islamic Center of Nashville v. State of Tennessee, (MD TN, filed 9/19/2016) argues:

Here, ICN was ironically denied the religious exemption from property taxes by Defendant specifically because of its adherence to its religious tenets.

The suit claims violations of state and federal RFRAs, RLUIPA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Establishment Clause. The Tennessean reports on the lawsuit.

Settlement Reached In Suit Over Sheriff's Religious Use of Department's Facebook Page

A settlement agreement has been reached in American Atheists, Inc. v. Watson, a suit alleging that Bradley County, Tennessee Sheriff Eric Watson used the sheriff department's Facebook page to promote the sheriff's Christian religious beliefs. (See prior posting.)  According to an American Atheists press release yesterday, under the settlement the county will pay $15,000 in damages to American Atheists and the local plaintiffs as well as $26,000 in attorney’s fees.  Also under the settlement, the Sheriff’s Department  will create a new, information-only, Facebook page that will not be used to "promote or further any religion, religious organization, religious event or religious belief." The original Facebook page has already been deactivated.  Sheriff Watson will be allowed to maintain a clearly marked personal Facebook page reflecting his personal opinions.

Suit Challenges Tennessee Law Allowing Counselors To Refuse To Counsel Gays

AP reports that a state court lawsuit has been filed in Clinton, Tennessee by two gay rights activists challenging HB 1840, a new Tennessee law that allows therapists to assert their conflicting sincerely held principles to refuse to counsel clients on goals or behaviors.  The suit contends that the law violates the equal treatment provisions of the Tennessee Constitution.

Suit Claims Sheriff Used Official Facebook Page To Proselytize

American Atheists announced Friday that it has filed suit against Bradley County, Tennessee Sheriff Eric Watson for using the sheriff department's Facebook page to promote the sheriff's Christian religious beliefs.  The complaint (full text) in American Atheists, Inc. v. Watson, (ED TN, filed 5/6/2016), alleges that the sheriff posted an Easter message and other messages that proselytized and deleted or blocked visitor comments on Facebook that were critical of the sheriff or his religion or policies.

Megachurch Sued In Child Sexual Abuse Case

Yesterday's Tennessean reports on a civil lawsuit filed in a Tennessee state court last month against the megachurch Cornerstone Nashville and against a former church volunteer, Brian Mitchell, who allegedly sexually abused plaintiff in 2007 when plaintiff was ten years old. The paper reports:

The victim's mother had asked church staff to pair her son with a mentor, thinking he would benefit from an adult male role model since his father died by suicide when he was an infant, the lawsuit states. Church staff paired the boy with Mitchell despite his prior misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor....

The lawsuit also says church staff attempted to cover up their role by "making misleading statements in the news media, and blamed (the victim's) mother and family for (his) victimization."

The suit seeks $10 million in punitive damages, charging negligence and reckless or intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Tennessee Governor Vetoes Bill Making Bible The State's Official Book

Yesterday Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam vetoed House Bill 615  that would have made the Holy Bible Tennessee's official book. In his veto message (full text), Haslam cited a state attorney general's opinion finding that the bill was unconstitutional, and added:

In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text.  If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn't be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance.  If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution....

According to The Tennessean,  legislative sponsors plan to seek a veto override which, in Tennessee, only requires a majority vote in both chambers of the legislature. [Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Tennessee Legislature Protects Therapists Whose "Principles" Conflict With Client's Behaviors

The Tennessee General Assembly yesterday passed HB 1840/SB 1556 (full text) which provides in part:

No counselor or therapist providing counseling or therapy services shall be required to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist; provided, that the counselor or therapist coordinates a referral of the client to another counselor or therapist who will provide the counseling or therapy.

The bill insulates counselors and therapists from civil liability and criminal prosecution. It also protects them from license suspension or revocation except when their refusal to treat involves an individual who is in imminent danger of harming himself or others. The bill now goes to Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature.  As reported by the Christian Science Monitor, it is unclear whether Haslam will sign the bill or veto it.  He has 10 days to decide.

An earlier narrower version of the bill protected therapists' sincerely held religious beliefs, but the bill as passed protects any "sincerely held principles." The American Counseling Association, which strongly opposes the bill, says:

HB 1840 is an unprecedented attack on the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics....  If HB 1840 is signed into law, its enactment could also jeopardize federal healthcare funding for Tennessee because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has clearly stated that no state has the authority to deny healthcare to anyone based on religion, race, sexual orientation, or other federally protected populations.

Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill Making the Holy Bible the Official State Book

Yesterday the Tennessee General Assembly passed HB615, designating the Holy Bible as the state's "official book." AP reports:

Sponsors argue the bill seeks to honor the historical significance of the Bible in Tennessee's history rather than serving as a government endorsement of religion.

But opponents say the measure trivializes the Bible by placing it alongside other Tennessee symbols like the small mouth bass as the state sport fish, the cave salamander as the state amphibian and the honeybee as the state agricultural insect.

The state's Attorney General in an Opinion issued in April (full text) concluded that the bill is unconstitutional, and Governor Bill Haslam has expressed doubts about the bill. It is unclear whether or not he will veto it.

Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill To Prevent Religious Indoctrination In Schools

As reported by The Tennesseean, the Tennessee legislature yesterday gave final passage and sent to the governor for his signature HB 1905 (full text). The bill, responding to concern about a middle school social studies unit on Islam, is intended to prevent religious indoctrination. It provides:

The inclusion of religion in textbooks, instructional materials, curriculum, or academic standards shall be for educational purposes only and shall not be used to promote or establish any religion or religious belief.

The bill requires local school boards to develop, with public comment, policies on inclusion of religion in the curriculum. It requires schools to make syllabuses for courses in grades 6-12 publicly available. It calls for revision of the current social study standards and requires teacher training institutes to provide instruction on "what is constitutionally permissible when teaching religious content and strategies for dealing with religious content in curriculum that are educationally sound, fair, neutral, and objective." [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Tennessee Appeals Court Invokes Ecclesiastical Abstention In Church Property Dispute

In Church of God In Christ, Inc. v. L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., (TN App, Jan. 27, 2016), a Tennessee state appeals court in a 2-1 decision held that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine prevents civil courts from adjudicating a dispute between a local congregation and its parent body over ownership of assets-- including real property and a bank account with a balance of over $150,000.  Sometime after Gospel Center Temple's founding pastor died, the Jurisdictional Bishop for the Tennessee area of the Church of God In Christ ("COGIC"), David Hall, invoked a provision in COGIC's Official Manual that vacancies in the pastorate of local churches would be filled by the Jurisdictional Bishop until a new pastor was appointed. When Hall attempted to actively manage the local church and transfer its bank account into his name, some members of the local church threatened him and prevented him from getting access to the church's liquid assets. The local members also formed a new corporation to take title to the church's real estate, and voted to remove themselves from Bishop Hall's jurisdiction. However they remained member of COGIC. This led to a suit by COGIC. The majority rejected jurisdiction, saying that it could not adjudicate the real property dispute as long as the congregation had not withdrawn from the parent body.  And as to the dispute over the church's bank account, the majority said in part:

Bishop Hall's alleged authority regarding Gospel Center Church's personal property, including its bank accounts, derives from Bishop Hall's alleged place as the lawful leader of the church. This Court, however, has no subject matter jurisdiction to declare that Bishop Hall is the lawful leader of Gospel Center Church....

Judge Goldin filed a dissenting opinion.

Suit Seeks "Church Plan" Designation To Avoid Liability For Bankrupt Pension Plan

In Nashville (TN), an important charitable foundation, the Baptist Healing Trust Fund, last week filed a declaratory judgment action against the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation seeking to avoid potential liability to the PBGC in connection with the now-bankrupt retirement plan of the former Baptist Hospital. According to the complaint (full text) in Baptist Healing Hospital Trust v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, (MD TN, filed 1/12/2016), the charitable trust-- which received a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale of Baptist Hospital in 2001-- seeks a ruling that the pension plan was an exempt "church plan" under ERISA so that the PBGC would have no jurisdiction to pursue claims on behalf of the plan. The PGBC is seeking arbitration to recover the $100 million still due to retirees.  The lawsuit also seeks a stay of the arbitration while the court determines the exempt status of the plan. Nashville Public Radio,  Nashville Post, and The Tennessean all report on the lawsuit.

Tennessee Judge Says Obergefell Ended State Jurisdiction Over Contested Divorces

A Tennessee Chancery Court Judge, in what can only be described as a fit of judicial pique, last week used a divorce case in which he had substantial doubt about the parties' credibility to launch a verbal attack on the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision and develop a rather far-fetched theory of the decision's impact.  In Bumgardner v. Bumgardner, (TN Chan., Aug. 31, 2015), the court said in part:

With the U.S. Supreme Court having defined what must be recognized as a marriage, it would appear that Tennessee' s judiciary must now await the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court as to what is not a marriage, or better stated, when a marriage is no longer a marriage. The majority' s opinion in Obergefell, regardless of its patronizing and condescending verbiage, is now the law of the land....

Thus, it appears there may now be, at minimum ... concurrent jurisdiction between the state and federal courts with regard to marriage/divorce litigation. Perhaps even more troubling, however, is that there may also now be a new or enhanced field of jurisprudence— federal preemption by " judicial fiat." ...

[R]egardless of the states' traditional regulation of the area of marriage and divorce..., what actually appears to be the intent and ( more importantly) the effect of the Supreme Court ruling is to preempt state courts from addressing marriage/ divorce litigation altogether. ...

The conclusion reached by this Court is that Tennesseans, corporately, have been deemed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be incompetent to define and address such keystone/ central institutions such as marriage and, thereby, at minimum, contested divorces. Consequently, since only our federal courts are wise enough to address the issues of marriage— and therefore contested divorces— it only follows that this Court' s jurisdiction has been preempted. ...

Although this Court has some vague familiarity with the governmental theories of democracy, republicanism, socialism, communism, fascism, theocracy, and even despotism, implementation of this apparently new "super -federal -judicial" form of benign and benevolent government, termed " krytocracy" by some and " judi-idiocracy" by others, with its iron fist and limp wrist, represents quite a challenge for a state level trial court. In any event, it should be noted that the victory of personal rights and liberty over the intrusion of state government provided by the majority opinion in Obergefell is held by this Court only to have divested subject matter jurisdiction from this Court when a divorce is contested.

Huffington Post reports on the decision.