Jenkins v. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

Plaintiff, Kevin Jenkins, left his employment as an associate pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Trinity) after a meeting with his head pastor, Roger Abatie. Plaintiff later sued Trinity and Abatie for breach of contract, tortious interference with a contract, and defamation. The trial court dismissed the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and ordered the parties to arbitrate the issues. We hold that the trial court properly found that the tortious interference and defamation claims were subject to arbitration, but erred in dismissing the breach of contract claim.

Tri…