Contemplated suicide

A troubled 24-year-old man consults the head pastor of a church and several of its pastoral counsel. Severely depressed, he tells them he has contemplated suicide. Defendants advise him that suicide is an acceptable alternative in some cases. Defendants visit him in the hospital after he unsuccessfully attempts suicide, and he tells them that he will reattempt suicide when he is released.

Defendants do not advise the doctors or the young man’s family about this conversation. Two weeks after he is released from the hospital, the young man commits suicide. Plaintiffs, the parents of the young man, sue for wrongful death, alleging, among other things, “clergy malpractice.” How would you go about determining whether Defendants were negligent? Nally v. Grace Community Church, 763 P.2d 948 (Cal.), cert. denied, 109 S. Ct. 1644 (1989