Plishka v. Skurla

204 N.E.3d 1250

Richard PLISHKA, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee,

v.William SKURLA, et al., Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.

No. 111122

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County.

Released and Journalized: December 29, 2022

Robinson Law Firm LLC and Emmett E. Robinson, for appellant/cross-appellee.

Sutter O'Connell Co., Denise A. Dickerson, and Robert E. Cahill, Cleveland, for appellee/cross-appellant William Skurla.

Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, Steven E. Seasly, and Andrew J. Wolf ; Cleveland, Frantz Ward LLP, James B. Niehaus, Cleveland, and Klevis Bakiaj, Lakewood, for appellee/cross-appellant Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Parma.

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION

EILEEN T. GALLAGHER, J.:

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant and cross-appellee, Richard Plishka ("Fr. Plishka"), appeals from the denial of his motion for partial summary judgment and the trial court's judgment entering a directed verdict in favor of defendants-appellees and cross-appellants, William Skurla ("Archbishop Skurla") and the Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Parma (the "Diocese") (collectively the "defendants"). Fr. Plishka raises the following assignments of error for review:

1. The trial court reversibly erred with it denied Fr. Plishka's motion for partial summary judgment.

2. The trial court reversibly erred when it barred Fr. Plishka from introducing any evidence related to the "ulterior purpose" element of his abuse-of-process claim.

{¶ 2} In turn, the defendants appeal from the trial court's denial of their motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. They raise the following cross-assignment of error for review:

1. The trial court erred when it denied defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

{¶ 3} After careful review of the record and relevant case law, we reverse the trial court's judgment denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Fr. Plishka's assignments of error are rendered moot.

Procedural and Factual History¹

A. Statement of the Facts

{¶ 4} In November 2008, Fr. Plishka was ordained as a priest within the Diocese. In June 2012, Bishop John M. Kudrick ("Bishop Kudrick"), now retired, formally appointed Fr. Plishka as the Director of the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center (the "Cultural Center"). (Tr. 1160.) Prior to Fr. Plishka's appointment, the Cultural Center was located at the Diocesan Cathedral Complex in Parma, Ohio. At Fr. Plishka's urging, however, the Cultural Center was moved into the rectory of a nonactive parish owned by the Diocese, the Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church (the "Holy Ghost Church") located in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.

{¶ 5} According to Bishop Kudrick, the Cultural Center's mission was to increase the presence of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the local community, to become a house of prayer, and to serve as the "springboard" to form a men's monastery. (Bishop Kudrick Aff. ¶ 3.) To facilitate the goals of the Cultural Center, Fr. Plishka organized men's and women's retreats, sponsored camps for children, participated in Tremont community activities, displayed church-related exhibits, and held worship services. (Tr. 816, 823.) The Cultural Center actively operated in the Tremont community for the majority of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

{¶ 6} However, in a letter dated June 30, 2015, Bishop Kudrick informed Fr. Plishka that the Cultural Center would be closed due to alleged funding issues.² (Tr. 1488.) At that time, Bishop Kudrick directed Fr. Plishka to transfer "any and all items [from the Cultural Center], other than those personally owned, to the Cathedral Complex so the real property may be prepared for alienation." (Tr. 1086-1087, 1489; Bishop Kudrick depo., exhibit E.) On September 4, 2015, Bishop Kudrick issued a decree, formally relieving Fr. Plishka of his duties at the Cultural Center. (Tr. 1088; Bishop Kudrick depo., exhibit F.)

{¶ 7} Following various disagreements concerning Fr. Plishka's next assignment and the terms of his request for a leave of absence, Fr. Plishka was instructed to remove his belongings from the Holy Ghost Church by February 14, 2016. (Bishop Kudrick depo. at 126.) Ultimately, Fr. Plishka vacated the Holy Ghost rectory on May 31, 2016. (Bishop Kudrick depo., exhibit No. 46; tr. 1498-1499, 1560.)

{¶ 8} On May 4, 2016, Archbishop Skurla was appointed the Apostolic Administrator of the Parma Diocese. Upon his appointment, Archbishop Skurla was notified that certain property belonging to the Diocese was removed from the Cultural Center when Fr. Plishka vacated the Holy Ghost Church. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 11.) The items taken from the rectory included various pieces of furniture and relics of the Blessed Pavel Gojdich and Blessed Basil Hokko, which "are small pieces of bone of the particular saint." (Tr. 654-658, 849.)

{¶ 9} Archbishop Skurla testified that he immediately directed Father James Batcha ("Fr. Batcha"), the Diocesan finance officer, and John Popp ("Popp"), who was assigned the new director of the Cultural Center, to investigate the allegations levied against Fr. Plishka by his colleagues. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 12; tr. 658-659.) At the conclusion of his investigation, Popp generated an inventory of all items missing from the Cultural Center. The inventory list and corresponding receipts were then forwarded to Fr. Nicholas Rachford, the Diocese's Judicial Vicar, who shared the list with Fr. Plishka's legal representatives. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 20.)

{¶ 10} After numerous attempts to recover the Diocese's property from Fr. Plishka, including an in-person meeting held on December 12, 2016, the Diocese engaged civil counsel. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 26; tr. 701.) On March 28, 2017, counsel for the Diocese sent a letter to Fr. Plishka demanding that he identify the location of the Diocese's property and make arrangements for the Diocese to retrieve the property by April 7, 2017. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 28; tr. 702.) When Fr. Plishka did not comply with the Diocese's initial demands, a second letter, dated April 13, 2017, was sent to Fr. Plishka, requesting an immediate response to the March 28, 2017 demand letter. (Archbishop Skurla Aff. ¶ 29; tr. 726.) Again, no response was received. (Tr. 728.)

B. The Diocese's Original Complaint for Conversion and Replevin

{¶ 11} On May 31, 2017, the Diocese filed a complaint against Fr. Plishka in Cuyahoga C.P. No. CV-17-881086, asserting claims for conversion and replevin. In the complaint, the Diocese alleged that Fr. Plishka was unlawfully in possession of the Diocese's property, including "religious, spiritual, and liturgical items; religious relics and reliquary boxes; and furnishings of the [Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center]." The complaint sought damages and an order requiring Fr. Plishka to return the subject property to the Diocese.

{¶ 12} During the pendency of Case No. CV-17-881086, the Diocese issued a decree (the "Suspension Decree"), dated July 20, 2017, suspending Fr. Plishka from ministry. The Suspension Decree stated, in pertinent part:

Whereas canon 1517 § 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches states "before issuing an extrajudicial decree, an authority is to seek out the necessary information and proofs, hear or consult those whom the decree directly touches and especially those whose rights can be injured," and;

Whereas the undersigned has sought and received the necessary information and proofs, and; whereas civil lawsuits have been lodged in the civil court of the United States against the Reverend Richard Plishka, in which Reverend Plishka has been accused to have violated the norm of canon 1449 ("a person who alienated ecclesiastical goods without the prescribed consent or permission is to be punished with an appropriate penalty"), and;

Whereas such an accusation is of such a serious nature and has caused scandal so as to question suitability of Reverend Plishka's ministry in the local church to which the undersigned has been entrusted;

The undersigned decrees that:

The Reverend Richard Plishka is to be suspended from the exercise of his priestly ministries, including the celebration of the Divine Liturgy depending on the outcome of the resolution of said civil lawsuits.

{¶ 13} On July 30, 2017, the Diocese notified its parishioners that it had suspended Fr. Plishka through the Diocesan newspaper, Horizons. The public notification stated that "Father Richard Plishka was suspended from priestly ministries, including the celebration of Divine Liturgy, effective July 20, until further notice." The publication did not state the grounds supporting Fr. Plishka's suspension.

{¶ 14} On July 21, 2017, Bishop Milan Lach ("Bishop Lach") succeeded Archbishop Skurla as the Apostolic Administrator of the Eparchy of Parma. (Lach depo. at 6-7.) On August 7, 2017, Bishop Lach temporarily lifted Fr. Plishka's suspension. (Bishop Lach depo. at 46; tr. 1805.) On August 14, 2017, Bishop Lach rescinded the suspension in its entirety and clarified that Fr. Plishka "continues to be a priest in good standing * * * and is entitled to exercise priestly ministry." (Bishop Lach depo. at 53, exhibit No. 6; tr. 1806.)

{¶ 15} On September 7, 2017, the Diocese voluntarily dismissed Case No. 17-CV-881086, purportedly to "help [Fr. Plishka]," and to "resolve things with him other than through judicial means." (Bishop Lach depo. at 57; tr. 428.)

C. Fr. Plishka's Complaint for Abuse-of-Process

{¶ 16} On January 17, 2018, Fr. Plishka filed a complaint against the Diocese and Archbishop Skurla in Cuyahoga C.P. No. CV-18-891709. The complaint set forth a single claim for abuse-of-process, alleging

[t]he defendants did not file their [original] complaint against plaintiff for its stated purpose — to recover allegedly converted property and/or to receive just compensation. Instead, the defendants misused, and misapplied, the lawsuit to accomplish an end other than that which it was purportedly assigned to accomplish — to summarily and

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