Klouda v. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Full title: DR. SHERI L. KLOUDA, Plaintiff, v. SOUTHWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL…

Court: United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Fort Worth Division

Date published: Mar 19, 2008

NO. 4:07-CV-161-A (N.D. Tex. Mar. 19, 2008)

Opinion

NO. 4:07-CV-161-A.

March 19, 2008

MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER

JOHN McBRYDE, District Judge

After having considered the motions for summary judgment of defendants, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ("Seminary") and Leighton Paige Patterson ("Patterson"), the response of plaintiff, Sherri L. Klouda, thereto, defendants' replies, the entire summary judgment record, and pertinent legal authorities, the court has concluded that the motions should be granted, and that all plaintiff's alleged causes of action should be dismissed.

I. Causes of Action Alleged by Plaintiff

Plaintiff's current pleading is her second amended complaint. In summary, her allegations are that:

Plaintiff became associated with Seminary in the year 2000 when she was employed as a teaching fellow in its School of Theology, a position in which she served until 2002 when she was elected to the faculty of Seminary by its Board of Trustees as an assistant professor of Old Testament languages. As an assistant professor, she was on a tenure-track position. Plaintiff was the only female to teach at the School of Theology. She was led to believe that her employment with Seminary would be renewed on a yearly basis based on her performance. While employed at Seminary, plaintiff exhibited professional excellence at all times. Her duties did not teach or spread faith. She was not a minister, nor was she involved in church governance.

In June 2003 Seminary hired Patterson as its president. In September 2003 plaintiff met personally with Patterson, who assured her that his appointment would not jeopardize her position. In April 2006 plaintiff was informed by Seminary that "her contract was terminated, effective December 31, 2006." Second Am. Compl. at 7. Patterson told plaintiff that his reason for not renewing her contract and for not recommending her for tenure was that she was a woman. She was told that she was a mistake that the trustees needed to fix. The chair of Seminary's Board of Trustees later informed a local newspaper that hiring a woman to teach men was a "momentary lax of the parameters." Id. at 8. Plaintiff left Seminary on August 1, 2006, after obtaining a teaching position at another university.

Patterson's decision to cause plaintiff's employment with Seminary to be terminated was based upon his social and/or personal beliefs; and, he used religion as a pretext for non-renewal of her employment and failure to recommend her for tenure.

Plaintiff's first cause of action is for breach of contract. She contends that she and defendants entered into an oral contract that her employment would be renewed on a yearly basis in the event her performance evaluations warranted a renewal. She attained that type of employment status by virtue of her election as a tenure-track professor. Although she performed her obligations under the contract, her contract was not renewed, nor was she recommended for tenure, with the result that defendants breached the contract to her damage.

Fraud and/or fraud in the inducement are alleged as plaintiff's second cause of action. Plaintiff says that she received representations and assurances both from Seminary, through its Board of Trustees, in April 2002 and from Patterson in their September 2003 meeting that she had a tenure-track position with Seminary and that she would continue to have that position so long as her performance met certain standards. She made certain changes in her life based on those representations. The representations proved to be false, to her damage.

The third alleged cause of action is promissory estoppel and/or equitable estoppel. Plaintiff alleges that the promises made by defendants to her relative to the status of her employment cause Seminary to be estopped from using a change in Patterson's policy as an excuse to fail to renew her contract or recommend her for tenure.

Plaintiff describes her fourth cause of action as one for declaratory judgment. The court does not read this "cause of action" as adding anything to the others. Therefore, it will not be described further.

The fifth alleged cause of action is for defamation. She claims that Patterson labeled her a "mistake" and that the statement by the chair of Seminary's Board of Trustees to the newspaper that hiring a woman to teach men was a "momentary lax of parameters" constituted maliciously made defamatory statements that caused her to suffer damages.

Plaintiff's sixth alleged cause of action is sex discrimination based on the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. According to plaintiff, Seminary, itself and by and through its agents, discriminated against her in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(2)(a) on the basis of sex, with malice or with reckless indifference to the protected rights of plaintiff.

Plaintiff describes in her pleading as her seventh cause of action "CONSTRUCTIVE DISCHARGE." Id. at 14. The court does not interpret this so-called cause of action as being anything other than an element of one or more of her other causes of action. She alleges that Seminary, itself and through its agents, made the working conditions so intolerable that plaintiff felt compelled to resign her position.

Plaintiff prays for recovery of actual and exemplary damages, declaratory relief, pre-judgment interest, reasonable attorneys' fees, post-judgment interest, and costs of suit.

II. Defendants' Motions, Plaintiff's Response, and the Replies

A. The Motions.

Defendants' separate motions for summary judgment and supporting briefs and appendices are virtually identical. The principal ground of the motions, which are directed to all of plaintiff's alleged causes of action, is that the causes of action, directly or indirectly, challenge an ecclesiastical decision that is protected by the church autonomy doctrine under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, with the consequence that either the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the case or all of plaintiff's claims are barred by the First Amendment religion clauses. An ingredient of that ground is defendants' contention that Seminary's relationship with its faculty, including plaintiff, has the legal status of the relationship of a church to its ministers, with the result that defendants' decisions regarding that relationship areper se ecclesiastical in nature.

As to the breach of contract, fraud, fraud in the inducement, and promissory estoppel claims, defendants alternatively maintain that the facts do not support all elements of any of those claims. Patterson adds that, in any event, he cannot be held responsible for any conduct of Seminary before he was elected president. Defendants also assert that plaintiff's claims of estoppel are not causes of action under Texas law. They seek dismissal of the defamation cause of action on the further ground that plaintiff cannot show that any language was used that is capable of a defamatory meaning. Patterson adds that, in any event, the language that was used was an expression of an ecclesiastical opinion that cannot be proved true or false.

According to defendants, the sex discrimination cause of action must be dismissed for the further reason that it is barred by limitations. A sex discrimination claim under Title VII must be filed within 300 days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred. The 300-day period starts to run from the date when the discriminatory act complained of comes to the attention of the employee. If a claim of discrimination is not filed within 300 days of that date, it is barred by limitations. Defendants maintain that plaintiff was informed no later than June 22, 2004, that she would not be recommended for tenure within the School of Theology because of Patterson's decision that she was not qualified by reason of her gender. Plaintiff's claim is barred because she did not file her charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") until February 7, 2007, more than 300 days after the alleged discriminatory conduct occurred.

The identical appendices filed by defendants in support of the motions for summary judgment contain as exhibits the affidavits of Patterson, Craig A. Blaising ("Blaising") (the Executive Vice President and Provost of Seminary), B. Paul Wolfe ("Wolfe") (the Assistant Dean of Biblical Studies of Seminary), and T. Van McClain ("McClain") (the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Seminary), and twenty-one other exhibits, which are authenticated by the affidavits. The exhibits include the charter, articles of incorporation, bylaws, versions of the faculty manual, excerpts of course catalogs, and minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees of Seminary.

B. Plaintiff's Response ¹

1 Plaintiff includes in her response objections to certain of the summary judgment evidence provided by defendants. The court is not ruling on those objections, but making known that it is giving the summary evidence to which objection is made only such weight as is appropriate.

Plaintiff responded that the church autonomy doctrine does not apply to protect defendants from the conduct about which she complains. She questions whether the decision made by defendants relative to her employment status was religiously motivated; and, she maintains that a fact issue exists as to that subject. In addition, she maintains that, even if Patterson's decision was religiously motivated, his alleged beliefs should not be attributed to Seminary. And, she maintains that she was not a minister, or, at least, there is conflicting evidence as to whether she was, thus causing there to be a material fact in dispute if the decisions were determined to be religiously motivated.

Plaintiff asserts, alternatively, that, even if the employment decision made by defendants was based on a sincerely held religious belief, a balancing test is must be applied to determine whether defendants are to receive First Amendment protection; and, she maintains that the balance would favor her position.

She maintains that there is summary judgment evidence raising an issue of fact as to each of the essential elements of each of her claims. She further responds as to her Title VII claim that her filing with the EEOC was timely. She says that the summary judgment evidence establishes that defendants did not make the decision to terminate her employment until April 2006 and that she filed her claim within 300 days thereafter.

The evidentiary support for her response, provided in her appendix, includes the affidavit of plaintiff, a number of documents verified by plaintiff's affidavit, and excerpts from oral depositions of Patterson, Wolfe, and plaintiff.²

2 Certain of the documents contained in plaintiff's appendix are identical to those provided by defendants in their appendices except for differences in the emphasis added.

III. Applicable Summary Judgment Principles

A party is entitled to summary judgment on all or any part of a claim as to which there is no genuine issue of material fact and as to which the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247 (1986). The moving party has the initial burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact.Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256. The movant may discharge this burden by pointing out the absence of evidence to support one or more essential elements of the non-moving party's claim "since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-25 (1986). Once the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), the non-moving party must do more than merely show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 (1986). The party opposing the motion may not rest on mere allegations or denials of pleading, but must set forth specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 256. To meet this burden, the nonmovant must "identify specific evidence in the record and articulate the `precise manner' in which that evidence support[s] [its] claim[s]." Forsyth v. Barr, 19 F.3d 1527, 1537 (5th Cir. 1994). An issue is material only if its resolution could affect the outcome of the action. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248. Unsupported allegations, conclusory in nature, are insufficient to defeat a proper motion for summary judgment. Simmons v. Lyons, 746 F.2d 265, 269 (5th Cir. 1984).

The standard for granting a motion for summary judgment is the same as the standard for rendering judgment as a matter of law.Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323. If the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue for trial. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 597. See also Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365, 374-75 (5th Cir. 1969) (en banc) (explaining the standard to be applied in determining whether the court should enter judgment on motions for directed verdict or for judgment notwithstanding the verdict).

IV. Facts Established as a Matter of Law by the Summary Judgment Record

Uncontroverted summary judgment evidence establishes the following facts:

Seminary is a non-profit corporation with only one member, the Southern Baptist Convention ("Convention"). A Board of Trustees, elected by Convention, governs Seminary. Convention is a religious non-profit corporation. Seminary is fostered and supported by Convention, and is subject to the spiritual control and leadership of Convention. The activities of Seminary are guided by, and subject to, the articles of faith embraced by Convention. Members of Seminary's Board of Trustees are chosen from the membership of churches cooperating with Convention, elected by Convention, and subject to removal by Convention.

The purpose of Convention is to provide a general organization for Baptists in the United States and its territories for the promotion of Christian missions at home and abroad and other objects, such as Christian education, benevolent enterprises, and social services that Convention may deem proper and advisable in the furtherance of its religious objectives.

Seminary is one of six theological seminaries of Convention. The purpose and activities of each seminary is generally described in Seminary's faculty manual as follows:

Mission

Southern Baptist Theological Seminaries exist to prepare God-called men and women for vocational service in Baptist churches and in other Christian ministries throughout the world through programs of spiritual development, theological studies, and practical preparation in ministry.

Ministries

1. Assist churches by programs of pre-baccalaureate and baccalaureate theological education for ministers. . . .

2. Assist churches by programs of Master's level theological education for ministers. . . .

3. Assist churches by programs of professional doctoral education for ministers. . . .

4. Assist churches by programs of research doctoral education for minsters and theological educators. . . .

5. Assist churches through the administration of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives.

Seminary App., Tab 6 at 197. The bylaws of Seminary state that Seminary's primary purpose is "to provide theological education for individuals engaging in Christian ministry." Id., Tab 3 at 32. From time to time Convention has published a summary of the teachings that Baptists believe, which is titled Baptist Faith and Message, the most recent of which was adopted by Convention in 2000.

Included in the bylaws of Seminary is the following statement of Seminary's policy as to the relationship between Seminary and its faculty:

It shall be the policy of the Seminary to strive for and maintain a faculty composed of persons dedicated to prayer and Bible study and who hold faithful allegiance to the Seminary's Statement of Faith as described in Article I.3 of these bylaws. Included are those who are of unquestionable Christian character, exhibit positive and consecrated Christian attitudes, strive to achieve the highest possible scholastic attainments, and demonstrate an acceptable aptitude for teaching. The selection, election, promotion, granting of tenure, and termination of faculty members are viewed as matters of ecclesiastical concern and as commitments of faith between the Seminary and faculty members. Ecclesiastical concern requires that the relationship not be entered into, continued, or severed without prayerful consideration.

Id., Tab 4 at 137 (emphasis added). With respect to the term of employment of non-tenured faculty members, such as plaintiff, the bylaws state:

The employment of a faculty member with tenure continues on an indefinite basis, — according to provisions set forth in these bylaws. The Seminary is not obligated to renew a non-tenured faculty member's employment.

Id. at 143. Further on the subject of the term of employment of a non-tenured faculty member, the 2005 Faculty Manual provides that "[a] tenure-track faculty member may be dismissed if, in the exercise by the Seminary of its sole discretion over matters of ecclesiastical concern it determines . . . that it is not in the best interests of the mission of the Seminary to continue the employment." Id., Tab 6 at 194.

Seminary's School of Theology, of which plaintiff was a faculty member, is one of four schools providing post-graduate education on the main campus of the seminary. The purpose of the School of Theology is described in Seminary's catalog as follows:

The purpose of the School of Theology of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is to provide graduate theological education for students engaging in Christian ministry. The curriculum is composed of basic biblical, theological, and ministry disciplines, designed to prepare the student for effective pastoral ministry and other ministries of the church. The school seeks to create a context conducive to growth in Christian character and to provide training and resources for a lifetime of continuing theological study.

Id., Tab 7 at 223. A degree offered through the School of Theology is the Master of Divinity, which is the basic program for preparing students for the Christian ministry. Classes that were taught by plaintiff as a faculty member are part of the core curriculum for the Master of Divinity program.

The purposes of Seminary are wholly sectarian. Seminary is strictly a religious institution that has as its goal preparing persons for Christian ministry.

In April 2002 plaintiff was elected to the faculty of Seminary's School of Theology as an assistant professor of Old Testament language, without tenure. Some of the members of the Board of Trustees of Seminary expressed concern over whether electing a woman to teach in the School of Theology was consistent with the part of the Baptist Faith and Message that states that "[w]hile both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by scripture." Id., Tab B at 12, ¶ 24. Plaintiff's election to the faculty was the result of a compromise between members of the Board of Trustees that resulted in placement of a limitation on her scope of employment to the teaching of Hebrew and Aramaic grammar, syntax, and exegesis. The compromise included an expression that the purpose of plaintiff's position was "to help students gain facility in the handling of the Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Old Testament." Id., Tab 8 at 236. The courses plaintiff taught during her employment as a non-tenured member of the faculty were limited pursuant to the compromise. Even with the compromise, there were members of the Board of Trustees of Seminary who opposed her election to the faculty.

Plaintiff's employment at Seminary involved preparing her students for the ministry. In her responses to a faculty questionnaire, she said that she enjoyed spending time with students and "helping them prepare for ministry." Id., Tab 9 at 248. In a letter she wrote to Blaising in October 2003, she explained how meetings she attended "were helpful in that they clarified the connection between trying to demonstrate how what we teach is relevant and moves towards accomplishing our goal of training students who will minister in church communities." Id., Tab 10 at 257. She went on to say that she plans to work on an essay that she hopes will explain "how learning biblical language is relevant for practical ministry." Id. In a Faculty Evaluation Addendum for the academic year 2003-04, she described her Spiritual Leadership as including ministering to students primarily by listening to them, saying that she meets with students regularly and as she learns of their challenging personal circumstances, she prays with them and for them. Id., Tab 11 at 262. In a Teaching Evaluation Supplement for the academic year 04-05, she explained certain aspects of her role as a teacher at Seminary, saying:

I attempt to accommodate a broad range of students in my courses and meet their practical needs in terms of ministry preparation. I tailored the Exegetical Method courses to focus on exegesis as prerequisite to sermon/teaching preparation in local church ministries. I attempted to emphasize the contributions that biblical language instruction make to proper biblical interpretation.

Id., Tab 12 at 277.

Consistent with plaintiff's perception of her role at Seminary, the summary judgment record establishes that the faculty of Seminary are hired, assigned, advanced, tenured, evaluated, and terminated on predominantly religious criteria. Seminary regards its employment decisions as divinely guided assessments of each employee's suitability for the position she will occupy in relation to the students and as a representative of the institution. The courses taught by plaintiff at Seminary had sectarian goals.

Patterson was elected president of Seminary on June 24, 2003. After he became president, he informed members of the Board of Trustees and Blaising that, after prayerful consideration of scripture, he believed that the best way for Seminary to relate to Convention and its churches would be to have all persons teaching future pastors within the School of Theology be qualified to serve as the pastor of a local church. Such a belief necessarily meant that plaintiff would not be qualified to continue service as a member of the faculty of the School of Theology. The members of the Board of Trustees to whom Patterson conveyed his belief approved of it.

Blaising met with plaintiff in March and June 2004 when, in at least one of the meetings, he told plaintiff that Patterson had decided that plaintiff should not be recommended for tenure. At that time, plaintiff started seeking other employment. Blaising assisted her by writing letters of recommendation on her behalf to several other universities. The message to plaintiff that she would not be recommended for tenure was the equivalent of a notice to her that she was being discharged, and she understood that fact when she was told that she would not be recommended for tenure.

On August 12, 2004, plaintiff met with Wolfe, who was her immediate supervisor, concerning her employment situation. She informed him that she was considering legal action, and that she was certain of victory if she pursued that course. During that meeting plaintiff provided to Wolfe for his consideration a draft of a letter she prepared for possible delivery to Patterson. It contained the following wording:

I would like to request that you reconsider your current decision to revoke my tenure status and refuse to recommend me for tenure to the board of trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary when the time arrives for my tenure review, on the basis of my gender.

. . . While I understand your personal conviction and the conviction of some board members that the faculty role in the school of theology should be understood as pastoral, and that you feel that the seminary should model the structure of the local church, I have and continue to make a significant contribution to the School of Theology in the area of biblical languages and believe that God placed me in this place of service. . . .

Id., Tab 14 at 297 (emphasis added).

In August 2004 plaintiff met personally with Patterson, when he confirmed to her his decision that he would not recommend her for tenure within the School of Theology. He told her that he would allow her to maintain her employment for a reasonable time until she was able to find a new position at another institution. Patterson agreed that, if plaintiff was unable to find employment earlier, she could continue to work at Seminary through the spring 2007 semester in a reassigned position for the same salary and benefits she was receiving as a member of the faculty. In May 2006 Blaising, on behalf of Seminary, offered plaintiff the position of Associate Director of the Writing Center, with no reduction in pay or employee benefits. She did not accept that offer. Rather, on July 6, 2006, she gave Dr. Blaising her letter informing him of her resignation from the faculty at Seminary effective July 31, 2006, and advising him that she had been appointed to the faculty of Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, effective August 1, 2006.

On February 7, 2007, plaintiff filed a charge of sex discrimination against Seminary with the EEOC. In March 2007, plaintiff filed her original complaint by which this action was instituted.

V. Analysis

A. The First Amendment Issues.

The Fifth Circuit has decided a series of cases, starting withMcClure v. Salvation Army, 460 F.2d 553 (5th Cir. 1972), and going through Starkman v. Evans, 198 F.3d 173 (5th Cir. 1999), that discuss the principles that are determinative of the contention of defendants that plaintiff's alleged causes of action should be resolved against her by reason of the religion clauses of the First Amendment.³ A brief discussion of the pertinent Fifth Circuit decisions explains why a ruling in favor of defendants based on the First Amendment is compelled.

1. McClure v. Salvation Army , 460 F.2d 553 (5th Cir. 1972).

The issue in McClure was whether Title VII applies to the employment relationship between a church and its minister. The parties apparently acknowledged that the employer, The Salvation Army, was a church for First Amendment purposes and that the plaintiff, McClure, who was serving as a secretary of a department of The Salvation Army at the time of the alleged discriminatory practice, was a minister of The Salvation Army for purposes of a First Amendment analysis. McClure's claim was that she was discriminated against in her employment with The Salvation Army because of her gender.

The Fifth Circuit defined the issue in McClure to be: "Does the application of the provisions of Title VII to the relationship between The Salvation Army and Mrs. McClure (a church and its minister) violate either of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment?" Id. at 558. After a careful review of controlling holdings of the Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit concluded that:

[T]he application of the provisions of Title VII to the employment relationship existing between The Salvation Army and Mrs. McClure, a church and its minister would result in an encroachment by the State into an area of religious freedom which it is forbidden to enter by the principles of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Id. at 560. The court then, after evaluating whether a construction of Title VII is fairly possible by which the constitutional issue could be avoided, held that "Congress did not intend, through the nonspecific wording of the applicable provisions of Title VII, to regulate the employment relationship between church and minister." Id. at 560-61.⁴

4 McClure has provided guidance to the courts of other jurisdictions concerning the church-minister relation in a Title VII action. See, e.g., Alicea-Hernandez v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 320 F.3d 698, 702-03 (7th Cir. 2003); EEOC v. Catholic Univ. of Am., 83 F.3d 455, 462-63 (D.C. Cir. 1996); Young v. N. Ill. Conference of United Methodist Church, 21 F.3d 184, 185 (7th Cir. 1994); Scharon v. St. Luke's Episcopal Presbyterian Hosps., 929 F.2d 360, 363 (8th Cir. 1991); Minker v. Baltimore Annual Conference of United Methodist Church, 894 F.2d 1354, 1357 (D.C. Cir. 1990); Rayburn v. General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, 772 F.2d 1164, 1168 (4th Cir. 1985) (recognizing that the "ministerial exception" to Title VII was first articulated inMcClure).

2. Simpson v. Wells Lamont Corp. , 494 F.2d 490 (5th Cir. 1974).

In Simpson the Fifth Circuit was faced with the questions of who would preach from the pulpit of a church and who would occupy the church parsonage. The plaintiffs, a pastor and his wife, brought a civil rights suit against North Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church and various church officials and parishioners for damages for his ouster from the church and the church parsonage by church officials.⁵ The Conference and the church officials and parishioners contended that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the claims against them by reason of the First Amendment's religion clauses.

5 There were other defendants against whom causes of action not relevant to this memorandum opinion were asserted.

The Simpson district court treated a motion for summary judgment as a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and dismissed the action as to the religious-oriented defendants. The Fifth Circuit introduced its analysis with what it viewed to be a given:

Certainly a congregation's determination as to who shall preach from the church pulpit is at the very heart of the free exercise of religion, which plaintiffs would corrode with an overlay of civil rights legislation and other parts of the Constitution. The people of the United States conveyed no power to Congress to vest its courts with jurisdiction to settle purely ecclesiastical disputes.

Id. at 492 (emphasis added).

Affirming, the Fifth Circuit, in reliance on established Supreme Court precedent, explained:

The First Amendment language that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." historically has stood for the strict prohibition of governmental interference in ecclesiastical matters. Only on rare occasions where there existed a compelling governmental interest in the regulation of public health, safety, and general welfare have the courts ventured into this protected area. Such incursions have been cautiously made so as not to interfere with the doctrinal beliefs and internal decisions of the religious society. Thus, the law is clear: civil courts are barred by the First Amendment from determining ecclesiastical questions. . . .

. . . .

FINAL JUDGMENT

Consistent with the memorandum opinion and order signed in the above-captioned action on the date of the signing of this final judgment,

The court ORDERS, ADJUDGES, and DECREES that plaintiff, Dr. Sheri L. Klouda, have and recover nothing from defendants, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Leighton Paige Patterson, and that all of her alleged causes of action against defendants be, and are hereby, dismissed.

The court further ORDERS, ADJUDGES, and DECREES that defendants have and recover from plaintiff costs of court incurred by them.