Clergy Malpractice Case Rejected: Church Has No Duty to Prevent Suicide

"Plaintiffs have failed to persuade us that the duty to prevent suicide (heretofore imposed only on psychiatrists and hospitals). . . should be extended to a nontherapist counselor who offers counseling to a potentially suicidal person on secular or spiritual matters. " California Supreme Court, Nally v. Grace Community Church, (Nov. 23, 1988). On April 1, 1979, Kenneth Nally, a 24-year-old seminary student suffering from chronic depression, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head...