In
Ambellu v. Re’ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam, (D DC, June 21, 2019), the D.C. federal district court dismissed a suit brought by former members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhado Church alleging that a group of current members and priests conspired to take control of the Church through means that violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The court held that the 1st Amendment precludes it from hearing the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, saying:
Whether someone may worship at a church is plainly a matter of ecclesiastical cognizance.
The court also dismissed complaints about the way dues money is spent, saying in part:
How a church spends worshippers’ contributions is, like the question of who may worship there, central to the exercise of religion. And placing its assets in trust for the Parishioners at the expense of the Current Leaders would constitute an impermissible judicial interference with the Church’s ability to make governance and spending decisions. Indeed, evaluating the Parishioners’ claims would require the Court to decide who is rightfully empowered to make financial decisions for the Church. The Free Exercise Clause requires that the Court to decline to do so.
The court held that while the 1st Amendment does not deprive it of jurisdiction over claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, it held that plaintiffs had not adequately pleaded these claims.
