Doe v. Norwhich Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp.

• Citation: 268 F.Supp.2d 139
• Decision Date: 26 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. 3:02CV1649 (GLG).,3:02CV1649 (GLG).
• Parties: Jane DOE, Plaintiff, v. The NORWICH ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESAN CORPORATION, St. Columbia Church and Patrick J. Sullivan, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut

Page 139

268 F.Supp.2d 139

Jane DOE, Plaintiff, v. The NORWICH ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESAN CORPORATION, St. Columbia Church and Patrick J. Sullivan, Defendants.

No. 3:02CV1649 (GLG).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

June 26, 2003.

Hubert J. Santos, Sandra L. Snaden, Santos & Seeley, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff.

Michael E. Driscoll, Brown, Jacobson, Tillinghast, Lahan & King, Norwich, CT, Jeffrey C. Pingpank, John W. Sitarz, Lorinda S. Coon, Conney, Scully & Dowling, Hartford, CT, Daniel M. McCabe, Eveleigh, McCabe & Schelz, Stamford, CT, for Defendants.

John W. Sitarz, Lorinda S. Coon, Cooney, Scully & Dowling, Hartford, CT, for Third-Party Plaintiff.

OPINION

GOETTEL, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Jane Doe, has brought this action against Defendants Patrick J. Sullivan, The Norwich Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation ("Diocese"), and St. Columbia Church ("St.Columba") alleging that Sullivan sexually abused her as a teenager. Counts One through Six of the Second Amended Complaint ("complaint") are asserted only against Sullivan, and Counts Seven through Ten are brought against St. Columbia and the Diocese. Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P., St. Columbia has moved to dismiss Counts Seven (respondeat superior) and Ten (breach of fiduciary duty) in their entirety, as well as Counts Eight (negligence) and Nine (negligent infliction of emotional distress) to the extent that Plaintiff seeks to impose liability on the church for failing to prevent Sullivan's alleged sexual misconduct, even though these counts do not explicitly allege St. Columba's knowledge of the danger. [Doc. 27.] Diocese has also moved to dismiss Counts Eight and Nine to the extent that Plaintiff alleges liability without alleging Diocese's knowledge of the danger. Diocese also moves to dismiss Count Ten in its entirety. [Doc. 25.] In addition, Diocese has filed a supplemental motion to dismiss Count Seven in its entirety. [Doc. 39.]

For the reasons set forth below, Defendant St. Columba's and Defendant Diocese's Motions to Dismiss are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P., the Court is required to accept as true all factual allegations of the complaint and to draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff, as the non-moving party. See Krimstock v. Kelly, 306 F.3d 40, 47-48 (2d Cir.2002). "[A] complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of [her] claim which would entitle [her] to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) (footnote omitted). A court must not consider whether the claim will ultimately be successful, but should merely "assess the legal feasibility of the complaint." Cooper v. Parsky, 140 F.3d 433, 440 (2d Cir.1998) (citation omitted).

A complaint need not set out the facts in detail. The Federal Rules require only a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Rule 8(a), Fed.R.Civ.P. The Court "may also consider matters of which judicial notice may be taken under Fed. R.Evid. 201." Kramer v. Time Warner Inc., 937 F.2d 767, 773 (2d Cir.1991). However, conclusory allegations of the legal status of Defendants' acts need not be accepted as true for the purposes of ruling on a motion to dismiss. In re Am. Express Co. S'holder Litig., 39 F.3d 395, 400 n. 3 (2d Cir.1994).

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff, Jane Doe, alleges that while a parishioner at St. Columbia Church (Compl. at 2, First Count ¶ 7), she was sexually assaulted and abused by Patrick Sullivan (id. at ¶ 8), a Roman Catholic priest assigned to perform various tasks on behalf of the Diocese and St. Columbia (id at ¶ 5). From 1968 through 1969, Sullivan allegedly sexually abused Plaintiff who was aged 15 to 16 years old at the time. (Id. at ¶ 8.) The alleged sexual abuse occurred at various locations including the St. Columbia rectory. (Id. at ¶ 9.) Plaintiff has not alleged any other facts concerning the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assaults.

This being a diversity action, we must apply Connecticut law. Erie R.R. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 78, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938).

I. Count Seven—Respondeat Superior

In order for an employer to be liable for the intentional torts of its employee under respondeat superior, the employee must have been acting "in furtherance of the employer's business." A-G Foods Inc. v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., 216 Conn. 200, 208, 579 A.2d 69 (1990). Usually, "it is a question of fact as to whether a wilful tort of the servant has occurred within the scope of the servant's employment and was done to further his master's business.... But there are occasional cases where a servant's digression from duty is so clear-cut that the disposition of the case becomes a matter of law." Id. at 207, 579 A.2d 69 (internal citations omitted).

Cases of sexual abuse often represent such a strong deviation from furthering an employer's business. In most cases of alleged sexual abuse by priests, the courts have held that respondeat superior is not applicable to hold a church or diocese liable, because such acts by the priests are not in furtherance of the church's business. See Nutt v. Norwich Roman Catholic Diocese, 921 F.Supp. 66, 71 (D.Conn.1995); Dumais v. Hartford Roman Catholic Diocese, No. X07CV010077631S, 2002 WL 31015708, at *1 (Conn.Super. July 31, 2002); Doe v. Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., 45 Conn.Supp. 388, 395, 716 A.2d 960 (Conn.Super.Ct.1998).

In Nutt, former altar boys claimed that a priest had shown them pornographic movies and taken them on trips where he engaged in sexual abuse. Nutt, 921 F.Supp. at 69-70. The court noted that the Roman Catholic Church expressly forbids its priests from engaging in any sexual activity, so any form of sexually abusive acts would demonstrate abandonment of the church's business; thus, the court granted the defendant church's and diocese's motions for summary judgment on all counts relating to respondeat superior. Id. at 71.

Even at the pleading stage, Connecticut courts have dismissed claims of respondeat superior in cases of sexual abuse by a priest, because as a matter of law, those acts did not further the interests of the church or diocese. See Doe v. Hartford Diocesan, 45 Conn.Supp. at 395, 716 A.2d 960; Dumais, 2002 WL 31015708, at *1.

In Doe v. Hartford Diocesan, a minor, female parishioner alleged that her priest had sexually abused her. 45 Conn.Supp. at 389, 716 A.2d 960. The court determined that there was a clear digression from duty and the misconduct was beyond the scope of employment, because the church would neither benefit directly nor indirectly from the priest's actions. Therefore, it granted the pastor's, church's, and diocese's motion to strike the claim of respondeat superior, because even if the alleged facts were proven, they were insufficient to constitute actions within the scope of the priest's employment. Id. at 394-95, 716 A.2d 960.

In another case of alleged sexual abuse by a priest, a Connecticut court also granted a motion to strike a claim of vicarious liability, because "the plaintiff [made] no claim that [the priest's] sexual abuse of him was done in any way to advance or further the business of the church or archdiocese, even in some misguided manner." Dumais, 2002 WL 31015708, at *1. Therefore, the court held that the counts failed to set forth a cause of action imposing vicarious liability upon the defendant archdiocese, church, and archbishop. Id.

Similarly, in this case, Plaintiff has merely made the conclusory statement that "Sullivan was acting within the scope of his duties as a Roman Catholic priest for the Defendant Diocese and/or the Defendant St. Columbia Church and within the scope of his employment with the aforementioned Defendants and in furtherance of their business purpose." (Compl. at 11, Seventh Count ¶ 14.) As a Roman Catholic priest, Sullivan would have abandoned the business of the Church by engaging in sexual conduct with Plaintiff, which is expressly forbidden, so as a matter of law it could not be shown that his actions were in furtherance of Church business. See Nutt, 921 F.Supp. at 71.

Plaintiff urges us to deny the motion because respondeat superior has been applied in some cases of sexual abuse by priests, but those cases involved very unique circumstances, which are not present here. See Martinelli v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., 989 F.Supp. 110, 118 (D.Conn.1997), aff'd in part and rev'd in part on other grounds after trial, 196 F.3d 409 (2d Cir.1999); Mullen v. Horton, 46 Conm.App. 759, 765-766, 700 A.2d 1377 (1997).

In Martinelli the plaintiff claimed that a priest attempted to teach the sacraments to him and other teenage boys by using sexual contact. Martinelli 989 F.Supp. at 118. The district court denied summary judgment for the diocese, because there was a genuine dispute as to whether the priest's activities represented a "total departure from the [d]iocese's business." Id.

In Mullen, the plaintiff alleged that her priest, a trained psychologist to whom she had gone for counseling, was involved in a sexual relationship with her. Mullen, 46 Conn.App. at 761-62, 700 A.2d 1377. In that case, because of the priest's vow of poverty, all of the profits from the priest's counseling business went to the church. Id. at 765, 700 A.2d 1377. In addition, the plaintiff had specifically sought counseling from this priest because of his "joint status as a psychologist and a Roman Catholic priest." Id. at 761, 700 A.2d 1377. The court found that these factors suggested that a trier of fact could reasonably determine that the sexual relationship stemmed from the priest's church-sanctioned counseling position, and thus might not have been an abandonment of Church business. Id. at 765-66, 700 A.2d 1377.

Unlike Martinelli...