Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco v. Sheffield

Sheffield (plaintiff) paid a Swiss Catholic monastic order, the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, for a trained dog that never arrived, and the order refused a refund. Rather than sue the order in Switzerland, Sheffield sued the Canons Regular, the Pope, the Vatican, and the Archbishop of San Francisco (defendant), arguing the entire Church hierarchy was one alter ego under canon law. The Archbishop had no dealings with the Canons Regular and argued the Archdiocese was a separate legal entity. The trial court denied the Archbishop's motion to dismiss, and he appealed.