Lawyers have been guilty at times of being mechanistic in responding to the circumstances of a case as if all cases are the same. Fortunately, even though often overwhelmed by numerous cases and with too few staff attorneys to support judicial decisionmaking, judges sometimes are creatively able to reign in a lawsuit.

A good example of this is the preliminary court order in Stabler v Congregation Emanu-El, 2017 WL 3268201 (SD NY 2017). The Plaintiff alleged she was a victim of gender discrimination, age discrimination, and disability discrimination when at age 62, with 17 years of tenure, her job as Librarian ended. She claimed it ended due to unlawful discrimination even though it was characterized, she alleged, by the Defendant as elimination of her position. Unlike many such cases which are nothing more than a claim in search of a factual basis, the Plaintiff alleged sufficient supporting facts causing the Court to deny the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss. But, rather than simply leave the parties to the usual discovery war, the Court limited discovery solely to the issue of whether the Ministerial Exception applied as pled by the Defendants. The lesson in litigation cost control might be obvious: the Plaintiff’s claim would likely rise or fall on that issue so handle it first and exclusively.

The Plaintiff’s own allegations of her performance “could indicate that she did act as a minister of the Congregation by furthering its mission.” Her claimed accomplishments indicated she had not merely been a custodian of tomes but rather “created a functioning Judaica library” in the impressive and possibly well-known church library. Plaintiff also served on committees with substantial influence. Librarians, so it appeared to have been alleged, of this caliber are not mere custodians but actually define and protect the legacy of the religious scholarship of the church or denomination. A future decision of this Court might become a classic example of when the job title (e.g., “librarian”) does not matter and the substantive nature of the position does in the application of the Ministerial Exception. Best, it might become so by an economically sound litigation limitation.

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