Catholic Diocese of Richmond v. Oliver Joseph Smalls, Jr.
── Catholic Diocese of Richmond v. Oliver Joseph Smalls, Jr. ──
Court: Court of Appeals of Virginia
Date: November 05, 2025
Category: General
Decision: In an interlocutory appeal, trial court erred denying special plea in bar asserting ecclesiastical abstention doctrine; defamation claim implicated ecclesiastical matters and barred by protections for religious liberty in U.S. and Virginia Constitutions; claim of defamation rested on falsity of statement based on application of religious definition of sexual abuse; reversed and dismissed
{# E23 (Nick, ruling section 1 answer 10): quoting a bill or a court opinion works
the way quoting a news article works. Select a passage above and the same panel
opens: the passage goes to the official you choose, with this document's own
address as its source and its own type. #}