Will McRaney v. N Amer Mission Bd So Baptist

Case: 19-60293 Document: 00515492303 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/16/2020

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-60293 United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

July 16, 2020

WILL MCRANEY,

Lyle W. Cayce

Plaintiff - Appellant Clerk

v.

THE NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN

BAPTIST CONVENTION, INCORPORATED,

Defendant - Appellee

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Mississippi

Before CLEMENT, HIGGINSON, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges.

STEPHEN A. HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Will McRaney brought suit against Defendant-

Appellee North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

(“NAMB”) for intentional interference with business relationships, defamation,

and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court dismissed the

case for lack of jurisdiction, citing the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, also

known as the religious autonomy doctrine. The district court found that it

would need to resolve ecclesiastical questions in order to resolve McRaney’s

claims. Because that conclusion was premature, we REVERSE and REMAND.

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No. 19-60293

We review a dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction de novo.

Williams v. Wynne, 533 F.3d 360, 364 (5th Cir. 2008). Dismissal is only proper

if “it appears certain that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts in support

of her claim which would entitle her to relief.” Wagstaff v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ.,

509 F.3d 661, 663 (5th Cir. 2007) (quoting Bombardier Aerospace Emp. Welfare

Benefits Plan v. Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough, 35 F.3d 348, 351 (5th Cir.

2003)). 1

The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine recognizes that the Establishment

Clause of the First Amendment precludes judicial review of claims that require

resolution of “strictly and purely ecclesiastical” questions. Serbian E. Orthodox

Diocese for U.S. and Can. v. Milivojevich, 426 U.S. 696, 713 (1976) (quoting

Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 733 (1871)); Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral

of Russian Orthodox Church in N. Am., 344 U.S. 94, 115–16 (1952); Kreshik v.

St. Nicholas Cathedral, 363 U.S. 190, 190–91 (1960). “[M]atters of church

1 We note that it is somewhat unclear whether the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine

serves as a jurisdictional bar requiring dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) or an

affirmative defense requiring dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). See, e.g., Nayak v.

MCA, Inc., 911 F.2d 1082, 1083 (5th Cir. 1990) (dismissing the case pursuant to Fed. R. Civ.

P. 12(b)(6) without explicitly discussing the jurisdictional nature of the doctrine); Simpson v.

Wells Lamont Corp., 494 F.2d 490, 492, 495 (5th Cir. 1974) (stating that “[t]he people of the

United States conveyed no power to Congress to vest its courts with jurisdiction to settle

purely ecclesiastical disputes” but affirming summary judgment rather than instructing the

district court to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction); see also Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 733

(1871) (describing a dispute that is “strictly and purely ecclesiastical in its character” as “a

matter over which the civil courts exercise no jurisdiction”); Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical

Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171, 195 n.4 (2012) (clarifying that the related

“ministerial exception” is an affirmative defense rather than a jurisdictional bar); Hubbard

v. J Message Grp. Corp., 325 F. Supp. 3d 1198, 1208–09 (D.N.M. 2018) (collecting cases)

Kavanagh v. Zwilling, 997 F. Supp. 2d 241, 248 n.7 (S.D.N.Y. 2014) (discussing the

uncertainty surrounding the jurisdictional nature of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine

post-Hosanna-Tabor). We need not resolve this uncertainty because dismissal was improper,

regardless. See Cannata v. Catholic Diocese of Austin, 700 F.3d 169, 171 (5th Cir. 2012)

(finding that review under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) “requires us to scrutinize the same

materials we would have considered were the case properly before us on a 12(b)(1) motion”);

Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 161–62 (5th Cir. 2001) (providing the standards of

review for dismissals under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6)).

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government, as well as those of faith and doctrine” constitute purely

ecclesiastical questions. Kedroff, 344 U.S. at 116; see also Simpson v. Wells

Lamont Corp., 494 F.2d 490, 493 (5th Cir. 1974) (emphasizing that the

ecclesiastical abstention doctrine covers matters of church government as well

as matters of religious doctrine). But “[t]he First Amendment does not

categorically insulate religious relationships from judicial scrutiny, for to do so

would necessarily extend constitutional protection to the secular components

of these relationships,” which “would impermissibly place a religious leader in

a preferred position in our society.” Sanders v. Casa View Baptist Church, 134

F.3d 331, 335–36 (5th Cir. 1998); see also Bd. of Educ. of Kiryas Joel Vill. Sch.

Dist. v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687, 703 (1994) (describing the principle “that

government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion”

as “at the heart of the Establishment Clause”); Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595, 602

(1979) (holding that courts may apply neutral principles of law to resolve

church property disputes). Therefore, the relevant question is whether it

appears certain that resolution of McRaney’s claims will require the court to

address purely ecclesiastical questions. At this stage, the answer is no.

Critically, many of the relevant facts have yet to be developed. Presently,

we know only the following: (1) McRaney formerly worked as the Executive

Director of the General Mission Board of the Baptist Convention for

Maryland/Delaware (“BCMD”), one of 42 separate state conventions that work

in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention; (2) NAMB, which has

never been McRaney’s employer, is one of twelve boards and agencies of the

Southern Baptist Convention; (3) NAMB and BCMD entered into a Strategic

Partnership Agreement (“SPA”) that addressed issues of personnel,

cooperation, and funding; (4) McRaney declined to adopt a new SPA on behalf

of BCMD, and NAMB notified BCMD that it intended to terminate the SPA in

one year; (5) McRaney’s employment was either terminated or he resigned; (6)

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after his termination, McRaney was uninvited to speak at a large mission

symposium in Louisville, Mississippi; and (7) a photograph of McRaney was

posted at NAMB headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia.

McRaney alleges that NAMB intentionally made false statements about

him to BCMD that resulted in his termination. Specifically, he alleges that

NAMB falsely told BCMD that he refused to meet with Dr. Kevin Ezell,

president of NAMB, to discuss a new SPA. He also alleges that NAMB

intentionally got him uninvited to speak at the mission symposium and posted

his picture at its headquarters to “communicate that [McRaney] was not to be

trusted and [was] public enemy #1 of NAMB.”

In order to resolve McRaney’s claims, the court will need to determine

(1) whether NAMB intentionally and maliciously damaged McRaney’s

business relationships by falsely claiming that he refused to meet with Ezell,

see Scruggs, Millette, Bozeman & Dent, P.A. v. Merkel & Cocke, P.A., 910 So.

2d 1093, 1098 (Miss. 2005); (2) whether NAMB’s statements about McRaney

were false, defamatory, and at least negligently made, see Jernigan v.

Humphrey, 815 So. 2d 1149, 1153 (Miss. 2002); and (3) whether NAMB

intentionally caused McRaney to suffer foreseeable and severe emotional

distress by displaying his picture at its headquarters, see Jones v. City of

Hattiesburg, 228 So. 3d 816, 819 (Miss. 2017).

At this early stage of the litigation, it is not clear that any of these

determinations will require the court to address purely ecclesiastical

questions. McRaney is not challenging the termination of his employment, see

Simpson, 494 F.2d at 492–93 (affirming dismissal of a lawsuit in which the

plaintiff challenged his removal as pastor), and he is not asking the court to

weigh in on issues of faith or doctrine, see Nayak v. MCA, Inc., 911 F.2d 1082,

1082–83 (5th Cir. 1990) (affirming dismissal of a defamation lawsuit seeking

to enjoin the distribution and presentation of the movie “The Last Temptation

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of Christ”). His complaint asks the court to apply neutral principles of tort law

to a case that, on the face of the complaint, involves a civil rather than religious

dispute. See, e.g., Jones, 443 U.S. at 602 (holding that courts may apply neutral

principles of law to resolve church property disputes); Myhre v. Seventh-Day

Adventist Church Reform Movement Am. Union Int’l Missionary Soc’y, 719 F.

App’x 926, 928 (11th Cir. 2018) (“Civil courts may apply neutral principles of

law to decide church disputes that ‘involve[] no consideration of doctrinal

matters.’” (quoting Jones, 443 U.S. at 602)); Hutterville Hutterian Brethren,

Inc. v. Sveen, 776 F.3d 547, 553 (8th Cir. 2015) (“[A] court need not defer to an

ecclesiastical tribunal on secular questions and permissibly may resolve a

matter by applying neutral principles of the law.” (internal quotation marks

omitted)); Askew v. Trs. of Gen. Assembly of Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of

the Apostolic Faith, Inc., 684 F.3d 413, 419 (3d Cir. 2012) (“When a church

dispute turns on a question devoid of doctrinal implications, civil courts may

employ neutral principles of law to adjudicate the controversy.”); Merkos

L’Inyonei Chinuch, Inc. v. Otsar Sifrei Lubavitch, Inc., 312 F.3d 94, 99–100 (2d

Cir. 2002) (“Courts may decide disputes that implicate religious interests as

long as they can do so based on ‘neutral principles’ of secular law without

undue entanglement in issues of religious doctrine.”).

Other courts have held that similar claims did not require resolution of

purely ecclesiastical questions. In Marshall v. Munro, 845 P.2d 424 (Alaska

1993), the Alaska Supreme Court found that it had jurisdiction to consider

claims of intentional interference with a contract and defamation brought by a

minister against a church executive. Id. at 425, 429. There, as here, the alleged

interference consisted of false statements that were not religious in nature. 2

2 NAMB argues that Marshall is distinguishable because this dispute “is rooted in and

intertwined with the primary ministry strategies of various religious organizations.” At least

at this time, the record does not support NAMB’s view. The only derogatory information

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Id. at 425. The court found that, under these circumstances, resolution of the

plaintiff’s claims would not require the court to determine whether the plaintiff

was qualified to serve as a pastor. Id. at 428.

Similarly, in Drevlow v. Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, 991 F.2d 468

(8th Cir. 1993), the Eighth Circuit found that it had jurisdiction over a claim

of intentional interference with a legitimate expectation of employment

brought by a minister against a religious organization. Id. at 469, 472. The

plaintiff alleged that the organization placed false information—that his

spouse had previously been married—in his personal file. Id. at 469. The court

reasoned that the plaintiff’s fitness as a minister was not in dispute and the

defendant had not yet “offered any religious explanation for its actions which

might entangle the court in a religious controversy.” Id. at 471–72. The Eighth

Circuit recognized, however, that its decision was preliminary. Id. at 472 (“If

further proceedings reveal that this matter cannot be resolved without

interpreting religious procedures or beliefs, the district court should reconsider

the . . . motion to dismiss.”). The same is true here. If further proceedings and

factual development reveal that McRaney’s claims cannot be resolved without

deciding purely ecclesiastical questions, the court is free to reconsider whether

it is appropriate to dismiss some or all of McRaney’s claims. 3

NAMB broadly objects that it may have “valid religious reason[s]” for its

actions. On remand, if NAMB presents evidence of these reasons and the

district court concludes that it cannot resolve McRaney’s claims without

McRaney identifies in his complaint—statements by NAMB that McRaney refused to meet

with Ezell—is not ecclesiastical in nature.

3 NAMB previously moved for dismissal based on the ministerial exception, see

Hosanna-Tabor, 565 U.S. at 188; see also Our Lady of Guad. Sch. v. Morrissey-Berru, --- S.

Ct. ---, 2020 WL 3808420 (July 8, 2020), but the district court denied that motion, finding

that the ministerial exception only applies to disputes between employees and employers, not

employees and third parties. Both parties agree that the correctness of the district court’s

decision regarding the applicability of the ministerial exception is not before us.

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addressing these reasons, then there may be cause to dismiss. See id. Were

such a broad statement alone sufficient to warrant dismissal at this stage,

however, religious entities could effectively immunize themselves from judicial

review of claims brought against them.

“The First Amendment protects the right of religious institutions ‘to

decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church

government as well as those of faith and doctrine.’” Our Lady of Guad. Sch. v.

Morrissey-Berru, --- S. Ct. ---, 2020 WL 3808420, at *3 (July 8, 2020) (quoting

Kedroff, 334 U.S. at 116). At this time, it is not certain that resolution of

McRaney’s claims will require the court to interfere with matters of church

government, matters of faith, or matters of doctrine. The district court’s

dismissal was premature. Accordingly, we REVERSE and REMAND.

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