Fortin v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland

• Citation: 2005 ME 57,871 A.2d 1208
• Parties: Michael FORTIN v. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF PORTLAND
• Decision Date: 03 May 2005
• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (US)

871 A.2d 1208

2005 ME 57

Michael FORTIN v. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF PORTLAND

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued: November 16, 2004.

Decided: May 3, 2005.

Sumner H. Lipman, Esq. (orally), Keith R. Varner, Esq., Lipman, Katz & McKee, P.A., Augusta, for plaintiff.

Gerald F. Petruccelli, Esq. (orally), Bradford A. Pattershall, Esq., Petruccelli, Martin & Haddow, LLP, Thomas R. Kelly, Esq., Peter M. Rosenberg, Esq., Robinson, Kriger & McCallum, Portland, for defendant.

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, ALEXANDER, CALKINS, and LEVY, JJ.

LEVY, J.

[¶ 1] In this case we consider to what extent the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom contained in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 3 of the Maine Constitution limit the imposition of negligent supervision liability against a religious organization based on tortious acts committed against a child by a member of its clergy.

[¶ 2] Michael Fortin appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Studstrup, J.) dismissing his complaint against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland (the "Diocese") pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Because we now conclude that Fortin's complaint, as amended, states a cognizable claim against the Diocese, we must vacate the judgment of dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

I. CASE HISTORY

[¶ 3] Michael Fortin filed a complaint against his childhood priest, Raymond Melville, and the Diocese, a corporation sole,¹ in August 2001. The complaint consists of twelve counts — six against Melville, five against the Diocese, and one against both defendants for punitive damages. The counts against Melville are based on Fortin's allegations that Melville began to sexually abuse him in 1985, when he was thirteen, and that the abuse continued until 1992. The incidents allegedly occurred in Augusta while Fortin was a student at St. Mary's School and an altar boy at St. Mary's Parish. The counts against the Diocese are based on theories of negligence, clergy malpractice, negligent hiring and supervision, breach of fiduciary duty, and canonical agency. Fortin's complaint states that Melville worked for and was supervised by the Diocese at St. Mary's and that, despite being aware that Melville had a "propensity to sexually exploit and abuse young boys, [the Diocese] failed to report [Melville] to law enforcement officials, but rather [concealed from] the parishioners [and] the public, [his] propensities."

[¶ 4] The Diocese notified the court that it intended to file a motion to dismiss on First Amendment grounds, and, following a pretrial conference, the Superior Court stayed all discovery. Both defendants then moved for summary judgments on statute of limitations grounds. The Diocese also moved the court to dismiss under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for Fortin's failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

[¶ 5] Prior to the court's decision on the pending motions, Fortin filed several other motions, including a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. The proposed amended complaint sought to add Bishop Joseph J. Gerry as an individual defendant, and it alleged that in March 1990 Bishop Gerry received a letter from an individual who claimed to have been "emotionally, sexually and physically abused" by Melville for a five-year period ending in 1985, and who wrote the letter out of a desire to avoid "[t]he possible tragedy of another young boy being a victim." The amended complaint also alleges that Bishop Gerry replied to the letter's author stating that he would pursue the matter "with the greatest diligence" and address it "vigorously and expeditiously." The complaint added that Bishop Gerry received a second letter in response that stated, "[Y]ou now also bear the responsibility that this does not happen again." Redacted copies of the three letters were attached to the amended complaint as exhibits.

[¶ 6] In a July 2002 order, the trial court denied both defendants' motions for summary judgment, and, relying on our decision in Swanson v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, 1997 ME 63, 692 A.2d 441, granted the Diocese's motion to dismiss. The court noted that Swanson involved a counseling and sexual relationship between two adults, while this case involves an adult sexually abusing a child. Nevertheless, the court concluded that "in light of the sweeping language of parts of Swanson, this court feels constrained to agree with the church that the decision compels dismissal. Since all the plaintiff's claims against the church depend on application of secular agency princip[les] rejected in Swanson, the dismissal will be as to all counts." The court subsequently denied Fortin's motion to amend the complaint. The court explained, that although "[o]rdinarily [it] is quite liberal in granting motions to amend the pleadings, ... the new count would not survive a motion to dismiss [because it] is subject to the same constitutional limitations set forth in the court's [July] order."

[¶ 7] Fortin's claims against Melville proceeded through the pretrial process, and in January 2004, Fortin and Melville stipulated to the court's entry of a $500,000 judgment on counts for sexual assault and battery, and punitive damages. Fortin then appealed from the dismissal of his claim against the Diocese and subsequently moved this Court to remand the case to the Superior Court to permit him to conduct discovery on the issue of the First Amendment's effect on his claims against the Diocese. We granted the motion and remanded to the Superior Court for discovery, but our order did not address the course of further proceedings before the Superior Court. The parties engaged in discovery during the remand period, but neither requested the court to reconsider its prior orders following the completion of the discovery period, nor did they seek further relief from the court pursuant to either M.R. Civ. P. 12(b) or 56.

II. DISCUSSION

[¶ 8] We address, in order: (A) whether the discovery performed subsequent to the court's order granting the motion to dismiss is relevant to this appeal and whether the court erred by denying Fortin's motion to amend the complaint; (B) whether the court erred by denying the Diocese's motion for a summary judgment based on the statute of limitations; (C) whether, as Fortin claims, the tort of negligent supervision has been recognized in Maine, and whether our decision in Swanson should be overruled; (D) whether Fortin's allegations, viewed in their most favorable light, are sufficient to raise the existence of a fiduciary relationship between him and the Diocese; and (E) whether the imposition against the Diocese of negligent supervision liability based on its duty to protect a child with whom it has a fiduciary relationship necessarily infringes on the Diocese's right to the free exercise of religion in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article I, section 3 of the Maine Constitution.

A. Consideration of Discovery and of the Amended Complaint

[¶ 9] Fortin urges us to consider the discovery materials as part of our review of the court's order dismissing his complaint against the Diocese. He argues that "[t]here would be no reason for the Law Court to order a remand for limited discovery if the Law Court did not intend that such discovery be considered as part of this appeal."

[¶ 10] When we review "a trial court's dismissal of a complaint, we view the facts alleged in the complaint as if they were admitted." Napieralski v. Unity Church of Greater Portland, 2002 ME 108, ¶ 4, 802 A.2d 391, 392. "We then `examine the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff to determine whether it sets forth elements of a cause of action or alleges facts that would entitle the plaintiff to relief pursuant to some legal theory.'" Id. (quoting In re Wage Payment Litig., 2000 ME 162, ¶ 3, 759 A.2d 217, 220). "In addition to the allegations in the complaint, we may examine documents attached to the complaint." Me. Mun. Employees Health Trust v. Maloney, 2004 ME 51, ¶ 5, 846 A.2d 336, 338.

[¶ 11] The discovery produced during the remand period was not before the trial court when it decided the Diocese's motion to dismiss. In addition, neither party requested the court to consider the discovery or to reconsider its earlier rulings in light of it. Consequently, we will not consider the discovery as part of our review of the court's dismissal of Fortin's claims against the Diocese pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

[¶ 12] We will, however, consider the allegations of the amended complaint and the exhibits attached to it in reviewing the court's dismissal. The court stated that it was denying the motion to amend the complaint because, in its view, the amendments could not survive a motion to dismiss for the constitutional reasons discussed in its July 2002 order. Because we conclude that the amendments survive dismissal on this basis, the court erred by denying the motion to amend the complaint. Accordingly, we treat the amended complaint as the complaint for purposes of our review.

B. Statute of Limitations

[¶ 13] The Diocese contends that the six-year statute of limitations set forth in 14 M.R.S.A. § 752 (2003) applies to this case. The Diocese points out that the offenses alleged by Fortin occurred at least nine years prior to the commencement of this action and asserts that Fortin's claims are, therefore, time-barred by section 752. Fortin, on the other hand, argues that this action is not time-barred because it is governed by 14 M.R.S.A. § 752-C(1) (2003), which provides: "Actions based upon sexual acts toward minors may be commenced at any time." Fortin contends that the "based upon" language in section 752-C(1) unambiguously contemplates his action against the Diocese. The Diocese counters that the language unambiguously applies only to actions against the...