Ave Maria Law School invokes ministerial exception in wrongful termination suit

[Volokh, Eugene]

        I largely agree with Michael's point, but want to offer a small quibble:  I would think that the right of expressive association, and for that matter of free speech, might sometimes preempt the tort of interference with a contractual relationship -- for instance, if a group pickets to urge some organization to take some action even if the action involves breaching the organization's contracts.  See, e.g., Jefferson County Sch. Dist. No. R-1 v. Moody's Investor's Servs., Inc., 175 F.3d 848, 857-58 (10th Cir. 1999) (citing Hustler v. Falwell to reject a "reading of state [interference with contract] tort law ... [under which] the protection afforded to an expression of opinion under the First Amendment might well depend on a trier of fact's determination of whether the individual who had published the article was motivated by a legitimate desire to express his or her view or by a desire to interfere with a contract").

        Eugene

> -----Original Message-----
> From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-
> bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Michael R. Masinter
> Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 5:49 AM
> To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics; Rick Duncan
> Subject: Re: Ave Maria Law School invokes ministerial exception in wrongful
> termination suit
>
> Why would the assumed right of expressive association preclude
> liability for breach of contract, for fraud, or for tortious
> interference with a contractual relationship?  To be sure Ave Maria
> might regret having chosen to grant tenure to its faculty, but having
> done so, why would a right of expressive association permit it to
> ignore the contractual and tort duties arising from the contract it
> freely entered?  Without conceding the right as applied to the school,
> why would its presumed existence affect any of the claims against
> either the school or the individual defendants?
>
>
> Michael R. Masinter                      3305 College Avenue
> Professor of Law                         Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
> Nova Southeastern University             954.262.6151 (voice)
> masinter at nova.edu                        954.262.3835 (fax)
>
>
> Quoting Rick Duncan <nebraskalawprof at yahoo.com>:
>
> > Even if the ministerial exception doesn't apply, why wouldn't the
> > right of expressive association apply to a school's right to exclude
> >  teachers who are part of its expressive mission? Surely, Ave Maria
> > is at least as much of an expressive association as are the BSA. No?
> >
> > Rick Duncan
> > Welpton Professor of Law
> > University of Nebraska College of Law
> > Lincoln, NE 68583-0902
> >
>
>
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