Tichenor v. Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese

869 F. Supp. 429, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20435, 1994 WL 682574
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedAugust 4, 1993
DocketCivil A. No. 92-4083
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 869 F. Supp. 429 (Tichenor v. Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tichenor v. Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese, 869 F. Supp. 429, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20435, 1994 WL 682574 (E.D. La. 1993).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

FELDMAN, District Judge.

Defendants, the Roman Catholic Church for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Congregation of St. Rita Roman Catholic Church move for summary judgment on the grounds that there is no personal jurisdiction over these defendants and these claims are barred by the statute of limitations. Defendant Dino Cinel also moves for summary judgment on the ground that these claims are time barred.

Background

The plaintiff filed suit in the First Judicial District Circuit Court, Harrison County, State of Mississippi on June 21, 1991. He alleged that, while functioning as a duly ordained priest at the St. Rita Church in New Orleans, Father Dino Cinel performed illicit sex acts upon the plaintiff, who was then a minor, both in Louisiana and in Mississippi; that Father Cinel defamed the plaintiff and invaded his privacy by marketing video tapes and/or photographs of him; and that the Catholic Archdiocese and St. Rita’s are hable because they knew or should have known that illicit acts were being performed on their premises, that they failed to protect the plaintiff and take appropriate measures to ascertain, discover or correct the situation, and that they knew or should have known that they were fostering Cinel’s illicit activi[432]*432ties and even furnishing the instrumentalities to conduct these activities.1

The three named defendants are all nonresidents of Mississippi and the complaint stated that jurisdiction and venue over this case were conferred upon the Mississippi state court under Miss.Ann.Code § 13-3-57 (the Mississippi long-arm statute). The Archdiocese and St. Rita’s removed to federal court and then, following their answer, moved to transfer the case to this Court on the ground that the majority of the events and witnesses were in the New Orleans area.

Ronald Tichenor is now 28 years old and has lived in Florida since December 1986. Beginning sometime during his teenage years (the exact age is contested) the plaintiff and Father Cinel had an extended homosexual relationship; it included Cinel taking pornographic videos and photographs of the plaintiff which were later published in magazines in Europe. In 1988, Dino Cinel left St. Rita’s after the discovery by another priest, Father Tarantino, of pornographic materials depicting young boys engaged in sexual activity. Cinel subsequently agreed to leave the priesthood.

The factual summary is extensive on both sides, but much of it is irrelevant. The only relevant facts are those that relate to the central issues of this motion, namely lack of personal jurisdiction and that these claims are time barred. It is only on the facts relating to these two discrete issues that this motion must be determined. And the facts regarding these two narrow issues of law are clear.

I.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 instructs that summary judgment is proper if the record discloses no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. No genuine issue of fact exists if the record, taken as a whole, could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). A genuine issue of fact exists only “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The mere argued existence of a factual dispute does not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion. See id. Therefore, “[i]f the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative,” summary judgment is appropriate. Id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. at 2510-11 (citations omitted). Summary judgment is proper if the party opposing the motion fails to establish an essential element of his case. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In evaluating the summary judgment motion, the court must read the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2514.

A.

It seems academic that unless a court has jurisdiction over a defendant, it is powerless to enter a judgment imposing a personal obligation or duty. See Kulko v. Superior Court of California, Etc., 436 U.S. 84, 91, 98 S.Ct. 1690, 1696, 56 L.Ed.2d 132 (1978); Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (5 Otto), 732-33, 24 L.Ed. 565, 572 (1878). It is the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment which operates to limit the jurisdiction of courts in a forum state to affect the rights and interests of nonresident defendants. Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977). The well-known International Shoe standard for determining whether the court has personal jurisdiction asks the question, does the nonresident defendant “have certain minimum contacts with [the forum state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice’ ”? International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 158, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). In effect, the existence [433]*433of personal jurisdiction, then, turns on reasonable notice to the defendant, Mullane v. Central Hanover Trust, 339 U.S. 306, 313-14, 70 S.Ct. 652, 656-57, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950), and a sufficient nexus between the defendant and the forum state to make it fair to require defense of the claims against the nonresident within the host forum. Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463-64, 61 S.Ct. 339, 342-43, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940).

Here, jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship. A defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in a federal diversity case only to the extent permitted in a state court in the state in which the federal court sits. DeMelo v. Toche Marine, Inc., 711 F.2d 1260, 1264 (5 Cir.1983). This Court is governed by Mississippi law, then, and may only assert jurisdiction over the defendants if Mississippi’s long-arm statute confers jurisdiction and if that jurisdiction comports with due process. DeMelo, supra; Alford v. Whitsel, 322 F.Supp. 358 (N.D.Miss.1971).

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Related

Doe v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson
947 So. 2d 983 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2006)
Tichenor v. Roman Catholic Church
665 So. 2d 1307 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)

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869 F. Supp. 429, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20435, 1994 WL 682574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tichenor-v-roman-catholic-church-of-the-archdiocese-laed-1993.