Break-Away California Anglican Congregation Can Still Assert Its Defenses In Property Dispute

In Rasmussen v. Superior Court of Orange County, (CA Sup. Ct., May 5, 2011), the California Supreme Court in a 6-1 decision held that its prior decision in a property ownership dispute between a break-away congregation-- St. James Anglican Church-- and  the national Episcopal Church still left questions for the trial court to settle. In a 2009 decision (see prior posting), the state Supreme Court held that the suit was not subject to an anti-SLAPP motion to strike and that property ownership should be resolved applying neutral principles of law if the property dispute does not involve a matter of religious doctrine. In its most recent decision, the court held that the congregation must be given an opportunity to answer the complaint so the trial court can consider the significance of a 1991 letter from the bishop of the diocese on which St. James relies to show its ownership. Virtue Online reports on the decision and gives additional background.