Doe v. Liberatore
| Decision Date | 19 March 2007 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 3:04-CV-2427. |
| Citation | 478 F.Supp.2d 742 |
| Parties | John DOE, Plaintiff, v. Rev. Albert M. LIBERATORE, Jr., Diocese of Scranton, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Bishop James C. Timlin, Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz and Brother Antonio F. Antonucci, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania |
Daniel T. Brier, Donna A. Walsh, Myers Brier & Kelly, LLP, Scranton, PA, for Plaintiff.
Lawrence J. Moran, Abrahamsen, Moran & Conaboy, P.C., Stephanie L. Austria, James E. O'Brien, Jr., Kennedy, O'Brien, McCormack & Mulcahey, Christopher J. Osborne, Powell Law, Scranton, PA, Karoline Mehalchick, Joseph A. O'Brien, Oliver, Price & Rhodes, Clarks Summit, PA, for Defendants.
Presently before the Court are Defendants Diocese of Scranton (the "Diocese"), Sacred Heart of Jesus Church ("Sacred Heart"), Bishop James C. Timlin ("Bishop Timlin"), Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz ("Father Kopacz") (collectively the "Diocesan Defendants") and Brother Antonio F. Antonucci's ("Brother Antonucci") (collectively "Defendants") motions for summary judgment (Docs.75-1, 76) as to Counts I, III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII of Plaintiff John Doe's Complaint (Doc. 1). The Diocesan Defendants also seek summary judgment as to Plaintiffs claim for punitive damages. For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part Defendants' motions. The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367(a).
Defendant Rev. Albert M. Liberatore ("Liberatore") was ordained as a priest in the Diocese by Bishop Timlin on August 26, 1989. (Curriculum Vitae of Rev. Albert M. Liberatore, Doc. 88-2 p. 5, "Liberatore CV".) Following several years of study at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Leuven, Belgium, towards obtaining a Ph.D. in Theology, Liberatore returned to Scranton and, in June of 1995, was assigned by Bishop Timlin to serve as Vocations Director of the Diocese. (Bishop James C. Timlin Dep. 168:2-5, Sept. 22, 2006, Does. 88-5, 88-6; Liberatore CV at 2.) Liberatore took up residence at St. Pius X Seminary (the "Seminary") in Dalton, Pennsylvania. (Liberatore CV at 2.) Liberatore also taught classes at the University of Scranton as a non-resident faculty member. (Liberatore CV at 2; Richard Roe Dep. 11:18-19, Sept. 5,2006, Doc. 88-4.)
In the fall of 1995, Liberatore befriended Richard Roe ("Roe"), a twenty-one (21) year old male student in the Sacramental Theology class which he taught at the University of Scranton.1 (Roe Dep. 11:17-14:18.) Later that semester, Liberatore wrote Roe a letter inquiring as to whether Roe was interested in discerning whether he had a calling for the priesthood. (Roe Dep. 12:1-22.) Roe, in fact, was interested, and, thereafter, he and Liberatore began spending a great deal of time together. (Roe Dep. 15:2-18:22.) Liberatore took Roe out to dinner, purchased gifts for him, and took him to New York City on multiple occasions. (Id.)
In the spring of 1996, Liberatore encouraged Roe, then a college senior and near graduation, to pursue a full-time position as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Retreats for the Diocese. (Roe Dep. 20:9-11.) This position would require Roe to have an office at the Seminary, where Liberatore resided. (Roe Dep. 21:10-12.) Roe was hired for the position, thanks in part to Liberatore's recommendation. (Roe Dep. 21:14-18.)
After Roe graduated from the University of Scranton, Liberatore took him to Los Angeles, California, as a graduation gift. (Roe Dep. 23:1-15.) The night before Liberatore and Roe were to fly to Los Angeles they went out to several bars to drink. (Roe Dep. 24:1-6.) On the way home, Liberatore and Roe sat in the back seat of a car driven by one of Liberatore's friends. (Roe Dep. 24:8-17.) During the drive, Liberatore "leaned on [Roe] and put his hand on [Roe's] thigh." (Roe Dep. 24:20-22.) Roe construed this as a sexual overture. (Roe Dep. 27:17.)
Despite the sexual overture on the part of Liberatore, for much of the summer of 1996, Roe stayed in Liberatore's bedroom at the Seminary while he looked for an apartment. (Roe Dep. 29:1-6; 33:1.) After Roe had found an apartment, he oftentimes stayed overnight in Liberatore's bedroom at the Seminary. (Roe Dep. 32:16-33:1.) This state of affairs was not kept secret from the other seminarians. (Roe Dep. 33:5-8.) Liberatore would also oftentimes fail to return to the Seminary and instead stay overnight at Roe's apartment. (Roe Dep. 46:1-4.) Near the end of the summer of 1996, Liberatore began having discussions with. Roe about sexuality, particularly in regard to what had transpired in the car on the way home from the night of drinking. (Roe Dep. 19:14-22; 27:2-18.)
During the fall of 1996, Liberatore took Roe and another seminarian, Michael Moe ("Moe"), who was then nineteen (19) years of age, to New York City for dinner and drinks. (Roe Dep. 29:19-31:7; Decl. of Michael Moe ¶ 15, Sept. 14,2006, Doc. 88-8.) The three of them then stayed the night in a hotel suite. (Roe Dep. 30:18-31:1.) While Moe slept on the couch, Liberatore and Roe slept in the lone bed. (Roe Dep. 31:14-16.)
This incident was called to the attention of Bishop Timlin by Father Bambera, who, in November of 1996, wrote a memo to Bishop Timlin expressing "serious concerns . . . regarding questionable behavior of Father Al Liberatore." (Memo from Father Bambera to Bishop Timlin, dated November 27, 1996, Doc. 80-7, "Bambera Memo".) Father Bambera described this incident as one of "grave concern." (Id.) Father Bambera also informed Bishop Timlin of the "evolution of [the] relationship" between Liberatore and Roe, which he stated had "become very obvious to the seminarians as well." (Id.) While Father Bambera opined that he did not feel there was anything improper about the relationship, he related to Bishop Timlin that Liberatore and Roe spent "an inordinate amount of time" together, that Roe was "often in [Liberatore's] rooms until late at night", and that Roe "often becomes the focus of [Liberatore's] attention at seminary gatherings." (Id.) Father Bambera also noted that he had informed others in the Diocese, namely Monsignor David Bohr, Bishop Dougherty, Monsignor John Esseff and Monsignor Dale Rupert, of the relationship between Liberatore and Roe. (Id.)
On an evening in the fall of 1996, Liberatore and Roe were watching a movie in Liberatore's room at the Seminary. (Roe Dep. 39:1-22.) Roe was lying on the couch while Liberatore was lying on the floor near the couch. (Id.) After the movie, Liberatore tried to touch Roe in a sexually explicit manner. (Roe Dep. 46:12-18.) Liberatore then began to discuss sexuality — homosexuality in particular — with Roe. (Roe Dep. 43:8-12.) During this conversation, Liberatore encouraged Roe to engage in homosexual relations with him. (Roe Dep. 43:11-44:10.) Liberatore also discussed with Roe the homosexual activity that Liberatore had engaged in with others, including describing in detail what homosexual acts he had performed. (Roe. Dep. 44:17-22.) In fact, Liberatore described homosexual acts in which he had engaged while living in the Seminary. (Roe Dep. 44:20-22.)
In the early part of 1997, Liberatore and Roe took a trip to Philadelphia. (Roe Dep. 50:10-13.) After spending the evening at Dave & Buster's, a bar and arcade, Liberatore and Roe stayed the night in a hotel room. (Roe Dep. 53:16-22.) During the night, Liberatore "got out of his bed and got into [Roe's] bed and laid down next to [Roe] and put his arm around [Roe], and at some point during the night [Liberatore] put his hand down [Roe's] pants." (Id.)
Roe related other incidents in which Liberatore made unwanted sexual contact with him, including one instance when Roe awakened to find Liberatore's penis in his hand. (Roe Dep. 69:6-7.)
Another incident, occurring during the spring of 1997, began at dinner when Liberatore maneuvered his foot into Roe's crotch while they were at a restaurant. (Roe Dep. 56:20-57:2.) After dinner, Liberatore invited Roe back to spend the night in his bedroom at the Seminary. (Roe Dep. 57:16-18.) While speaking in the sitting room before heading to bed, Liberatore expressed his displeasure in Roe's attraction to a young woman whom he knew. (Roe Dep 47:14-48:15; 58:2-7.) Roe then "got pretty emotional" and started to cry. (Roe Dep. 58:7-9.) Roe then tried to leave Liberatore's room, but Liberatore physically blocked his attempt. (Roe Dep. 59:2-4.) Roe then tried to throw Liberatore out of the way. (Roe Dep. 59:9.) Pushing and shoving ensued, and Liberatore ended up falling on the ground. (Roe Dep. 59:10-11.) This altercation awakened many, if not all, of the seminarians and faculty. (Letter from Roe to The Seminarians of St. Pius X Seminary, dated April 5, 1997, Doc. 80-8, "Roe Letter".) One seminarian, Reverend Thomas Muldowney ("Father Muldowney"), even came to Liberatore's room to help calm Roe down. (Roe Dep. 59:12-13.) Father Muldowney stated in his deposition that Roe, appearing very upset, yelled, "I'm a twenty-two (22) year old flicking homosexual." (Reverend Thomas Muldowney Dep. 46:1-4, Dec. 8,2005, Doc. 88-8 p. 16 of 26.) Father Muldowney stated that several other seminarians heard the commotion and came to the room. (Muldowney Dep. 46:5-11.) Father Muldowney reported the incident to Monsignor Bohr, the Rector at the Seminary, who, in turn, contacted Bishop Timlin to inform him of it. (Monsignor David Bohr Dep. 42:8-43:11, Jan. 3, 2006, Doc. 82-2.) Eventually, Roe was calmed down and then fell asleep in Liberatore's room. (Roe Dep. 60:1-3.) When Roe woke up the next morning, he found that he was in Liberatore's bed with Liberatore in bed next to him. (Roe Dep. 60:4-6.) Liberatore's hand was down Roe's pants and was touching Roe's penis. (Roe Dep. 60:7.) Liberatore...
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