Farmer de la Torre v. Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, Inc., 6:24-cv-03112

Plaintiff John Farmer De La Torre was Director of Communications and Marketing at Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, Inc. (CCSM).
After complaining to HR about discrimination based on his sex and national origin, De La Torre was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) and was later terminated.
Plaintiff alleged discrimination and retaliation in an EEOC complaint, received a right to sue letter, and then brought this action.
Claims were brought against CCSM and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (the Diocese), including retaliation, defamation, negligent supervision, and civil conspiracy.
The court had already dismissed the Title VII retaliation claim against the Diocese; this order addresses the remaining claims against the Diocese.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Defamation	Eidson's statement about photo quality was false, damaging, and circulated as justification for termination.	No publication to third party; statements were internal opinions.	Dismissed – No publication as required under Missouri law.
Negligent Supervision	Diocese should have supervised its employee Eidson, who was harming plaintiff.	Statements were within scope of Eidson’s employment.	Dismissed – No facts pleaded showing acts outside employment scope.
Civil Conspiracy to Retaliate	Critiques were a pretext jointly developed to justify termination; conspiracy between CCSM and Diocese.	No unlawful act or independent wrong alleged beyond Title VII; Title VII preempts.	Dismissed – Title VII provides exclusive remedy.

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (motion to dismiss standard requires plausibility, not mere conclusions)
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (complaints need enough facts to state a plausible claim)
Overcast v. Billings Mut. Ins., 11 S.W.3d 62 (Mo. 2000) (elements of defamation under Missouri law)
Rice v. Hodapp, 919 S.W.2d 240 (Mo. 1996) (communication within corporation is not publication to third party)
Oak Bluff Partners, Inc. v. Meyer, 3 S.W.3d 777 (Mo. 1999) (elements of civil conspiracy under Missouri law)