Justice Lehner
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Defendant church moved to dismiss the complaint against it. The complaint alleged plaintiffs were sexually harassed and physically and verbally abused when they were employed by the church “and/or” the Mariners Educational Center. The church was alleged to be a religious organization, while the center was stated to be a non-profit corporation. Defendants asserted they were separate entities, and that the abuser had no employment relationship with the church, yet he was employed by the church before his employment with the center. The court noted that while the complaint did not specifically allege a “single employer” theory, it was implicit. It found, however, that while the church and center were not commercial enterprises, the allegations of the complaint and the affidavits showing control by the pastor of the center and asserting grossly improper activity on the part of the alleged abuser with plaintiffs working under his supervision, raised a triable issue of fact of whether the church and the center should be considered an integral enterprise for liability purposes. Thus, the church’s motion for summary judgment was denied.
