Herx v. Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Inc.
772 F.3d 1085
7th Cir.
2014

Background

  • Emily Herx was a junior-high language-arts teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School (Fort Wayne, IN); her contract was annually renewable.
  • After being diagnosed with infertility, Herx underwent fertility treatments culminating in in vitro fertilization (IVF) in March 2010; she informed the principal and was allowed leave.
  • In April 2011 the Diocese informed Herx her contract would not be renewed because IVF violates Catholic moral teaching.
  • Herx sued the Diocese and the school under Title VII (as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act) alleging sex discrimination, and under the ADA; the district court granted summary judgment to defendants on the ADA claim but denied summary judgment on the Title VII sex-discrimination claim.
  • The district court rejected the Diocese’s invocation of (1) Title VII’s religious-employer exemptions and (2) the ministerial exception; it concluded a reasonable jury could infer sex discrimination and set trial.
  • The Diocese appealed interlocutorily via the collateral-order doctrine; Herx moved to dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction and the Seventh Circuit granted the motion, dismissing the appeal.

Issues

Issue Plaintiff's Argument Defendant's Argument Held
Whether Title VII’s religious-employer exemptions bar nonreligious discrimination claims against religious employers Herx: exemptions don’t apply to sex-discrimination claims; Title VII still governs Diocese: exemptions should shield religious employers categorically from such claims Court: decline to treat the district ruling as collaterally appealable; did not reach merits but observed exemptions are not shown to be an immunity from trial for collateral-order purposes
Whether the First Amendment (ministerial exception or other religion-based immunity) prevents trial on Herx’s Title VII claim Herx: First Amendment does not bar adjudication of her sex-discrimination claim Diocese: First Amendment bars jury inquiry into church doctrine and may confer immunity from trial Court: district judge limited jury to secular question of motive; Seventh Circuit found the First Amendment interests here did not warrant immediate appellate review under collateral-order doctrine
Whether the ministerial exception applied to Herx Herx: she is a lay teacher, not a minister Diocese: ministerial exception might bar suit Court below: ministerial exception does not apply; Seventh Circuit did not review that ruling on interlocutory appeal
Whether the district court’s denial of summary judgment is immediately appealable under the collateral-order doctrine Herx: denial is not a collateral order; appeal should be dismissed Diocese: denial implicates immunity-like religious interests justifying immediate review Court: collateral-order standards not met (not effectively unreviewable on final judgment); appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction

Key Cases Cited

  • Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 (establishing the collateral-order doctrine)
  • Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651 (collateral-order appeal for double jeopardy rulings)
  • Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (absolute immunity collateral-order precedent)
  • Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (qualified immunity collateral-order precedent)
  • P.R. Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S. 139 (Eleventh Amendment collateral-order precedent)
  • Digital Equip. Corp. v. Desktop Direct, Inc., 511 U.S. 863 (narrow scope of collateral-order doctrine)
  • Will v. Hallock, 546 U.S. 345 (emphasis on modest scope of collateral-order doctrine)
  • Mohawk Indus., Inc. v. Carpenter, 558 U.S. 100 (focus on category-based collateral-order analysis)
  • Swint v. Chambers Cnty. Comm’n, 514 U.S. 35 (collateral-order criteria quoted)
  • McCarthy v. Fuller, 714 F.3d 971 (Seventh Circuit allowing collateral appeal where a jury would decide a religious question contrary to church determination)
  • Korte v. Sebelius, 735 F.3d 654 (distinguishing RFRA from Title VII exemptions; describing exemptions as categorical in context)
  • Kennedy v. St. Joseph’s Ministries, Inc., 657 F.3d 189 (cited as circuit precedent limiting Title VII exemptions to religious discrimination claims)
  • Boyd v. Harding Acad. of Memphis, Inc., 88 F.3d 410 (similar holding on scope of Title VII exemptions)
  • EEOC v. Pac. Press Publ’g Ass’n, 676 F.2d 1272 (Ninth Circuit on religious-employer exemptions)
  • Abelesz v. Magyar Nemzeti Bank, 692 F.3d 661 (foreign sovereign immunity collateral-order discussion)
  • Segni v. Commercial Office of Spain, 816 F.2d 344 (terminology of "immunity" vs. appellate finality)
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