The deference rule, which typically bars civil courts from ruling on ecclesiastical decisions, does not protect a Catholic school from a defamation claim arising out of its communications about the expulsion of a student, a unanimous state Supreme Court has ruled.
The court, in Connor v. Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PICS Case No. 09-1198 (Pa. July 20, 2009) Castille, C.J. (47 pages), remanded the case to be decided on its merits and ruled only that the Superior Court erred in finding civil courts don’t have subject-matter jurisdiction over a tort suit alleging defamation and negligent infliction of emotional distress. In rendering its decision, the court created a new test to determine when to apply the deference rule.
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