Thursday, November 29, 2012

Rev. Schuller Gets Only Limited Amounts In Crystal Cathedral Bankruptcy

In In re Crystal Cathedral Ministries, (CD CA Bkrpt., Nov. 26, 2012), a California federal bankruptcy court ruled on multi-million dollar claims against Crystal Cathedral by its former leader Rev. Robert H. Schuller and his wife Arvella Schuller. As reported by the Orange County Register, the court, in the Chapter 11 reorganization, allowed claims of $615,625 by Schuller for unpaid compensation, housing allowances and health care premiums.  The court allowed none of the claims by Schuller's wife.  The court disallowed Schuller's copyright infringement claims, finding, among other things, that Schuller's Hour of Power television program was a work for hire owned by Crystal Cathedral which was Schuller's employer. Claims by Schuller's daughter and son-in-law totaling $77,615 were also allowed. (See prior related posting.)