Teadt v. Lutheran Church, Docket No. 204107

• Decision Date: 10 January 2000
• Docket Number: Docket No. 204107,Docket No. 204118.
• Citation: 603 N.W.2d 816,237 Mich. App. 567
• Parties: Linda TEADT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Ofburr Oak, Michigan, and Robert Garbisch, Defendants-Appellees, and LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD, Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Defendants. Linda Teadt, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

603 N.W.2d 816

237 Mich. App. 567

Linda TEADT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Ofburr Oak, Michigan, and Robert Garbisch, Defendants-Appellees, and LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD, Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Defendants.

Linda Teadt, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Defendants-Appellants.

Docket Nos. 204107, 204118.

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted April 6, 1999, at Grand Rapids.

Decided September 17, 1999, at 9:25 a.m.

Released for Publication January 10, 2000.

Dickinson Wright PLLC (by Kevin J. O'Dowd), Grand Rapids, for Linda Treadt.

Bigler, Berry, Johnston, Sztykiel & Hunt, P.C. (by Steven C. Berry ), Holland, for Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

James, Dark & Brill (by Arthur W. Brill), Kalamazoo, for St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burr Oak, Michigan.

Schroeder, DeGraw, Kendall, Mayhall, DeGraw & Dickerson (by Bert W. Schulz), Marshall, for Robert Garbisch.

Before: McDONALD, P.J., and SAWYER and COLLINS, JJ.

McDONALD, P.J.

These consolidated appeals present questions of first impression in Michigan regarding whether to recognize a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty against a member of the clergy who engaged in a sexual relationship with a parishioner. In Docket No. 204107, plaintiff Linda Teadt appeals by leave granted the trial court's order granting summary disposition in favor of defendants St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burr Oak, Michigan (St.John's) and Robert Garbisch. In Docket No. 204118, defendants Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod appeal by leave granted the trial court's order granting in part and denying in part their motion for summary disposition. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

This case arises out of a relationship between plaintiff and Garbisch that spanned from late 1989 or early 1990 until the fall of 1994. During the relationship, plaintiff and Garbisch were both adults and were both married to others. Garbisch was the pastor of defendant St. John's church during the relationship. Garbisch was also a "circuit counselor" for the district, a circuit counselor being a pastor elected by more than one congregation who serves as a communication link between pastors and congregations and congregations and the district. Defendant synod describes itself as "a union of congregations which have voluntarily organized to create the Synod." Defendant district is a "division[ ] of the Synod, organized by the Synod."

Plaintiff's relationship with Garbisch began when Garbisch visited her at home before surgery on her lower back. The parties agree that Garbisch initially assumed the role of a pastoral counselor and attempted to help plaintiff with several personal difficulties she faced.¹ The parties also agree that at some later point plaintiff and Garbisch engaged in a sexual relationship, which was not in any way related to or condoned under church doctrine. However, plaintiff and defendants dispute the context in which the sexual relationship between plaintiff and Garbisch occurred.

Plaintiff's position is that the counseling relationship continued and that Garbisch used counseling in order to initiate a sexual relationship with her. Plaintiff also claims that before initiating a sexual relationship, Garbisch engaged in an inappropriate course of conduct such as appearing at her home and school, giving her personal greeting cards and inspirational messages, and discussing inappropriate subjects, including "his perceived sexual inadequacies and private parts." Plaintiff alleges that Garbisch began making sexual advances toward her and that, when she protested, he misled her with his "distorted views of Christian morality," which confused plaintiff because of Garbisch's "superior" status as pastor of her church.² Plaintiff claims that Garbisch became involved in her life to the extent that his financial and emotional assistance to her was in exchange for sexual relations. Moreover, according to plaintiff, the synod, the district, and St. John's had a responsibility to either prevent Garbisch from abusing his ministerial role or to intervene and end the relationship in order to protect plaintiff. Plaintiff asserts that St. John's, the district, and the synod were aware of the relationship and should have ended Garbisch's behavior.

Garbisch claims his relationship with plaintiff was entirely consensual. According to Garbisch, while he initially offered counseling services to plaintiff, their relationship developed into a friendship and eventually into a sexual relationship. Garbisch testified at his deposition that while he continued to discuss plaintiff's personal difficulties and continued to attempt to assist her with her problems during their sexual relationship, at that point in time his assistance was as an individual and a friend rather than as a counselor.

Garbisch resigned as pastor of St. John's toward the end of 1994 and moved away. The sexual relationship between plaintiff and Garbisch ended at about that same time. Plaintiff later filed her complaint against defendants. Relevant to this appeal are plaintiff's claims against Garbisch for breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress or negligent infliction of emotional distress, her claims against St. John's for negligent supervision, and retention, and her claims against the synod and the district for vicarious liability and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention.³

The synod and the district were the first to file a motion for summary disposition in the trial court. They made their motion under MCR 2.116(C)(4), (8), and (10). The motion was heard by a judge other than the one assigned to the case because the judge assigned to the case was on vacation. Following argument of counsel, the court announced it would grant in part and deny in part the synod and district's motion, saying it saw an issue of fact with regard to the vicarious liability and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention causes of action. Specifically, the trial court found there were questions regarding whether Garbisch's actions were outside the scope of his authority as a pastor and as a circuit counselor, which precluded summary disposition of plaintiff's vicarious liability claim. The trial court also found that questions of fact remained regarding the adequacy of the system for dealing with abuse allegations within the synod and the district that precluded summary disposition of plaintiff's claim of negligent hiring, supervision, and retention.

St. John's later made a motion for summary disposition of plaintiff's claims against it for vicarious liability and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention under MCR 2.116(C)(4), (8), and (10), which was heard by the judge assigned to the case. The trial court granted St. John's motion with respect to plaintiff's claim of vicarious liability under a respondeat superior theory under MCR 2.116(C)(10), finding that no factual development could sustain plaintiff's claim because Garbisch's actions of engaging in a sexual relationship with a parishioner and counselee were clearly outside the scope of his employment. The trial court also granted summary disposition to St. John's with regard to plaintiff's claim of negligent hiring because plaintiff conceded St. John's had no reason to anticipate Garbisch's actions when it hired him. Next, the trial court addressed St. John's motion regarding plaintiff's claim of negligent supervision and retention. The trial court found there were questions of fact regarding St. John's duty to further investigate the situation once a member of the board of elders raised his concerns regarding rumors of a relationship between Garbisch and plaintiff at a board of elders meeting. However, the trial court eventually ruled that Garbisch had no recognized legal duty to plaintiff because Michigan had not yet recognized a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty in this context. Near the end of the hearing in which the trial court announced its ruling, Garbisch made an oral motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(8), relying on the arguments raised by St. John's, the synod, and the district. The trial court granted Garbisch's motion, reasoning that the underlying duty owed by Garbisch must be identified as a matter of law, and Michigan law did not currently recognize such a duty.⁴ This Court granted leave to appeal to plaintiff and to defendants synod and district on the trial court's adverse rulings to these parties.

Plaintiff first argues the trial court erred in granting summary disposition to Garbisch based on its finding that her breach of fiduciary duty claim against Garbisch arising out of their sexual relationship was not cognizable under Michigan law. Plaintiff's theory is that Garbisch is liable for the physical, emotional, and psychological damages that she incurred as a result of the relationship because Garbisch misused his ministerial position of superiority and trust. Plaintiff acknowledges that whether to recognize such a cause of action is an issue of first impression in Michigan. Plaintiff urges this Court to adopt the reasoning of FG v. MacDonell, 150 N.J. 550, 696 A.2d 697 (1997), where the Supreme Court of New Jersey recognized a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty in the context of a sexual relationship between a clergyman and a parishioner that occurred while the clergyman was providing pastoral counseling to the parishioner.

We review the trial court's grant or denial of summary disposition de novo. VandenBerg v. VandenBerg, 231 Mich.App. 497, 499, 586 N.W.2d 570 (1998). Whether to recognize plaintiff's cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty in this context is a question of law. Questions of law are reviewed de novo. Hagerman...