Local News in Brief : Church Seeks Reversal of ‘Malpractice’ Ruling

Grace Community Church will ask the California Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the state Court of Appeal ordering a new trial in a lawsuit filed by a couple whose son committed suicide after being counseled at the church, an attorney for the church said Tuesday.

Attorney David Cooksey said that, if the landmark “clergy malpractice” case goes to trial, “courts are going to be put in the position of having to supervise the teachings of the church.” This would violate the First Amendment protections of freedom of religion and the separation of church and state, he said.

Cooksey said he will petition the court by Oct. 26 and expects about 50 churches, foundations and religious organizations to submit briefs supporting Grace Community Church’s position.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal recently reaffirmed its decision to order a second trial of the $1-million lawsuit filed against the Sun Valley church by Walter and Maria Nally, a Tujunga couple whose 24-year-old son, Kenneth, killed himself with a shotgun in 1979. The court said a counselor had a responsibility to refer a potentially suicidal person to a psychiatrist who can take medical and legal action to prevent a suicide.

The Nallys allege that ministers at the fundamentalist church attributed their son’s emotional problems to sin and failed to insist that he get psychiatric help when they realized he was suicidal. The church has said that Kenneth Nally was seen by eight physicians and mental-health professionals in the last two months of his life and was referred to two physicians and a psychology professor by church counselors.

A Glendale Superior Court judge dismissed the case during trial in May, 1985, ruling that any judicial attempt to set standards for pastoral counseling would violate the First Amendment.

But, Sept. 16, the Court of Appeal reinstated the lawsuit for trial, reaffirming its decision Oct. 16.