Murphy v. LS.K.Con. of New England, Inc.

On June 16, 1987, a jury awarded $610,000 to the plaintiffs Susan Murphy and her mother, Mary Murphy, for damages arising out of their involvement with the defendant, I.S.K.Con. of New England, Inc. (ISKCON N.E.). The defendant now appeals claiming that the trial below constituted a “heresy trial” and that the jury’s verdicts against the defendant represent an impermissible restraint on ISKCON N.E.’s right to practice freely its religion. The defendant argues that one of the plaintiffs’ claims, for intentional interference with parental rights, does not exist under the common law of the…