(AP) - WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-A student's lawsuit alleging he was expelled from his Christian high school after telling a chaplain he is gay is headed for the state's Supreme Court. A divided 4th District Court of Appeal asked the high court Wednesday to decide if the chaplain should have protected Jeffrey Woodard's confidentiality during the 2003 conversation.
Whether Woodard and his mother, Carol Gload, can seek damages from Jupiter Christian School depends on whether the school chaplain in whom he confided can be sued for inflicting emotional distress, according to an opinion written by Judge Melanie May.
The state Supreme Court has never ruled on whether clergy must protect a person's confidentiality, as do attorneys and psychologists, May wrote in Wednesday's ruling.
Woodard, now 20, sued the school for breach of contract after being expelled three days into his senior year.