Jury Finds No Fraud In Assertion Behind Episcopal Priest's Removal

In Philadelphia (PA), a state trial court jury yesterday found for Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. in the lawsuit against him for fraudulently removing Rev. David Moyer, former rector of Good Shepherd Episcopal parish in Rosemont (PA). The jury found for the diocese on an issue that was critical to all other issues in the case-- whether the diocese engaged in fraud when it asserted that Moyer "abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church" in 2002. The judge ruled that this finding ended the case, and that the court did not need to get to the question of whether Bennison concealed from Moyer his plan to remove him without a church trial. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday on the decision, which avoids anticipated appeals on the broader question of whether a civil court could hear the case. Moyer claimed it could because he was improperly denied a church trial on his removal. (See prior posting.)