C. R. & S. R. v. E.

E. (plaintiff), a Catholic priest, molested a girl. The girl’s parents, C. R. & S. R. (defendants), agreed to resolve the matter through a mediation and arbitration forum offered by Christian Conciliation Service of Central Florida, Inc. (CCS). The CCS rules provide for confidentiality. The mediation failed. The parties submitted to binding arbitration, which resulted in findings of fact and law that the priest had inappropriately touched the girl on several occasions and that the Catholic church was negligent in retaining and supervising the priest. The arbitration panel found that the priest and the church were jointly and severally liable for $250,000, which was paid by the local diocese to the parents. Twenty months later, counsel for the parents informed church counsel that the parents considered any confidentiality agreement to be null and void. The parents sought to meet with the bishop and parish counsel in the priest’s new assignment to discuss the priest’s history of molestation and a possible public apology. The priest filed a petition for a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting the parents from disclosing the information. The trial court issued an injunction prohibiting the parents from talking to the media or other third parties about the facts and findings of the CCS arbitration. The trial court denied the parents’ motion to dissolve the temporary injunction. The parents appealed.