[SUPREME] Joshua Payne-Elliott v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc., No. 21A-CP-00936

Payne-Elliott, a teacher at Cathedral High School, entered into a same-sex marriage in 2017. Cathedral later renewed his teaching contract for the 2019-2020 school year but soon terminated his employment. Payne-Elliott sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, claiming that it intentionally and without justification interfered with his contract and employment relationship by threatening to withhold its recognition of Cathedral as a Catholic high school if Cathedral continued to employ a teacher in a same-sex marriage. Citing several First Amendment doctrines, the Archdiocese moved to dismiss, and the Marion Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for further proceedings. Payne-Elliott v. Roman Cath. Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc., 180 N.E.3d 311 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021), reh'g denied, trans. pending. The Archdiocese has petitioned the Supreme Court to accept jurisdiction over the appeal.