Duane F. Amato v. Pastor Vernon C‪.‬

Justice Leavitt delivered the opinion of the Court: Until late 1990, the plaintiff, Duane Amato, had thought himself a happily married man. According to a complaint he filed, he and his wife, Linda, had been married for eighteen years and had two children. In 1987, the Amatos joined Peace Lutheran Church of Lake Zurich (Peace), a fledgling parish headed by the defendant, Pastor Vernon C. Greenquist. The Amatos became active in the church, and in October 1990, Linda began ""faith counseling"" with Pastor Greenquist. During November 1990, the plaintiff and Linda began experiencing marital problems which were accompanied by a ""religious transformation"" within her. Unbeknownst to Duane, during the course of faith counseling, Linda had begun an affair with Pastor Greenquist, who was also married. On December 22, the plaintiff sought and began a course of counselling with Greenquist. Greenquist obliged Duane's request for counselling without informing him of the continuing affair with Linda.