Supreme Court of Florida

The First Amendment does not provide a shield behind which a church may avoid liability for harm caused to a third party arising from the alleged sexual misconduct by one of its clergy members during the course of an established marital counseling relationship.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/14/2002
• Published 03/14/2002

Judges

• PARIENTE, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Edward Campbell of The Roberts Law Firm, P.A.;   and Randy D. Ellison, West Palm Beach, FL, for Petitioner., James F. Gilbride and Hetal H. Desai of Gilbride, Heller & Brown, P.A., Miami, FL;  J. Patrick Fitzgerald, General Counsel for Archdiocese of Miami, Coral Gables, FL;  and George Meros of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, Tallahassee, FL, for Archbishop John C. Favalora, as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and as President of the Florida Catholic Conference and J. Lloyd Knox, Presiding Bishop of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Amici Curiae., May L. Cain and William J. Snihur, Jr. of Cain & Snihur, North Miami Beach, FL, for Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II, Amicus Curiae., Philip M. Burlington of Caruso, Burlington, Bohn & Compiani, P.A., West Palm Beach, FL, for the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, Amicus Curiae., Peter A. Miller of Conroy, Simberg & Ganon, P.A., Coral Gables, Florida, and Robert S. Glazier of the Law Offices of Robert S. Glazier, Miami, FL, for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church, Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Thomas E. Ice of Barwick, Dillian, Lambert & Ice, P.A., Miami, FL;  and David S. Rutherford and Christopher Renzulli of Renzulli & Rutherford, L.L.P., New York, NY, for Respondents.