Supreme Court of Texas

In a negligence suit arising from circumstances in which defendant-pastor, who was also a licensed professional counselor, directed his congregation to shun plaintiff-former parishioner for engaging in a "biblically inappropriate" relationship, as required by the ecclesiastical disciplinary process outlined in the church's constitution, the Supreme Court of Texas dismisses the case as parsing the roles of pastor and counselor for purposes of determining civil liability in this case, where health or safety were not at issue, would unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church governance and impinge on the core religious function of church discipline.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/29/2007
• Published 07/06/2007

Judges

• Justice O'NEILL delivered the opinion of the Court.

Court

• Supreme Court of Texas

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• J. Wade Birdwell, James G. Stouffer Jr., Wallach, Andrews & Stouffer, P.C., Fort Worth, Kelly J. Shackelford, Hiram S. Sasser III, Jonathan M. Saenz, Plano, for Petitioner., James Roddy Tanner, J. Shelby Sharpe, Sharpe & Tillman, P.C., Fort Worth, for Other., Jerry D. Bullard, Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C., Bedford, TX, Carl H. Esbeck, Columbia, MO, for Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Darrell L. Keith, Courtney Shannon Keith, Keith Law Firm, P.C., Jeffrey H. Kobs, Kobs & Haney, P.C., Fort Worth, Kirk L. Pittard, Leighton Durham III, Durham & Pittard, L.L.P., Dallas, for Respondent.