Summary
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland grants Calvary Chapel International Worship Center’s second motion to dismiss O.M.’s amended negligence claims arising from alleged childhood sexual abuse. The court holds that the amended complaint does not plausibly allege that Calvary Chapel had actual or constructive notice of the risk of abuse. The action is dismissed with prejudice.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the amended complaint plausibly alleged that Calvary Chapel had actual or constructive notice of the personnel member's risk of sexually abusing a female child.
- Whether the amended complaint plausibly stated negligence-based claims for negligent hiring, training, education, supervision, retention, premises liability, and failure to report or warn.
- Whether the court should convert Calvary Chapel's alternative motion for summary judgment into a motion for summary judgment by considering evidence outside the pleadings.
Holdings
- The court declined to consider materials outside the pleadings and therefore treated the pending motion as a motion to dismiss rather than converting it into a motion for summary judgment.
- The amended complaint did not plausibly allege that Calvary Chapel knew or should have known that the personnel member posed a risk of sexually abusing a female child.
- Conclusory assertions that Calvary Chapel had actual or constructive knowledge of the abuse were insufficient to state a plausible claim.
Key quotations
“To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must have “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”” (II.A)
“It is simply too far of an inferential leap to conclude that alleged actions towards an adult of the opposite sex such as “regularly rub[bing] her body against the bodies of male church members” or “aggressively pursu[ing] male church members” would have provided actual or constructive notice that this individual had the potential to sexually abuse a female child.” (II.B)
Factual background
O.M. alleged that, when she was approximately ten years old in or around 1971, a Calvary Chapel personnel member sexually abused her on four or five occasions over approximately twelve months, both at the church and at the personnel member's home. She alleged that the personnel member had engaged in inappropriate conduct toward adult male church members, made sexual remarks, and had a reputation for manipulative and illegal behavior, which allegedly was known to church staff and other congregants. O.M. also alleged that her personality changed and that she stopped attending church activities to avoid being alone with the personnel member. She claimed emotional, psychological, and physical harm.
Procedural history
O.M. filed negligence claims in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, under the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023. Calvary Chapel removed the action to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. The court previously granted Calvary Chapel's first motion to dismiss, dismissed one count with prejudice, and allowed O.M. to amend four other counts. After O.M. filed an amended complaint, Calvary Chapel renewed its motion to dismiss or alternatively sought summary judgment. The court dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice.