In Huntsman v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (9th Cir., Jan. 31, 2025), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, affirmed a trial court's dismissal of a fraud claim brought by James Huntsman, a prominent former member of and large contributor to the LDS Church. Huntsman charged the Church with fraudulently misrepresenting the manner in which funds from tithes would be used, saying that that the Church falsely represented that the funds would not be used for commercial projects. The en banc court said in part:
No reasonable juror could conclude that the Church misrepresented the source of funds for the City Creek project. Although the Church stated that no tithing funds would be used to fund City Creek, it also clarified that earnings on invested reserve funds would be used....
Huntsman’s claim with respect to the $600 million allegedly transferred to Beneficial Life also fails. Huntsman does not identify any specific statements made by the Church about the source of funds for Beneficial Life....
Because nothing in our analysis of Huntsman’s fraud claims delves into matters of Church doctrine or policy, our decision in this case does not run afoul of the church autonomy doctrine.
Judge Bress, joined by Judges Smith and Nguyen and in part by Judge Vandyke, concurred in the judgment saying in part:
... [W]e should not indulge in the illusion that this is merely a secular lawsuit about civil fraud. Under the First Amendment, the plaintiff’s challenge to the Church’s understanding of tithing is not susceptible to resolution in a court of law, lest the judiciary wrest control from religious authorities over matters of theological concern.
It would have been straightforward and preferable for the court to recognize that plaintiff’s unprecedented theory encounters overwhelming First Amendment impediments. While every judge on this panel agrees that the plaintiff’s claims fail, I write separately to explain why a suit like this could never succeed under the First Amendment’s church autonomy doctrine.
Judge Bumatay filed an opinion concurring in the judgement, saying in part:
In deciding religious matters, the Constitution strictly limits our authority. Simply put, the church autonomy doctrine bars federal courts from resolving matters of faith, doctrine, and church governance. So we can’t just sidestep the doctrine and jump straight to the merits. Nor can the doctrine be assumed away, considered an afterthought, or serve as a convenient alternative ruling. Rather, it’s a threshold structural bar that must be reckoned with. Otherwise, we violate the restraints the Constitution places on our power.