Roe v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis

518 N.W.2d 629, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 606, 1994 WL 283375
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJune 28, 1994
DocketC5-93-2519
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 518 N.W.2d 629 (Roe v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roe v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, 518 N.W.2d 629, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 606, 1994 WL 283375 (Mich. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinions

OPINION

KALITOWSKI, Judge.

Appellants seek review of the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of respondents, contending the district court erred in concluding that their claims against respondents are barred by the statute of limitations.

FACTS

In February 1982, appellant, identified in the district court as Mary Roe (Roe), began counseling sessions with her parish priest, respondent Gerald Piche, at respondent The Church of St. Timothy (the church). In June 1982, Roe, then 17 years old, moved into the convent house adjacent to the church due to conflicts in her foster home. Roe remained at the convent house until August 1982 and stayed there again from May 1984 to February 1985.

Shortly after Roe’s 18th birthday on July 31, 1982, her relationship with Piche became sexual. ■ Although Roe moved out of the convent house in August 1982, Roe and Piche continued their sexual relationship. Throughout their relationship, Roe admitted feeling uncomfortable about their sexual relationship, as evidenced by numerous facts: (1) Roe knew Piche should remain celibate, which caused Roe to feel uncomfortable about the relationship; (2) Roe sent a letter to Piche stating that their relationship was a “dead-end street”; (3) Roe went to confession on several occasions and expressed her concern to Piche over their sexual relationship; (4) Roe disclosed her relationship with Piche to a close friend and had numerous discussions with her friend about the relationship; (5) on one occasion, Roe and her friend confronted Piche about the relationship, after which Roe interpreted Piche’s response as an admission that their relationship was wrong; and (6) Roe disclosed the relationship to a Christian Brother.

In May 1984, Roe moved back into the convent house. During the summer of 1984, appellant observed that Piche was spending time with another woman, whom Piche subsequently married. After learning that Piche was romantically involved with the other woman, Roe became angry and questioned Piche’s judgment, morals, and values. Roe testified in her deposition that the counseling relationship with Piche ended in August 1984 and the sexual relationship with Piche stopped by the end of 1984. Roe indicated that she felt “used by him and abused by him at that point.” During this period, Roe lost interest in Piche and “began just knowing it was wrong.” Roe also lost faith in the [631]*631church, stopped attending mass, and stopped going to confession.

During the fall of 1984, Roe was involved in a relationship with R.M. Roe disclosed her relationship with Piche to R.M., who immediately broke off their relationship. Roe believes R.M. ended the relationship because of her disclosure about Piche. Because Roe believed her relationship with Piche was wrong, she felt that R.M. “had every reason to abandon” her. In February 1985, while at the convent house, Roe attempted to commit suicide with a razor blade because she felt abandoned by Piche.

In April 1985, Roe moved to Arizona to live with her mother. Roe admitted that she left Minnesota “to get away from [Piche] and the situation with him.” While in Arizona, Roe met and subsequently married appellant John Roe. Mary Roe did not disclose her relationship with Piche to John Roe before their marriage. According to Roe, she did not think about or talk about her relationship with Piche during the time she lived in Arizona.

In August 1988, appellants moved back to Minnesota. Shortly thereafter, in October 1988, Roe’s memories of her relationship with Piche began to resurface. During this period, Roe suffered psychological problems, including suicidal ideation and self-mutilation.

In July 1992, Roe viewed a television news program addressing sexual misconduct by clergy. Shortly thereafter, Roe sought professional help from Ellen Luepker, a psychologist. In Luepker’s professional opinion, Roe suppressed her memory of her relationship with Piche while in Arizona but the news program caused Roe to link her psychological problems to her relationship with Piche.

On July 31, 1992, Roe filed a complaint against respondents. Mary Roe alleged assault, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent counseling against Piche, and respondeat superior and negligent placement or supervision against the church and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (the Archdiocese). John Roe alleged loss of consortium against all respondents. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of respondents, concluding that appellants’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations because Mary Roe “knew or had reason to know,” in February 1985, that the sexual abuse caused her injuries.

ISSUE

Did the district court err in concluding that appellants’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations?

ANALYSIS

Appellants contend the district court erred in concluding that their claims against respondents are barred by the statute of limitations. We disagree.

On appeal from summary judgment, we must determine: (1) whether there are any genuine issues of material fact; and (2) whether the district court erred in its application of the law. State by Cooper v. French, 460 N.W.2d 2, 4 (Minn.1990). The construction of a statute is a question of law that we review de novo. Hibbing Educ. Ass’n v. Public Employment Relations Bd., 369 N.W.2d 527, 529 (Minn.1985).

The applicable statute of limitations provides, in part, that:

An action for damages based on personal injury caused by sexual abuse must be commenced within six years of the time the plaintiff knew or had reason to know that the injury was caused by the sexual abuse.

Minn.Stat. § 541.073, subd. 2(a) (1992). This statute applies to all actions pending on, or commenced on or after, May 20, 1989. 1989 Minn.Laws ch. 190, § 6. Under this statute, known as the “delayed discovery” rule, the limitations period begins to run when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know that an injury was caused by sexual abuse, rather than when the abuse actually occurred. H.D. v. White, 483 N.W.2d 501, 502 (Minn.App.1992). Because the district court applied Minn.Stat. § 541.073 without addressing respondents’ argument that the relationship between Roe and Piche did not constitute sexual abuse within the meaning of the statute, we likewise assume, without deciding, that Piche’s conduct constituted sexual abuse.

[632]*632This court has recently decided a similar case involving alleged sexual abuse by a priest and the applicability of Minn.Stat. § 541.073. See ABC & XYZ v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, 513 N.W.2d 482 (Minn.App.1994). In ABC, the victim, a minor at the time of the sexual abuse, alleged that her relationship with the defendant progressed from counseling to physical contact to sexual relations. Id. at 483-84. The relationship ended in 1983. Id. at 484. The victim brought an action in 1991, contending she did not recognize that she had been a victim of abuse until 1990. Id. at 483.

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Roe v. Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis
518 N.W.2d 629 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
518 N.W.2d 629, 1994 Minn. App. LEXIS 606, 1994 WL 283375, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roe-v-archdiocese-of-st-paul-minneapolis-minnctapp-1994.