Case Name: Hilda and John GILLET, Appellants, v. WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, INC., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Florida, Inc., The West North Miami Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc., Francois JN Denis and Maria Nunes, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2005-05-11
Citations: 913 So. 2d 618
Docket Number: No. 3D02-817
Parties: Hilda and John GILLET, Appellants, v. WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, INC., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Florida, Inc., The West North Miami Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inc., Francois JN Denis and Maria Nunes, Appellees.
Judges: Before GREEN, RAMIREZ and WELLS, JJ. .
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 913
Pages: 618–626

Head Matter:
Hilda and John GILLET, Appellants, v. WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, INC., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Florida, Inc., The West North Miami Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inc., Francois JN Denis and Maria Nunes, Appellees.
No. 3D02-817.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
May 11, 2005.
Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Nov. 9, 2005.
Shutts & Bowen, Francis A. Zacherl, III, and Colleen A. Hoey, Miami, for appellants.
Adorno & Yoss, Jack R. Reiter, Gregory A. Victor, and Natalie J. Carlos, Miami, for appellees Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Florida, Inc., and The West North Miami Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inc. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., Legal Department, Mario F. Moreno, Patterson, N.Y., for appellee Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc.
Before GREEN, RAMIREZ and WELLS, JJ. .
Judge Ramirez did not participate in oral argument.

Opinion:
ON MOTIONS FOR REHEARING, AND CERTIFICATION
WELLS, J.
We grant the Appellants' Motion for Rehearing and deny Appellants' Motion for Certification. We withdraw the opinion issued on Dec. 8, 2004, and substitute the following opinion in its place.
On November 23, 1996, Maria Nunes attended a field service meeting. of the members of The West North Miami Con- , gregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc. (the Miami Congregation) at the home of Hilda and John Gillet. During that meeting, the members prepared for that day's field service which, as usual, consisted of door-to-door canvassing and pamphleteering.
After the meeting ended, the members got into their cars to travel to the areas where they would engage in these activities. When Nunes, who was parked in the Gillets' driveway, backed out, she knocked Hilda.Gillet into the roadway and where she was struck by an oncoming ear.
The Gillets subsequently filed suit against Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc., the entity that publishes Bible based materials such as Awake! and The Watchtower; Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the entity that holds the copyright to the materials published by Watchtower of New York; The West North Miami Congregation at which Nunes worshipped; Nunes; and the driver of the other car that struck her, alleging negligence, vicarious liability, and loss of consortium. The three Watchtower defendants moved for summary judgment claiming that they coiild not be held vicariously liable as a matter of law for Nunes' negligence since Nunes was neither their employee nor their agent at the time of the accident and that inquiry into this issue would entangle the court in the interpretation of religious -teachings, doctrines, and internal policies in violation of the First Amendment. Because we agree that no agency relationship has been demonstrated, we affirm the summary judgment entered in the Watchtower defendants' favor.
"Ordinarily the existence of an agency relationship is a question of fact to be resolved by the factfinder." Eberhardy v. General Motors Corp., 404 F.Supp. 826, 830 (M.D.Fla.1975). 'When, however, a party bearing the burden of proof on an issue, fails to produce any supportive evidence, or when (as here) all of the evidence presented by both parties is so unequivocal that reasonable persons could reach but one conclusion, a question that is ordinarily one of fact becomes a question of law, to be determined by the court." Id. Such is the case here.
The essential elements of an actual agency relationship are "(1) acknowl-edgement by the principal that the agent will act for him, (2) the agent's acceptance of the undertaking, and (3) control by the principal over the actions of the agent." Goldschmidt v. Holman, 571 So.2d 422, 424 n. 5 (Fla.1990). The Gillets claim that there is "ample testimony" that Jehovah's Witnesses like Nunes are agents (or volunteers) of the church defendants when they engage in field service (door-to-door canvassing and proselytizing). They point to formal field service, which features distribution of Watchtower publications, as the centerpiece of the church defendants' activities and argue that because service is so thoroughly directed, regulated and overseen by the church defendants, that Nunes had to be acting as the church defendants' agent when she performed field service. This is insufficient to impose liability for two reasons.
First, when Nunes performed field service, she did so not as the agent of any church entity but, as she stated, "[for] Jehovah God" and as part of a well-established, long recognized-religious practice:
For over 50 years, the Court has invalidated restrictions on door-to-door canvassing and pamphleteering. It is more than historical accident that most of the cases involved First Amendment challenges brought by Jehovah's Witnesses, because door-to-door canvassing is mandated by their religion. As we noted in Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105, 108, 63 S.Ct. 870 [87 L.Ed. 1292] (1943), the Jehovah's Witnesses "claim to follow the example of Paul, teaching 'publicly, and from house to house.' Acts 20:20. They take literally the mandate of the Scriptures, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' Mark 16:15. In doing so they are obeying a commandment of God."
. [I]n Murdock v. Pennsylvania, the Court noted that "hand distribution of religious tracts is an age-old form of missionary evangelism-as old as the history of printing presses. It has been a potent force in various religious movements down through the years.... This form of religious activity occupies the same high estate under the First Amendment as do worship in the churches and preaching from the pulpits. It has the same claim to protection as the more orthodox and conventional exercises of religion.... "
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150, 158 n. 7, 160-162, 122 S.Ct. 2080, 153 L.Ed.2d 205 (2002)(emphasis added)(footnotes omitted)(noting that Jehovah's Witnesses derive their authority to proselytize via door-to-door pamphleteer-ing from the Book- of Matthew wherein Jesus instituted a house-to-house search for people to whom to preach the good news). The constraints imposed by the church entities, on use of the religious publications that they created, copyrighted, published and distributed, at most, impress upon and demand from each Jehovah's Witness obedience to religious dogma, discipline and authority. See Folwell v. Bernard, 477 So.2d 1060, 1061 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). They do not make individual congregants agents of these entities.
Second, there is no evidence that Nunes was acting as an agent for any church defendant when she got into her car to go to the place where she was to engage in religious activities. There is no evidence that any church defendant instructed, advised or in any manner controlled the means by which Nunes or any other congregant was to get to the place where they were to proselytize. There- also is no evidence that any church defendant' knew that Nunes was going to drive her own car as opposed to walking, riding a bike, taking a cab, riding with someone else, or, if available, taking public transportation'. There certainly is no evidence that any church defendant asked Nunes to drive her car or attempted to control Nunes' transportation in any manner by providing a vehicle, fuel,, insurance, or by checking Nunes' driving record or determining whether she had a valid driver's license. Rather, the record shows that after the meeting-at the Gillet home, each congregant was making his or her own way to the place where he or she was going to engage in a religious activity.
In sum, on this record, no agency relationship has been demonstrated. See Brillhart v. Scheier, 243 Kan. 591, 597, 758 P.2d 219, 224 (1988)(where motorists injured by car driven by parish pastor on his way to discuss parish problem brought action against pastor and diocese, Kansas Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment entered in diocese's favor, concluding negligence could not be imputed under doctrine of respondeat superior where pastor engaged in activity within his own discretion and control); see also Nye v. Kemp, 97 Ohio App.3d 130, 646 N.E.2d 262 (1994)(affirming a directed verdict in a church's favor in an action brought against several' church groups for damages sustained when church elder's vehicle collided with police cruiser, on a finding of a total lack of the control necessary to establish agency).
Accordingly, we affirm.
RAMIREZ, J., concurs.
. No apparent agency is claimed or exists. See Mobil Oil Corp. v. Bransford, 648 So.2d 119, 121 (Fla.1995) (an apparent agency exists only if each of three elements are present: (a) a representation by the purported principal; (b) a reliance on that representation by a third party; and (c) a change in position by the third party in reliance on the representation).
. For the same reasons, summary judgment was correctly entered on the Gillets' Volunteer Protection Act claim under section 768.1355(1) of the Florida Statutes.