Texas Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Break-Away Episcopal Diocese

The Texas Supreme Court today issued a decision in the long-running property dispute between the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and its former parent body.  (See prior related posting.) In 2007 and 2008, the Diocese withdrew from The Episcopal Church (TEC) and affiliated with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.  In Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth v. The Episcopal Church, (TX Sup. Ct., May 22, 2020), the court held:

Applying neutral principles to the undisputed facts, we hold that (1) resolution of this property dispute does not require consideration of an ecclesiastical question, (2) under the governing documents, the withdrawing faction is the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and (3) the trial court properly granted summary judgment in the withdrawing faction’s favor....

Explaining its holding, the court said in part:

At bottom, the disagreement centers on what effect the majority’s disassociation vote had on the Fort Worth Diocese’s identity specifically, whether the majority faction constitutes the continuation of that entity or whether the majority left as individuals and became something else. ...

In sum, TEC’s determinations as to which faction is the true diocese loyal to the church and which congregants are in good standing are ecclesiastical determinations to which the courts must defer. But applying neutral principles to the organizational documents, the question of property ownership is not entwined with or settled by those determinations. The Fort Worth Diocese’s identity depends on what its documents say. To that end, the Diocesan Constitution and Canons provided who could make amendments and under what circumstances; none of those circumstances incorporate or rely on an ecclesiastical determination by the national church; and nothing in the diocese’s or national church’s documents precluded amendments rescinding an accession to or affiliation with TEC. Applying neutral principles of law, we hold that the majority faction is the Fort Worth Diocese and parishes and missions in union with that faction hold equitable title to the disputed property under the Diocesan Trust.

The court went on to also reject TEC's claim that the Diocese's property was held in trust for TEC.

Chabad's Messianist Movement Loses Battle Over Control of Synagogue Space

In a dispute that has been litigated since 2004, a New York state trial court in
Agudas Chasidei Chabad of the United States v. Congregation Lubavitch, Inc., (Civil Ct. City of NY, April 28, 2020), ruled that the formal owners of the headquarters of the Chabad movement in the United States may eject from its buildings a faction of the movement that has conducted religious services in the basement of the headquarters building for over 25 years. In its 144-page opinion, the court, relying on neutral principles of civil law rather than religious doctrine, gave a victory to the portion of the movement that rejects claims that the late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson who died in 1994, should be referred to as the Messiah. The court said in part:

Rebbe Menchem Mendel Schneerson determined the power and authority granted to the owners of these properties, not this Court. His intentions and only his intentions were made clear by granting full authority to the owners, through Boards of Trustees, not the congregants or the Gabboim, over the religious corporation’s real property and personal property. This Court has the legal obligation to enforce the bylaws, religious corporation law and subsequent amendments to their contents. Just as the congregants had no legal rights to challenge the decision of the Board of Trustees to demolish a church, the congregation and the Gabboim have no legal rights to continue in possession after the Board of Trustees granted authorization tocommence these legal proceedings to recover possession of the subject premises by proper board action.

Anash.org reports on the decision.

Church Property Is Held In Constructive Trust For Parent Episcopal Diocese

In Protestant Episcopal Church v. Church of the Messiah, 2020 Va. Cir. LEXIS 52 (VA Cir. Ct., Feb. 24, 2020), which just became available on Lexis, a Virginia state trial court held that church property belongs to the Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church and not to the break-away parish, Church of the Messiah that adopted a "charismatic" worship tradition.  The court said in part

The Parish clearly breached its fiduciary obligation to the Diocese when its Rector and its Vestry disregarded their oath to conform to the Episcopal denomination and instead led the congregation in a vote to disassociate from the Diocese and the Episcopal Church.... In this case, the Parish stood in a fiduciary relation to the Diocese and the Episcopal Church and enjoyed title to the Property for the benefit of members of the Episcopal denomination. Over time, it appears that the members of the Parish lost sight of this relationship, instead envisioning themselves as having some personal ownership interest in the Property by virtue of their contributions to the extensive improvements and maintenance through the years. When the leaders chose to remain loyal to the congregation in its dilemma between the members' personal beliefs and the policies of the Episcopal church, the leadership was obligated to resign. Instead, they abused the authority derived from their position in the Episcopal Church by attempting to remove the Property from the Episcopal congregation for whose benefit it was held in trust and keep it for the use and benefit of another congregation entirely....

The new congregation for whose benefit the Property is currently held bears little resemblance to the mission formed by the charter members, who, when they became unsatisfied with their churches' religious practices, were willing to leave the security and comfort of their church buildings to worship in accordance with their beliefs. By attempting to "acquire an interest" in the Property on behalf of this new congregation, the leadership of the Parish breached their fiduciary duty, and, accordingly, the Court will impose a constructive trust.

Court Defers To Decisions of Parent Body In Dispute With Break-Away Presbyterian Congregation

In Presbytery of Seattle v. Schulz, (WA App., Oct. 7, 2019), a Washington state appellate court upheld a trial court's deference to decisions of the Administrative Commission set up by the Presbyterian Church USA's representative in connection with disputes regarding a break-away congregation.  Finding that the Presbyterian church is a hierarchical church, the court concluded that the trial court correctly deferred to the decisions of the Administrative Commission that the disaffiliation of the First Presbyterian Church of Seattle was invalid, any interest it had in church property was held in trust for the benefit of Presbyterian Church USA, and the church's severance agreements with its pastors were invalid.  The court rejected the argument by the local church that the national body no longer had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over it once it disaffiliated, so determinations after that date by the Administrative Commission should not binding.

Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine Governs Property Dispute In Hierarchical Church

In Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Monastery v. Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, (MI App., March 19, 2019), a Michigan state appellate court held that the trial court should have applied the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine to a church property dispute instead of the "neutral principles of law" approach.  Bishop Ioan Duvlea served as the abbot of the Holy Ascension Romanian Orthodox Christian Monastery until he was demoted and defrocked after a church trial.  A faction supporting him conveyed property belonging to the monastery to Holy Trinity, a new entity they formed.  The court, ruling in favor of the parent church body said in part:

This case requires determination whether Holy Trinity, a monastic corporate entity formed by a schismatic faction that left the ROEA, could claim ownership of the property that the faction conveyed from Holy Ascension before dissolving it. The ROEA contends that Holy Ascension owned but held in trust for the ROEA, a hierarchical church, the disputed property pursuant to church documents governing the ecclesiastical structure, polity, rules, discipline, and usage of the church with which Holy Ascension affiliated itself and to which it submitted....

In this case, the trial court failed to consider whether the ROEA constituted a hierarchical religious organization and did not examine the nature of the relationship of Holy Ascension with the ROEA and the Orthodox Church in America. The trial court failed to consider whether the actual adjudication of the legal claims in this case required the resolution of ecclesiastical questions, including the relationships between entities within the allegedly hierarchical religious denomination. Instead, the trial court stated without explanation that it found the dispute in this case merely secular requiring it to apply the neutral-principles-of-law approach. In so doing, the trial court erred.

The record reflects that the trial court substituted its interpretation of canonical texts and ignored the decisions of the ROEA relating to government of the religious polity. The trial court disregarded the evidence presented by the ROEA that required it to abstain and defer to the ROEA’s resolution of the property dispute. 

Certiorari Denied In Historic Touro Synagogue Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in Congregation Jeshuat Israel v. Congregation Shearith Israel, (Docket No. 18-530, certiorari denied 3/18/2019). (Order List.) In the case, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals held that Rhode Island's historic Touro Synagogue, and a pair of historic silver Torah ornaments worth some $7 million, are owned by New York's Shearith Israel congregation. (See prior posting and denial of en banc review.) Providence Journal reports on the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari.

Cert. Filed In Touro Synagogue Ownership Dispute

Last week a petition for certiorari (full text) was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Congregation Jeshuat Israel v. Congregations Shearith Israel, (cert. filed 10/22/2018). In the case, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals held that Rhode Island's historic Touro Synagogue is owned by New York's Shearith Israel congregation. The court also concluded that a pair of historic silver Torah ornaments worth some $7 million are also owned by the New York congregation. (See prior posting.) Providence Journal reports on the petition for review.

Supreme Court Denies Review In Two Church Property Cases

Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied review in two unrelated cases involving disputes over church property after the break away of a congregation from its parent body..  It denied certiorari in Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area v. Eden Prairie Presbyterian Church, Inc., (Docket No. 17-582, cert. denied 6/11/2018) (Order List).  In the case, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that it was proper to apply the "neutral principles of law" approach, rather than applying the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, to decide ownership of property of a congregation which had disaffiliated from the Presbyterian Church USA. (See prior posting).

The court also denied certiorari in Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina v. The Episcopal Church, (Docket No. 17-1136, cert. denied 6/11/2018) (Order List).  In the case, the 5-member South Carolina Supreme Court in 5 separate opinions resolved a property dispute that arose after a split in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. (See prior posting.)

More Rulings In South Carolina Episcopal Church Split

Earlier this week, a South Carolina federal district court issued another opinion in the long-running battle between competing Episcopal Church factions in South Carolina.  While the underlying dispute over which faction owns church property has been litigated in state court, a federal court suit was filed alleging a false advertising claim under the Lanham Act. Episcopal Bishop Charles von Rosenberg who heads the minority of congregations in South Carolina that remain loyal to The Episcopal Church sued Bishop Mark Lawrence who heads the larger portion of the congregations that in 2012 broke away from the national church. Von Rosenberg alleged that Lawrence engaged in false advertising by asserting that he remained the Bishop of the Diocese.  In vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, (D SC, April 16, 2018), the court allowed plaintiffs to add as defendants the Diocese, parishes and trustee corporation affiliated with Bishop Lawrence.

In a perhaps more interesting second part of the opinion, the court refused to allow the suit to be expanded to assert a novel breach of trust claim.  Last year, the South Carolina Supreme Court decided the property issue largely in favor of those who remained loyal to The Episcopal Church. (See prior posting.)  Plaintiffs sought to add a claim that "the parishes have breached their fiduciary duties by allowing property held in trust for TEC to be used 'in connection with a denomination' other than TEC."  They sought an order against 28 Parishes "to remove from their vestries any persons who cannot demonstrate to this Court's satisfaction that they are capable of and willing to carry out their fiduciary obligations to The Episcopal Church...."  The court held that it is not "free to use trust law entangle itself with religion like a fly in a spider web."  It continued:

Entry of a judicial order telling 28 congregations whom they may or may not elect to their respective parish vestries would foster excessive judicial entanglement with religion....

Of course, there are other ways for TEC to enforce its property rights. For example, TEC could take legal possession of the parish property held in trust for its benefit, rather than asking a federal court to supervise the local congregation's use the property. 

Charleston Regional Business Journal reports on the decision.

Break-Away Texas Anglican Group Loses In Latest Round of Long-Running Case

In The Episcopal Church v. Salazar, (TX App, April 5, 2018), a Texas state appeals court issued another ruling in a long running dispute over ownership of property of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. In 2008, the Diocese voted to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church and to become part of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. In 2009, The Episcopal Church sued claiming ownership of the Diocese's property. The litigation has moved up and down the Texas court system, including to the Texas Supreme Court, ever since.  In this week's opinion, the state Court of Appeals reversed in part a trial court decision and held that control of the property resides in the group that remained with The Episcopal Church under the leadership of Bishop Scott Mayer, rather than with the break-away group led by Bishop Jack Iker. The court said in part:

Individual members of a parish may decide to worship elsewhere; a majority of individual members of a parish or diocese may decide to do so. But when they leave, they are no longer “Episcopalians” as identified by TEC; they become something else. And that something else is not entitled to retain property if that property, under the terms of the deed, is held in trust for a TEC-affiliated diocese or congregation. By rejecting TEC, Appellees also rejected any claim to items and property affiliated with TEC or with being a TEC-affiliated diocese to the extent that the instruments of ownership spell out an express interest. While a decision to disaffiliate is an ecclesiastical matter, what happens to the property is not, unless the affairs have been ordered so that the ecclesiastical decisions effectively determine the property issue....

In reaching its decision, the court refused to rely on  The Episcopal Church's Dennis Canon that "purports to impose a trust for TEC and TEC’s diocese on parish, mission, and congregation real and personal property," saying in part:

Because under Texas law, an entity that does not own the property to be held in trust cannot establish a trust for itself simply by decreeing that it is the beneficiary of a trust, the Dennis Canon, by itself, did not establish a trust under Texas law....

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reporting on the decision says that it is likely to be appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.

Suit Filed Over Assets of Michigan-Based Communal Sect

The Detroit News this morning reports on a lawsuit that has been filed in an Oakland County, Michigan trial court over millions of dollars of assets of the Israelite House of David (IHOD).  IHOD was a communal religious sect created in 1903 and based in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  Members of the sect were required to remain celibate, and apparently only three members of the sect (one of whom is very ill) remain.  The suit was filed by Charles Ferrel who lives in Hawaii and was excommunicated-- he says wrongfully-- five years ago.  He alleges that defendants (two of the remaining members) have taken $50 million in assets from IHOD.  The sect's assets are located in Michigan, Hawaii and Australia,  Australia was envisioned by the sect as the place where its members would relocate when the world collapsed as predicted in the Book of Revelation.  In the suit, plaintiff seeks reinstatement as a member and control of the assets.  Alternatively he asks that the assets be turned over to the state of Michigan for it to dispose of them according to law.

Christian Leaders Close Church of Holy Sepulcher In Protest of Israeli Tax and Land Policies

Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian church leaders have closed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (believed to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial) in Jerusalem in protest of two legal moves by Israeli government officials. YNet News today describes the disputed actions:

As part of a battle with Finance Ministry over budgets to the capital, the Jerusalem Municipality informed the Finance, Interior and Foreign ministry and the Prime Minister's Office that it had started collecting property tax debts of more than NIS 650 million from some 887 properties across the city which belong to churches and United Nations institutions.

Municipality officials said these properties did not include houses of worship, which are exempt from paying property taxes by law, but rather properties used for non-prayer activities, including commercial activities.

Churches are exempt from paying property taxes as part of an agreement with the state, but the Jerusalem Municipality says it is not being compensated by the state for the money it is losing by not collecting these taxes.

Later on Sunday, an Israeli cabinet committee is due to consider a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years.

The stated aim of the bill is to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases. The churches, major landowners in the city, say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for their land.

A statement from church leaders calls the moves a "systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land."

Cert. Filed In Episcopal Church Property Dispute

A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed last week with the U.S. Supreme Court in Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina v. The Episcopal Church, (cert. filed 2/9/2018).  In the case, the 5-member South Carolina Supreme Court in 5 separate opinions spanning 77 pages resolved a property dispute that arose after a split in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. (See prior posting.)  The question presented in the cert petition is:

Whether the "neutral principles of law" approach to resolving church property disputes requires court to recognize a trust on church property even if the alleged trust does not comply with the State's ordinary trust and property law.

Anglican Curmudgeon blog discusses the cert. petition at length. [Thanks to Don Nichol for the lead.]

PCUSA's Trust Clause Keeps Property of Breakaway Church For National Body

In Lehigh Presbytery v. First Presbyterian Church of  Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, (PA Com Pl., Dec. 12, 2017), a Pennsylvania trial court in a 43-page opinion held that the property of a break-away congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA) because of the trust clause in the PCUSA's Book of Order.  The court concluded its opinion as follows:

Since its inception, the congregational generations of FPCB have consistently expressed allegiance, fidelity, and adherence to the national denomination now known as PCUSA.  However, rather than leaving the Church to join a different religious denomination, the majority of the congregants wish to evict the national denomination from the church; thereby repudiating the intent of those who founded FPCB and extinguishing the sacrifices, contribution, and hard work of many prior generations of congregants who built FPCB with the expectation that FPCB would remain affiliated with the national denomination of Presbyterian Churches (USA).  Thus, although we have resolved this issue under neutral principles of law, we were also struck that to do otherwise, we would ignore the express intention of those who built this congregation with the expectation that those founding principles should forever direct its mission.

The Morning Call reports on the decision.

Court Resolves Factional Religious Split Using "Neutral Principles" Approach

In Kelley v. Garuda, (Nassau Cty. NY Sup. Ct., Oct. 2, 2017), a New York trial court, deferring to resolutions passed by the Governing Body Commission of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness ("GBC") and applying neutral principles of law, resolved a factional theological split within the Freeport, New York ISKCON Temple. The court upheld a default judgment against defendants who had taken control of the Temple, saying in part:

Plaintiffs' purchased the property well before the Defendants' arrival and interference with the Plaintiffs' use and enjoyment of the property. Prior to the 2005 "election" where Gupta and his adherents purportedly changed the leadership of the Freeport Temple, the Plaintiffs sufficiently established that all financial and ecclesiastical issues regarding the Freeport Temple were decided and/or approved by the GBC or its chosen delegates....

Further evidence of the Plaintiffs' ownership and control over the Freeport Temple is their constitution, the ISKCON Law Book, which creates an express trust in favor of the Society at large under the control of the GBC....

The Founder also established a Trust in the second Article of his Will which declared that each ISKCON temple would be held for the benefit of the ISKCON Society at large. The language of the Trust provision specifies that the GBC would continue to manage the ISKCON Society in perpetuity.

Tennessee Supreme Court: Resolves Approach In Church Property Dispute

In Church of God In Christ, Inc. v. L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., (TN Sup. Ct., Sept. 21, 2017), the Tennessee Supreme Court, in a church property dispute, concluded that a break-away local church held its property in trust for its parent body, Church of God In Christ, Inc. The court held that in church property disputes, Tennessee courts should apply the "hybrid" version of the "neutral principles" doctrine:

In applying the hybrid approach, Tennessee courts may consider any relevant statutes, the language of the deeds and any other documents of conveyance, charters and articles of incorporation, and any provisions regarding property ownership that may be included in the local or hierarchical church constitutions or governing documents. But ... a civil court must enforce a trust in favor of the hierarchical church, even if the trust language appears only in the constitution or governing documents of the hierarchical religious organization.

The court also held that civil courts should defer to the decision of the Ecclesiastical Council as to who should be pastor of the church.

A concurring opinion by Justice Curry questioned the majority's treatment of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine as a bar to jurisdiction rather than as an affirmative defense.  The Court also issued a press release summarizing its decision.

Church, Not Town, Owns Cemetery

In First Congregational Church of Harwich v. Eldredge, (MA Land Ct., Aug. 18, 2017), the Massachusetts Land Court held that the First Congregational Church of Harwich rather than the Town of Harwich has title to a cemetery adjacent to the Church and also has title to the Memorial Garden in which cremated remains of Church member families are buried. The litigation was filed when the Church objected to the Town's plans to move to another area of the cemetery the cremated remains that are now buried above unmarked and unknown graves.  The court said in part:

[L]ike the Church, the Town and the Cemetery Commission are entrusted to honor the dead. They have a special duty to honor the remains of those deceased whose descendants can no longer be found. Their authority does not extend to the power to order the existing cremains disinterred, but they are authorized to care for and preserve the area of the Memorial Garden under which the unidentified graves are located. The Cemetery Commission is permitted to take actions necessary for the preservation of these grave sites and to ensure that they are not further disturbed, including the power to bar any further interring of cremains in the Memorial Garden directly over the unmarked graves. The Church may continue to inter cremains in other areas of the Cemetery over which there are no ancient burial grounds.

Cape Cod Chronicle has a more extensive report on the decision.

Case Remanded For Determination of Whether Church Is Hierarchical

In  Slagle v. Church of the First Born of Tennessee, (TN App., Aug. 7, 2017), a case involving a dispute over control of church property after a split among church members, a Tennessee appellate court remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of whether the church was congregational or hierarchical. In doing so, the court noted that a church may be congregational in some respects while it is hierarchical in other respects. The court noted that here the relevant question is whether the church is congregational for purposes of ownership and control of property.

South Carolina Supreme Court Resolves Property Dispute In Episcopal Church

In The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina v. The Episcopal Church, (SC Sup. Ct., Aug. 2, 2017), the 5-member South Carolina Supreme Court in 5 separate opinions spanning 77 pages resolved a property dispute that arose after a split in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. AP summarized the background:

The conservative Diocese of South Carolina, dating to 1785 and one of the original dioceses that joined to form the Episcopal Church, left the national church in 2012 amid differences over theological issues, including the authority of Scripture and the ordination of gays. The group has since affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America, a group that formed in 2009.

Parishes in the region that didn’t leave the national church formed a diocese now known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

The conservative diocese sued in efforts to protect its identity, the diocesan seal and other symbols it uses, and $500 million in church property, including the individual parishes’ holdings, as well as large properties including an Episcopal church camp in the Charleston area.

While the Supreme Court's opinions are complex, Acting Justice Toal in her dissenting opinion summarized the resulting holdings:

A majority of the Court ... agree that ... in secular church disputes, our state courts should apply neutral principles of law to resolve the case....  [T]he same majority would find this is a secular church dispute, and the Court must therefore apply longstanding trust law to resolve the questions before us. I would find the parties' actions did not comply with the formalities required to create a trust in this state....  Justice Kittredge would find the parties created a revocable trust in favor of the national church, but the plaintiffs later took steps to revoke their accession to the trust.... However ... a ... majority of the Court ... would ... transfer title of all but eight of the plaintiffs' properties to the defendants. While [2 justices] ... would do so because they believe this is an ecclesiastical dispute and the Court must therefore defer to the national church's decision on the matter, [another] would do so because he believes all but eight of the plaintiffs acceded to the Dennis Canon in a manner recognizable under South Carolina's trust law. Thus, the result reached on title is: 1) with regard to the eight church organizations which did not accede to the Dennis Canon, [3 justices] ... would hold that title remains in the eight plaintiff church organizations; 2) with regard to the twenty-eight church organizations which acceded to the Dennis Canon, [3 justices]... would hold that a trust in favor of the national church is imposed on the property and therefore, title is in the national church; and 3) with regard to Camp St. Christopher, [3 justices] would hold title is in the trustee corporation for the benefit of the associated diocese, whereas [2 others] ... would hold that the trustee corporation holds title for the benefit of the disassociated diocese. 

As to the second issue on appeal, involving the plaintiffs' claims for service mark infringement, [3 justices] ... would find the marks are validly registered under state law, but leave the ultimate resolution of the parties' conflicting claims to the pending federal case.

[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Court Rules Church Factions Must Share Church Building

In Mullins v. Wicker, (OH App., June 22, 2017), an Ohio appellate court in a 2-1 decision, agreed with a trial court's decision in a case in which two competing factions of the Little Ettie Old Regular Baptist Church in Beaver, Ohio both claimed ownership of the church's property.  The trial court had held that there are two congregations each equally entitled to church property and issued an injunction specifying how the two factions would share use of the church building.  The appeals court majority affirmed.

Judge Harsha dissenting argued that the court should have applied the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine and dismissed the case for want of jurisdiction, even though neither party raised the jurisdictional issue. He argued that the dispute here is essentially over church doctrine.  He added that even if the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does not apply, the trial court abused its discretion in finding that there are two competing congregations equally entitled to ownership of church property.