Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) v. Edwards

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE WRIGHT

Appellant, the Presbyterian Church, appeals from the Court of Appeals' order granting in part and denying in part its petition for a writ to prohibit the trial court from lifting its stay of discovery. The Court of Appeals granted the writ to the extent the trial court should limit discovery to that which was necessary to determine whether the church was entitled to ecclesiastical immunity. For the following reasons, we affirm the Court of Appeals' order.

I. BACKGROUND

The Presbyterian Ministry Agency (PMA) hired Reverend Eric Hoey as the Director of…