Lindeman v. The Corporation Of The President Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saint

43 F.Supp.3d 1197 (2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D 'calls' on virtually all adult members who attend church regularly to perform unpaid, volunteer service within their local 'ward.' The bishop prays for inspiration and, after deciding whom to call, he conducts an ecclesiastical interview to determine that person's moral worthiness and willingness to serve. D seeks to mitigate the risk of abuse and other misconduct by drawing upon the collective knowledge of the congregation. D teaches abuse cannot be tolerated in any form. It keeps a membership record where an 'annotation' is placed for any member who has engaged in conduct endangering children or youth. When a member's record is annotated, he or she is not allowed to serve with children or youth. The calling of a Sunday School teacher is limited to teaching a class on religious doctrine for about 40 minutes each Sunday in a group setting. Two adults must be present, including Sunday classrooms with 'children' age 11 or under. As a Sunday School teacher, Frank's (D) duties were limited to preparing for and teaching Sunday School class. Frank's (D) membership record bore no annotation for abuse. Bishop Miller had no knowledge of any criminal history involving Frank (D) but was aware that around the time of the end of Frank's (D) first marriage, he had taken his children across state lines. D does not conduct background checks, and none was conducted of Frank (D). Frank (D) had a record that involved domestic disputes and violations of restraining orders related to them and a domestic kidnapping. P attended D anywhere from about three to 20 times. P and Frank (D) texted each other before they met at church services. During worship services, P sat with the Franks (D), and exchanged notes but there was nothing sexual or inappropriate in them. During class, Frank (D) had no physical contact with P or the other students but did text P while teaching. P was never alone with Frank (D) during the class. P began communicating with Frank (D) outside of worship. They communicated by text messages hundreds of times, and by phone 'thousands and thousands of times.' Frank (D) gave P a gift of 'Tinker Bell' panties. P went out to Frank's (D) car, willingly and without coercion, and, with her consent, they kissed but did not have sexual relations. P met Frank (D) in his car outside her house again and they had 'consensual' sexual relations. Frank (D) stopped going to church or teaching Sunday School class thereafter. P was 15 and Frank (D) was 40. He said he wanted to marry P and 'stuff like that,' which P believed was said to manipulate her into having sexual interactions. P thought about marrying him when she turned 18. P eventually got jealous over another woman, and she turned Frank (D) into the police. D removed Frank (D) as a Sunday School teacher. Frank (D) pled guilty to sexual assault with a 10-year age difference, a class 1 misdemeanor. P sued Ds seeking to recover damages for physical and psychological injury, 'impairment,' and medical, psychological treatment and therapy bills and related expenses for treatment. Everybody moved for summary judgment.