Sumner

*210 *579 "The First Amendment guarantees to a religious institution the right to decide matters affecting its ministers' employment, free from the scrutiny and second-guessing of the civil courts." ( Schmoll v. Chapman University (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1434 , 1436, 83 Cal.Rptr.2d 426 ( Schmoll ).) The so-called ministerial exception is "a 'nonstatutory, constitutionally compelled' exception to federal civil rights legislation. [Citation.] The idea is that the law should not be construed to govern the relationship of *580 a church and its ministers." ( Hope Internat. University v. Superior Court (2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 719 , 734, 14 Cal.Rptr.3d 643 .) The Supreme Court has concluded that the ministerial exception bars a minister's employment discrimination suit based on the church's decision to fire her. ( Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch. v. EEOC (2012) 565 U.S. 171 , 196, 132 S.Ct. 694 , 181 L.Ed.2d 650 ( Hosanna-Tabor ) ) The Supreme Court has not decided whether the exception bars a breach of contract or tort action. ( Ibid . ) That is the issue we decide in this case.

Plaintiff Sarah Sumner was the dean of A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary (Tozer Seminary), which…