Hutchison v. Luddy

• Decision Date: 24 February 1992
• Parties: , 60 USLW 2563 Samuel C. HUTCHISON v. Father Francis LUDDY, Bishop James Hogan, Monsignor Thomas Madden, Monsignor Roy F. Kline, Monsignor Paul Panza, Monsignor Ignatius Wadas, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Cardinal John Krol, and the Arch-Diocese of Philadelphia. Appeal of Bishop James HOGAN, Monsignor Thomas Madden, Monsignor Roy F. Kline, Monsignor Paul Panza, Monsignor Ignatius Wadas, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, St. Mary's Catholic Church.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

Page 905

606 A.2d 905

414 Pa.Super. 138, 60 USLW 2563

Samuel C. HUTCHISON v. Father Francis LUDDY, Bishop James Hogan, Monsignor Thomas Madden, Monsignor Roy F. Kline, Monsignor Paul Panza Monsignor Ignatius Wadas, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, St Mary's Catholic Church, Cardinal John Krol, and the Arch-Diocese of Philadelphia Appeal of Bishop James HOGAN, Monsignor Thomas Madden Monsignor Roy F. Kline, Monsignor Paul Panza, Monsignor Ignatius Wadas, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Aug. 21, 1991.

Filed Feb. 24, 1992.

Reargument Denied May 1, 1992.

Maria Zulick, Pittsburgh, for appellants.

Richard M. Serbin, Altoona, for appellee Hutchison.

Before WIEAND, CIRILLO and JOHNSON, JJ.

WIEAND, Judge:

The issue of first impression in this appeal is whether a church can avoid the discovery of relevant information in a civil action against the church by putting it in a place which is designated by canon law as a "secret archive." After examining the relationship between canon and civil law, the statutory clergyman's privilege, and concerns raised by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, we conclude that the trial court properly permitted discovery of relevant, non-privileged information in the church's possession.

On October 26, 1988, Samuel C. Hutchison commenced a civil action in Somerset County to recover damages against the Reverend Father Francis Luddy for alleged pedophilic sex acts performed while Father Luddy was serving a pastorate in the Borough of Windber, Somerset County. Later, on December 29, 1989, an amended complaint was filed, alleging that Bishop James Hogan, Monsignor Thomas Madden, Monsignor Roy F. Kline, Monsignor Paul Panza, Monsignor Ignatius Wadas, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and St. Mary's Catholic Church ("Altoona-Johnstown parties") had negligently hired, or retained Father Luddy and had assigned him to a pastorate when they knew or should have known of his pedophilic tendencies.

As part of pre-trial discovery, Hutchison served the Altoona-Johnstown parties with a Request For Production of Documents for Inspection. The request was, inter alia, for the production of documents pertaining to alleged sexual misconduct with minor male children by priests assigned to the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese for the years 1972 through 1987 (Request for Production No. 9); documents pertaining to reports of sexual misconduct by priests assigned to the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese for the years 1972 through 1987 (Request for Production No. 15); the complete personnel files of defendant Father Luddy (Request for Production No. 11) and other specified priests (Requests for Production Nos. 35, 36 and 36 ); and documents pertaining to allegations of sexual involvement with minor male children by specified priests (Requests for Production Nos. 30, 31 and 32). Hutchison also requested documents kept by the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in a file maintained pursuant to Canon 489 of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church. More specifically, Hutchison asked for:

documents in the Canon 489 file which in any way pertain to Father Francis Luddy, for the years 1974 through the present. (Request for Production No. 27).

documents in the Canon 489 file which pertain to any alleged and/or actual reports of sexual involvement with minor male children by priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, for the years 1974 through the present. (Request for Production No. 28).

documents in the Canon 489 file relating to a specifically named priest. (First Supplemental Request for Production No. 9).

In response to the request for a complete copy of Father Luddy's personnel files, the Altoona-Johnstown parties averred that the documents were not discoverable because "they would be contained in secret archive files as maintained by the diocese pursuant to Canons 489 and 490 of the Code of Canon Law...." The Altoona-Johnstown parties refused to produce any documents in the "secret archive" concerning Father Luddy and other identified priests for the same reason.

When the requested documents were not forthcoming, Hutchison filed a motion requesting the trial court to order compliance with Hutchison's requests for the production of documents. A countervailing motion was filed by the Altoona-Johnstown parties, in which they requested a protective order to prevent the discovery of documents because of defects in the requests and because the documents sought were privileged.

In ruling on these opposing motions, the trial court agreed with the Altoona-Johnstown parties that the requests for production were unreasonably broad in scope and sought to discover matters not relevant to the action. Thus, the court found no legitimate reason for requiring revelation of complete personnel files and limited discovery to incidents of actual or alleged sexual misconduct by priests with minor, male children and information pertaining to the assignment and transfer of priests. The trial court also concluded that the time period referred to in Hutchison's requests was too broad; and, therefore, restricted the production of documents to the period between 1972 and 1985. Finally and most significantly for purposes of this appeal, the trial court denied Altoona-Johnstown's request for a protective order regarding materials in the Canon 489 file. However, the trial court's order granted leave to the Altoona-Johnstown parties to seek further protective orders or to present the documents for in camera review before disclosure to the adverse party.

Both Hutchison and the Altoona-Johnstown parties filed motions for reconsideration, and the Altoona-Johnstown parties requested an amendment certifying the court's order for immediate appeal, coupled with an interim stay or supersedeas. The trial court refused the motion for reconsideration by the Altoona-Johnstown parties but granted their requests for a stay andcertification of the case for immediate appeal. Thereafter, the Altoona-Johnstown parties filed in the Superior Court an immediate appeal and also a petition for permission to appeal from an interlocutory order. Hutchison filed a motion to quash the appeal. The Superior Court denied the motion to quash the Altoona-Johnstown parties' appeal on the basis of the rule announced in Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corporation, 337 U.S. 541, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949) and followed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Pugar v. Greco, 483 Pa. 68, 394 A.2d 542 (1978). In view of this denial, the petition for leave of court to file an appeal from an interlocutory order was dismissed as moot. ¹

In Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corporation, supra, the Supreme Court of the United States held that orders collateral to the principal action were appealable if the claimed right was too important to be denied review and the question to be presented was such that, if review were to be postponed until final judgment in the principal action, the claimed right would be irreparably lost. This is also the law in Pennsylvania. Pugar v. Greco, supra. The order from which the instant appeal was taken does not decide the principal action but is collateral thereto. In effect, it directs the Roman Catholic Church to produce for discovery certain records which the Church deems secret. The right of confidentiality claimed by the Church is too important to be denied review; and to postpone review until final judgment in the main action would cause the claimed right to be irreparably lost. Therefore, we deem the present appeal proper and will consider the merits of the claim of confidentiality asserted by the Church in opposition to plaintiff's several requests for discovery. ²

It is the responsibility of the trial court to "oversee discovery between the parties and therefore it is within that court's discretion to determine the appropriate measure necessary to insure adequate and prompt discovering of matters allowed by the Rules of Civil Procedure." Stern v. Vic Snyder, Inc., 325 Pa.Super. 423, 436, 473 A.2d 139, 146 (1984). With regard to requests for protective orders, the Commonwealth Court has appropriately observed:

There are no hard-and-fast rules as to how a motion for a protective order is to be determined by the court. Whether to grant or deny the motion, and what kind or kinds of protective orders to issue are matters that lie within the sound judicial discretion of the court, and the court's determination as to these matters will not be disturbed unless that discretion has been abused.

Allegheny West Civic Council, Inc. v. City Council of the City of Pittsburgh, 86 Pa.Commw. 308, 314, 484 A.2d 863, 866 (1984). See also: Kepple v. Fairman Drilling Co., 380 Pa.Super. 52, 551 A.2d 226 (1988), appeal denied, 522 Pa. 604, 562 A.2d 827 (1989); Leonard v. Leonard, 353 Pa.Super. 604, 510 A.2d 827 (1986).

Canon 489 of the law of the Roman Catholic Church dictates: "There is to be a secret archive ... or at least a safe or file in the ordinary archive, completely closed and locked and which cannot be removed from the place," for "documents to be kept [and] protected most securely." Canon 490 states further that "[o]nly the bishop" governing the diocese may possess the secret archive's key and that "documents are not to be removed from the secret archive or safe." Appellants contend that the trial court's discovery is violative of these provisions of canon law.

The law pertaining to discovery in civil actions appears at Pa.R.C.P. 4001 et seq. In general, "a party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action ... including the existence, description, nature, content, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things...."

Insofar as the canons of the Church are in conflict with the law of the land, the canons must yield. St. Joseph's...