Ryan v. Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Citation: 175 N.J. 333,815 A.2d 419
• Parties: Jamie C. RYAN and Robert J. Ryan, her husband, Plaintiffs-Respondents and Cross-Appellants, v. HOLY TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, Defendant and Cross-Respondent, and Mothers' Center of Monmouth County, Defendant-Appellant, and Laura Fadem, John Doe (1-5), a fictitious name, party intended being unknown and ABC Corporation (1-5), a fictitious name, party intended being unknown, Defendants.
• Decision Date: 11 February 2003
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)

815 A.2d 419

175 N.J. 333

Jamie C. RYAN and Robert J. Ryan, her husband, Plaintiffs-Respondents and Cross-Appellants, v. HOLY TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, Defendant and Cross-Respondent, and Mothers' Center of Monmouth County, Defendant-Appellant, and Laura Fadem, John Doe (1-5), a fictitious name, party intended being unknown and ABC Corporation (1-5), a fictitious name, party intended being unknown, Defendants.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued December 3, 2002.

Decided February 11, 2003.

Mauro C. Casci, (Mr. Casci, attorney; Adam E. Levy, on the brief), Leonardo, argued the cause for appellant.

Harry V. Osborne, II, Ocean, argued the cause for respondents and cross-appellants (Evans, Osborne and Kreizman, attorneys).

David M. Molnar, Collingswood, argued the cause for cross-respondent (Anthony W. Guidice, Lawrenceville, attorney).

The opinion of the Court was delivered by LONG, J.

Once again we consider the Charitable Immunity Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A -7 to -11 (the Act). More particularly, we are called on to determine whether an association organized exclusively for educational purposes is nevertheless required to demonstrate some level of income from charitable donations to qualify for immunity. We have concluded that it need not. We also have determined that a church can be engaged in its "good works" when it opens its premises to a nonprofit community organization for a nominal fee, and that partakers of the works of the community organization can thus qualify as beneficiaries of the works of the church.

I

In 1997, plaintiffs Jaime C. Ryan and Robert J. Ryan, husband and wife, filed a complaint in the Superior Court, Law Division, Monmouth County against defendants Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Mothers' Center of Monmouth County, Laura Fadem, and a series of John Doe defendants. The complaint alleged that due to defendants' tortious conduct, Mrs. Ryan suffered injuries while attending a meeting of the Mothers' Center that was held in Holy Trinity.

All defendants answered, denying the allegations of the complaint and cross claiming against each other for contribution and indemnification. Eventually defendants moved for summary judgment. Charitable immunity was the pivotal issue.

The facts established by the pleadings, discovery, and other documents on file basically are uncontroverted. Mrs. Ryan was injured on the morning of November 17, 1995, while attending a meeting of the Mothers' Center, held in Holy Trinity's parish house. At the time, she was seven months pregnant.

The Mothers' Center, formed in 1987, is a nonprofit¹ group of parents and expectant mothers organized to exchange experiences and receive information regarding childbirth, child rearing, mothering, and family relationships. A council of volunteers runs the Center. The organization is non-hierarchical, and decision-making is by consensus. In 1995, there were approximately 80 to 100 members. According to the bylaws of the Mothers' Center, its purpose is

to promote the welfare and meet the needs of mothers; to help mothers to maintain and improve their self-esteem in their roles as mothers; to facilitate the free and confidential exchange of ideas and current information on birthing, childrearing and maintaining a family; to offer a non-judgmental forum for the discussion of the challenges and crises of motherhood; and to provide child care programs that enable mothers to separate from their children if they so choose, and allow mothers relaxed time to participate in Center activities.

The promotion of those purposes, according to the bylaws of the Center, is to be effectuated through "an education program directed toward parents...." The Mothers' Center runs a number of programs, including a post-partum project, along with discussions and informational groups on parenting techniques and discipline. At general membership meetings, speakers are often scheduled to talk on topics relating to parenting and motherhood, including medical issues.

The Mothers' Center also provides childcare during meetings, which enables its members to participate in group discussions and other activities. Childcare services are provided, along with playgroups for children and activities for mothers and children together.

The Mothers' Center is open to nonmembers. Anyone who subscribes to its basic policies and purposes and wishes to take advantage of its programs is welcome. Members pay annual dues as well as fees to participate in the organization's activities. The dues in 1995 were $25 for the year. Membership is not required for programs but is necessary for participation in the governance of the participants.

Generally, the discussion groups meet weekly. Each subject is covered in depth over approximately an eight-week period. Trained facilitators focus the discussions, present topics, and resolve any disagreements between participants.

Mrs. Ryan was a member of the Mothers' Center and had been attending a group that focused on early childhood development. Ten to twelve mothers typically participated in that group. Although the meetings for some discussion groups were held in members' homes, the group Mrs. Ryan was attending held its weekly meetings at the parish house of Holy Trinity. At the November 17, 1995, meeting, the participants sat in a circle around the room on folding chairs. Mrs. Ryan was seated near a supply closet.

One of the two group facilitators for that meeting was defendant Laura Fadem.² On November 17, 1995, Fadem brought her children with her to Holy Trinity. She sent her daughter to the childcare room on the second floor, and took her son with her to the meeting. Forty-five minutes into the meeting, the boy wandered over to a supply closet door and apparently tried to open it. The door appears not to have been properly hinged, and when it was pulled, it detached and struck Mrs. Ryan on the back of her head, causing her to fall to the floor. She alleges that, as a result, she suffered significant injuries and required long-term treatment, including surgery.

At the time of the accident, Holy Trinity had a policy of opening its doors to social outreach projects with community purposes and allowing them to use its facilities to conduct meetings. Those groups included the Boy Scouts, Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, the Children's Psychiatric Center, and a Monday night social club for mentally challenged people. Holy Trinity included notices of meetings in the church bulletin.

Permission to use a room could be obtained from the church council for a fee of $15. Although not entirely clear, that fee appears to have been based on the church's estimation of how much was needed to cover the costs of electricity, heat, and air conditioning, in other words, the cost of keeping the building open. Each group that used the church's facilities paid the same fee. Holy Trinity asserted in discovery that no group was refused permission to use the church facilities if it could not afford the fee. The Mothers' Center used the church facilities for many different meetings. Payments were made by check from the Mothers' Center to Holy Trinity. During the period July through December 1995, the Mothers' Center used the church facilities a total of 31 times. At $15 per use, the Mothers' Center paid Holy Trinity a total of $465 for that period.

On those facts, the trial court granted summary judgment to all defendants based on charitable immunity. The Ryans appealed. The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the Ryans' complaint against Holy Trinity and Laura Fadem, individually, and reversed the dismissal against the Mothers' Center and Laura Fadem as its agent. Because the evidential record is silent regarding the Mothers' Center's income (other than dues and fees) the Appellate Division, citing Bieker v. Community House of Moorestown, 169 N.J. 167, 178, 777 A.2d 37 (2001), and Parker v. St. Stephen's Urban Dev. Corp., Inc., 243 N.J.Super. 317, 326, 579 A.2d 360 (App.Div.1990), remanded the case for a determination of whether the Mothers' Center received any part of its operating income from charitable contributions.

The Mothers' Center petitioned for certification and the Ryans filed a Cross-Petition. On May 13, 2002, we granted both petitions. 172 N.J. 355, 798 A.2d 1269 (2002). We now affirm in part and reverse in part.

II

The heart of the Mothers' Center's argument is that under this Court's recent decision in O'Connell v. State, 171 N.J. 484, 491, 795 A.2d 857 (2002), the finding that it was organized exclusively for educational purposes obviated any further inquiry regarding its finances. The Ryans counter that under Bieker, supra, 169 N.J. at 178, 777 A.2d 37, and Parker, supra, 243 N.J.Super. at 326, 579 A.2d 360, a further financial inquiry is compelled.

The Ryans' cross-petition is focused on Holy Trinity. Although they acknowledge that Holy Trinity is organized exclusively for religious purposes, they maintain that the Mothers' Center was a purely secular operation that had no connection to the religious works of Holy Trinity and was solely a tenant of the church. As such, although Mrs. Ryan was a beneficiary of the works of the Mothers' Center, she was not so positioned relative to Holy Trinity.

Holy Trinity argues that the Ryans' vision of its mission is too narrow and that it is entitled to immunity because its provision of a forum for the Mothers' Center to hold its meetings was "in furtherance of the tenets and principles of the Lutheran faith to enhance, enrich and promote the cultural, moral, ethical and spiritual life of the community at large." As such, Holy Trinity urges that in accordance with its religious principles, it made available its facilities to nonprofit organizations engaged in "social outreach type endeavors," that the Mothers' Center was one of those organizations, and that Mrs. Ryan was therefore a beneficiary of Holy Trinity's works.

III

The Charitable Immunity Act...