A Missouri appeals court has ruled that the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph cannot be liable for actions of a priest accused of abusing a boy away from church property.

A three-judge panel of the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a ruling last year by a Jackson County judge that dismissed civil allegations against the diocese filed by a plaintiff identified as “D.T.”

He alleged in his lawsuit that the Rev. Michael Tierney abused him in the 1970s, once in a hotel room and another time in the basement of Tierney’s mother’s home.

Tierney denied wrongdoing. The plaintiff dismissed his claims against Tierney while his appeal of rulings in favor of the diocese was pending.