BY ROBERT H. LUNDY, EDITOR
The sad story of lawsuits between The Episcopal Church (TEC) and its former dioceses and parishes that have realigned has recently taken many twists. In some cases, the courts have handed TEC what appear to be clear victories recognizing their ownership of parish or diocesan property. In other cases, the courts have found in favor of the realigned parish or diocese and recognized them as the rightful owners of their property. Factoring in the seemingly endless appeals that have come and will come in these cases, one can see how it is difficult for either side to claim that momentum and the justice system are totally in their favor.
From local county courts to courts of appeal to state supreme courts to the United States Supreme Court, virtually every level of the U.S. courts has been involved with these lawsuits and has come to different opinions or no opinion at all. According to records kept by the American Anglican Council, there are currently over 30 active lawsuits between TEC and realigned dioceses or parishes. In all but three cases, TEC brought the lawsuit and is the plaintiff. Here is a recap of recent developments.
Diocese of Pittsburgh
On October 7, Judge Joseph James of Pennsylvania's Allegheny County Court ruled that the property and assets of the Diocese of Pittsburgh belong to the diocese affiliated with TEC and not to the realigned diocese. One year earlier, in 2008, 60 percent of the parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh voted to leave TEC and realign with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. The group was and still is led by Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA) and Bishop of Pittsburgh Robert Duncan.
On October 29, diocesan representatives announced that there would be an appeal and, due to the court's ruling, the diocese had changed its name from The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh to The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. "Our decision to appeal is for the purpose of protecting the mission of our fifty-one local congregations. Left uncontested, the award of all diocesan assets to the minority party, a group that comprises only a third of the parishes that were a part of our diocese when we withdrew from the Episcopal Church, would establish a precedent that we believe the minority would use to take steps to seize all the assets of all our local parishes. Indeed, the minority's web site proclaims as much. This litigious action, which is supported by the aggressive leadership of the Episcopal Church, is unfair, unreasonable, and unconscionable," the diocese released in a statement.
The Episcopal Church's Diocese of Pittsburgh stated that, in accordance with the court's ruling, there will "be a dialogue between the diocese and any parish seeking to disaffiliate from the diocese regarding the disposition of property specifically held for or in the name of the parish, followed by mediation...before the diocese or the parish may resort to the courts to decide the dispute."
Diocese of Fort Worth
Unlike the realigned Diocese of Pittsburgh, the realigned Diocese of Fort Worth experienced some success in the courts though a final ruling is far off with the next hearing scheduled for January, 2010. The success came in the 141st District Court's ruling that TEC's lawyers did not represent the Diocese of Fort Worth and that the Diocese of Fort Worth was represented by lawyers for Bishop Jack Iker and the realigned diocese. This ruling is significant in that TEC claims that it represents the true diocese of Fort Worth because, in their opinion, dioceses cannot leave The Episcopal Church. This argument has been used by TEC in many lawsuits, but it does not appear to be working in this instance. The realigned diocese also found hope in what the judge said to TEC attorneys during a hearing on September 16:
"That is what they voted to do. Y'all had a big convention in November, and they had a vote, and more people voted to leave than didn't. They decided to leave the Episcopal Church, we're going to take our Fort Worth Diocese and we're going to put it over here under the Southern Cone, more people vote to do that. So they did that. And that majority of the people still - they still run the trust. And so what I'm saying is, I don't see how - I don't see anything in here that says they can't do what they did, and they, therefore, abandoned the diocese. A larger group of the diocese voted to do something, and - which was take the diocese with them, and that's what they did."
St. James Church, Newport Beach, California
On October 5, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition by St. James Church, Newport Beach, Calif.to hear its case with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church. The Supreme Court did not give reasons for why it denied the petition, called a writ of certiorari, but that is not unusual. The Supreme Court denied writ of certiorari to hundreds of cases on October 5 alone. In June, 2009, St. James Church asked the Supreme Court to consider overturning the California Supreme Court's ruling in favor of TEC on the grounds that the court unconstitutionally "established" a certain religion by denying individual congregations their right to property.
In a statement following the ruling, St. James' rector, the Rev. Richard Crocker, said, "While it is obviously disappointing, we always felt the court might prefer to wait until the trial proceedings were final. Our battle is far from over.We look forward to having the trial court rule on a written promise from the Episcopal Church in 1991 that they would never lay claim on our property. Our members have engaged in much prayer in order to discern God's will for our congregation and what His call might be for us."
The Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno, said, "The Diocese of Los Angeles greatly appreciates the action and insight of the U.S. Supreme Court in declining to hear the case ... I reiterate that reconciliation and renewal in Christ continue to be our priorities in this matter, with our baptismal covenant calling us to respect every person's dignity."
The case will now move back to a lower court where the facts regarding the actual title to the church property will be heard for the first time.
All Saints Church, Pawley's Island, South Carolina
A nine year long legal battle came to an end with the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that if a parish owns its property then TEC cannot lay claim to it, thus nullifying the "Dennis Canon" - a 1979 property canon that states that parish property is held in trust by congregations for the diocese and national church. "It is an axiomatic principle of law that a person or entity must hold title to property in order to declare that it is held in trust for the benefit of another," the court said in its ruling. The court found in favor of All Saints Church, part of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). The parish began in 1767, and in 2003 a majority of the parish voted to leave TEC and realign with the Anglican Church of Rwanda.
In a statement to the American Anglican Council, AMiA bishop Chuck Murphy said, "In addition to being a complete victory for all of us here at All Saints, Pawleys Island, it is a profoundly important legal decision repudiating the ‘authority' of the Dennis Canon. I believe that this will have enormous implications not only for the two Episcopal dioceses in South Carolina, but, I suspect, for other churches throughout the USA."
Virginia Parishes
The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of TEC and the Diocese of Virginia against a lower court ruling that found in favor of nine Virginia parishes (there were initially 11 but two settled out of court) that voted to leave TEC in December, 2006. This news came on October 14th, 10 months after Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows ruled that the realigning parishes legally left TEC. Though the parties haven't been informed when the appeal will be heard, leaders for the realigned parishes are ready to have the litigation behind them. "While we remain fully prepared to continue to defend ourselves, we are ready to put this litigation behind us so we can focus our time, money and effort on the work of the Gospel," said Anglican District of Virginia Chairman Jim Oakes. †