The state's high court has paved the way for a woman who claims she was coerced into having sexual relations by a pastor to sue the entire church and its hierarchy.
Without comment, the justices rejected arguments of attorneys for the Church of the Nazarene that the state has no right to look into who was hired for its Chandler church and what oversight was provided. Attorney Rick Bryson, who represents plaintiff Shirin Rashedi, said it is a significant victory not only for her but also for others who have been abused by church employees.
"It shows that religious institutions cannot use the First Amendment as a shield against lawsuits," he said.
Rashedi claims officials of the Church of the Nazarene had "credible evidence" when they hired Edward Yousfi in 1996 as pastor for the Chandler church that he had stolen money from church members in other states. Rashedi said there also was evidence Yousfi had engaged in sexual misconduct with parishioners elsewhere.
Rashedi says Yousfi and his brother, Joseph Youssefi, defrauded her of at least $286,000. She also contends Yousfi engaged in sexual relations with her by using his position as pastor and spiritual adviser.
Attorneys for the regional governing board said a church manual shows board members have no control or knowledge of operations of local churches. They said civil courts must accept provisions of the manual as fact and cannot inquire further.
A lawyer for the church district said its only contact with Yousfi was granting him the status of licensed minister - matters over which civil courts have no jurisdiction.