Kliebenstein v. Iowa Conference of United Methodist Church

NEUMAN, Justice.

This appeal involves a church-related controversy, an area of discord traditionally considered “off limits” for civil courts. Plaintiff, Jane Kliebenstein, claims she can overcome that jurisdictional hurdle here because church officials’ allegedly defamatory statements about her carried secular overtones and were published to non-members of the church. We agree that she has an actionable, albeit limited, claim that cannot be resolved by way of summary judgment. We therefore reverse the district court’s dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background Facts and…