Kiesena Dennis Obienu
NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge this month dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans claiming some of its members discriminated and retaliated against, and wrongfully terminated, a Louisiana priest.
Judge Barry W. Ashe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted the archdiocese’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Sept. 4.
Ashe, in his 11-page order, dismissed plaintiff Kiesena Dennis Obienu’s state law claims.
The defendants had argued that Obienu’s claims of defamation, negligence, and intentional- and negligent-infliction of emotional distress should be dismissed because they are all prescribed under Louisiana’s one-year prescription period.
Effective July 1, 2024, a new law changed the prescriptive period – or statute of limitations – for most delictual actions to two years. This change applies to actions that arose on or after this date.
The defendants, including Father Colm Cahill and Father Dan Darmanin, argued all of the incidents alleged in Obienu’s complaint occurred from 2019 through July 2023 and possibly in April 2024 – more than a year before Obienu filed his suit in May.
They also moved to dismiss Obienu’s conspiracy claim, arguing there is no independent cause of action for civil conspiracy under state law and that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead such a claim.
“Quite simply, neither the complaint nor Obienu’s opposition memorandum points to any alleged act of any Defendant supporting any of the purported causes of action at issue in the present motion that occurred within the one-year prescriptive period, that is, after May 22, 2024,” Ashe wrote.
“At most, Obienu rests on generalities and legal conclusions. Obienu has not demonstrated that the continuing tort doctrine applies.”
The judge said Obienu did not identify any specific acts by any defendant that allegedly occurred or continued after April 2024.
“Thus, the court must consider April 2024 as the date that prescription began to run, which is more than one year prior to the May 22, 2025 filing date,” Ashe wrote.
Ashe also refused to grant Obienu’s leave to file an amended complaint, noting it “would likely be futile.”
“Obienu has not demonstrated that leave to amend is warranted because he does not supply any details as to any additional facts he would plead to show that his tort claims are not prescribed,” the judge wrote.
Obienu, a New Orleans resident of Nigerian descent, sought more than $1 million in damages.
In his original complaint, he argued the defendants made false private and public accusations against him, saying he was not abiding by his vow of poverty, was incompetent, was difficult to get along with, refused to complete requisite training, and “otherwise was not a good representative” of the archdiocese – considered to be the second-oldest diocese in the United States.
“Defendants made other disparaging remarks about Obienu that made it difficult for him to become a priest and when he became a priest that made it difficult for him to work peaceful [sic] in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and even encouraged his leave of absence and constructive firing from the Archdiocese of New Orleans,” according to his May 22 complaint.
