•
•
CAUSE NO. 352-263167-12
JOSEPH JORDAN
§
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF
§
§
§
PLAINTIFF,
vs.
ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF
FORT WORTH; MOST REV. KEVIN
VANN, BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF
FORT WORTH; REV. MSGR. STEPHEN
BERG, VICAR GENERAL &
MODERATOR OF THE CURIA,
DIOCESE OF FORT WORTH;
REV.MSGR. E. JAMES HART, PASTOR,
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON
CATHOLIC CHURCH; AND GABE
GUTIERREZ, YOUTH MINISTER,
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON
CATHOLIC CHURCH
DEFENDANTS.
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
352ND JUDICIAL DISTRICT
DEFENDANTS' ORIGINAL ANSWER
TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:
Now come Defendants Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth 1, Most Reverend Kevin Vann,
Reverend Monsignor Stephen Berg, Reverend Monsignor E. James Hart, and Gabe Gutierrez
("Defendants"), and file their Defendants' Original Answer and respectfully show the Court as
follows:
1
Incorrectly named in Plaintiffs Original Petition as "Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth".
DEFENDANTS' ORIGINAL ANSWER
PAGE
I
•
•
I. General Denial
Defendants generally deny, each and every, all and singular, the allegations contained in
Plaintiffs Original Petition and demand strict proof thereof as allowed under the laws of the
State of Texas. By this general denial, Defendants would require Plaintiff to prove every fact to
support the claims in his Original Petition by a preponderance of the evidence.
II. Defenses
Defendants plead that this honorable Court is without subject matter jurisdiction because
the imposition of damages based upon Plaintiffs allegations would violate the First Amendment
of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of
Texas.
Defendants are entitled to, and hereby invoke, the immunities and limitations of liability
provided by the Charitable Immunity & Liability Act, Chapter 84 of the Tex. Civ. Prac & Rem.
Code for charitable organizations and their officers, directors, trustees, service volunteers, and
employees.
Plaintiffs defamation claim is barred because the statements regarding removal of
Plaintiffs volunteer privileges are true.
Plaintiffs claim is barred in whole or in part because statements regarding Plaintiffs
volunteer privileges are protected by qualified privilege. To whatever extent Defendants are
responsible for the publication of these statements, they acted in good faith, honestly, and
without malice.
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code§ 41.001, et seq. applies and punitive damages
awarded, if any, are subject to the statutory limit set forth therein, other applicable statutory
DEFENDANTS' ORIGINAL ANSWER
PAGE2
•
•
authority, and common law.
Furthermore, unless Plaintiff proves Defendants' liability for
punitive damages, and the amount of punitive damages, if any, by clear and convincing evidence,
any award of punitive damages would violate Defendants' due process rights guaranteed by the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and by Section 19 of Article 1 of the
Texas Constitution.
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Defendants pray that Plaintiff take nothing
herein, and for such other and further relief, whether at law or in equity, to which they may be
justly entitled.
Respectfully submitted,
D. Hatten
y ate Bar No. 00785949
SHANNON, GRACEY, RATLIFF & MILLER, L.L.P.
777 Main Street, Suite 3800
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
(817) 336-9333 Telephone
(817) 336-3735 Facsimile
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS
DEFENDANTS' ORIGINAL ANSWER
PAGE3
•
•
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
This is to certify that on this the 7th day of January 2013, a true and correct copy of
Defendants' Original Answer was served upon the following counsel of record via certified
mail, return receipt requested:
Via CMRRR #7011 1570 0000 3039 8661
Larry D. Thompson
LORANCE & THOMPSON, P.C.
2900 North Loop West, Suite 500
Houston, Texas 77092
Via CMRRR #70111570 0000 3039 8630
Victoria L. Thompson
3 Live Oak Trail
Cypress, Texas 77429
DEFENDANTS' ORIGINAL ANSWER
PAGE4
SHANNONGRACEY
SHANNON, GRACEY, RATLIFF & MILLER, LLP
Mark D. Hatten
Direct Dial: (817) 877-8149
Email: mhatten@shannongracey.com
January 7, 2013
Via Messenger
Ms. Lisa Adams, Lead Clerk
352nd Judicial District Court
Tarrant County Justice Ctr.
401 W. Belknap, gth Floor
Fort Worth, TX 76196
Re:
Cause No. 352-263167-12; Joseph Jordan v Roman Catholic Diocese ofFort
Worth, eta!.
Dear Ms. Adams:
Enclosed for filing in connection with the above-styled suit, please find an original and
one copy of Defendants' Original Answer. Please file the enclosed document with the Clerk of
the Court, and return a file-marked copy to the undersigned via the messenger making this
delivery.
By copy of this correspondence, I am forwarding a copy of same to all counsel as noted
below.
I thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sinoore~
7k
-i
::c
0
g-z_
~
=>-
D. Ilatten
~:P
~:v-
.....1
~(../)
('").
r-~
r1--=:.
:::;:~-
~r
0
fT1
;o
1
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Arlington
I
Austin
1
I
P (817) 336-9333
Dallas
I
I
F (817) 336-3735
Fort Worth
I
Houston
.......
<~
MDH:nw
Enclosure
777 Main Street, Suite 3800
-
~
I
I
)>
.f?
0
cr
-I
)>
--
-"
·,.;;:;
:'?-rt
:.;:.r:
-~
C')f"l
oO
c
:.r.
-\
~
www.shannongracey.com
.·
Ms. Lisa Adams, Lead Clerk
January 7, 2013
Page 2
cc:
Via CMRRR #7011 1570 0000 3039 8661
Larry D. Thompson
LORANCE & THOMPSON, P.C.
2900 North Loop West, Suite 500
Houston, Texas 77092
w/enclosure
Via CMRRR #70111570 0000 3039 8630
Victoria L. Thompson
3 Live Oak Trail
Cypress, Texas 77429
w/enclosure