Janice Paul, A/k/a/ Janice Perez v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that the imposition of tort damages on a religious organization for engaging in \shunning\ would unconstitutionally impose a direct burden on religion
• holding that to allow a plaintiff to pursue tort claims against a religious organization based on shunning would effectively abridge the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment
• recognizing that \shunning\ is a form of ostracism that purportedly has its roots in early Christianity, and which is practiced by various religious groups, including the Amish, Mennonites, and Jehovah's Witnesses
• noting that \[i]mposing tort liability for shunning on the Church would in the long run have the same effect as prohibiting the practice and would compel the Church to abandon part of its religious teachings\
• noting that “[ijmposing tort liability for shunning on the Church would in the long run have the same effect as prohibiting the practice and would compel the Church to abandon part of its religious teachings”
• stating “the burden of tort damages is direct ... [w]ere we to permit recovery, ‘the pressure to ... forego that practice [would be] unmistakeable’ ”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).