Posted on 08/04/2016 4:10:51 PM PDT by Gamecock
A judge has ruled that a Mississippi church – not the Presbyterian Church (USA) – owns its property.
In First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) of Starkville Mississippi vs. Presbytery of St. Andrew, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Inc., the Honorable H.J. Davidson Jr., granted the church’s motion for summary judgment “affirming its right to hold title to its property without interference of claim from the PCUSA.”
FPC-Starkville filed a lawsuit in early 2015 with the Chancery Court of Oktibbeha County in Miss., asking for a declaratory judgment “recognizing that FPC Starkville alone is the absolute, full, exclusive, fee simple owner of all real or personal property that is owned by FPC Starkville.”
Further, it asked the court to declare that neither the presbytery, nor the PCUSA, had “no right to or interest in any of the real or personal property so owned by FPC Starkville.”
The Order
“Simply put,” Davidson wrote in his July 27 order the court is being asked “who is entitled to or controls the real property occupied by FPC?”
Davidson was very clear that “The underlying reason for the schism is not the issue before this court, nor should it be. The issue is the relationship between the local church (FPC) and the parent church (PCUSA) and whether such relationship gives rise to a trust property interest in PCUSA to the real and personal property located in Oktibbeha County, title to which is held of record by FPC.”
In dispute was seven parcels of land in Oktibbeha County that were acquired over a period of 160 years of which “FPC obtained the deeds of conveyance and paid all consideration for the title to the various properties. There are not trust provisions in any deed that the court can ascertain,” he said.
“It is undisputed that the deeds to all the property at issue have no trust provision,” wrote Davidson. “Regardless of the claim of trust, a strict reading of the recorded deeds reveal no trust provision in any other party as trustee, not is there a reverter clause contain in any of the instruments.”
Davidson said there was no “traditional express trust … nor any legally enforceable and separate traditional trust instrument that would operate to vest a beneficial interest in and over the legally titled property of FPC to PCUSA.”
He also declared that there was no “constructive trust as implied by law based on the facts as agreed upon by the parties.”
In his order, Davidson referred to an affidavit submitted by the church “of Caroline Laurie Griffith, who represents herself as an officer of the PCUSA with authority to represent PCUSA. The affiant states that PCUSA has no ownership interest in and no right to control or maintain the property of FPC and further disclaims any and all interest in the property of FPC. Obviously the corresponding question is one of the authority of his agent and the representation she has made. It would seem the head entity takes this position, then any subordinate entity as a member of that denomination could not assert any contrary position.”
Davidson wrote that the “creation of trusts and intent must be clear and convincing. To uphold the argument of PCUSA would be contrary to that standard, unreasonably deprive FPC of its property with just compensation, violate its constitutional right of the free ownership of property and be unjust and inequitable. For these reasons, the Court grants FPC’s motion for Summary Judgment as well as a permanent injunction, affirming its right to hold title to its property without interference or claim from PCUSA.”
The 506-member church was represented by Lloyd J. Lunceford and Ryan K. French of the Taylor Porter law firm in Baton Rouge, LA and by Dolton W. McAlpine of the McAlpine firm in Starkville, MS.
Well done.
“Doesn’t the SBC have the same stranglehold on Southern Baptist churches?”
Not even close. A church that is part of the SBC can leave at any time. And each church buys and pays for its own buildings and land.
Probably pkan on selling it to the Mooselimbs.
I agree. Case by case.
The southern baptists definitely do not.
The Methodist Church definitely does.
I don’t know of a specific case where a Southern Baptist church left the convention. I was just wondering if there are roadblocks to doing so.
I’ve heard of a few deciding to leave. The only roadblock would be if they had been established as a missionary church. The church I’m part of now was established (and funded) via another SBC church 50 years ago. The deed had a restriction on it, so that if we left the SBC, the building would revert back to the church that started us. They recently asked if we would like that restriction removed from our deed, and we said yes - so they did. We have no intention of leaving the SBC, but it just seemed right after 50 years.
I’ll add the original church that got us started has continued to be a blessing. They are still a larger church, and they have given us sheet music, electrical equipment, etc that they no longer needed and that we could not afford by ourselves.
For our part, we’ve helped a non-SBC Baptist Church out financially and with equipment as they have struggled to get established. We all fall under the same Lord and Master...
I’m positive that Southern Baptist churches belong to the local congregations. There is no top down dictation, or ownership. The churches are built by the congregations, and belong to them. No pastor owns the building either, unlike some Independent Baptist churches.
The Bible is the guide and authority to which member look.
But the case I cited was decided by SCOTUS in 1981.
Depends on what is in the deed and other contractual documents.
I haven’t been there in a few years, but at least officially that was not happening. For that matter, the organist was officially getting a salary as well.
Maybe they were secretly declining it but I think they must have been borrowing against building equity.
In general the PC(USA) has a legal stranglehold on the property. In this case it looks like there were some documents that weren’t filled out to the denominational standards and that is why this church was awarded the property.
When the PCA and the OPC left the PC(USA), or it’s predecessor, and many local churches lost their buildings.
The PCA has made it clear, in it’s governing documents, that the buildings belong to the local body. In fact, they were so wary of a runaway bureaucracy that local churches and Presbyteries wield much more power that the home office. (Maybe there is a lesson there for our nation)
Do you have a citation for that? I found a fair number of citations to what appears to be the case in the California Court of Appeals (Presbytery of Riverside v. Community Church of Palm Springs 89 Cal.App.3d 910 (1979)), and proper form should have dictated subsequent history, but I certainly didn't spot it in the references I found. And it wasn't on a list of 1981 Supreme Court decisions that I scanned.
Trust funds and bequests from wills written years ago can carry a dying church for years, if not decades. While the church could borrow against equity, most lenders are going to want to see a source of repayment other than the collateral (since foreclosing on churches can bring bad publicity). And you’d want the higher church bodies to at least sign on to the mortgage. On the other hand, if it is in a highly desirable commercial location, the gain may be worth the pain.
I was thinking about sionnsar the other day. I’m Anglican and there is lots going on in the Communion these days. He would be busy were he still here.
MrR is more likely to know the citation off hand - him being an attorney. But it is the church we both grew up in.
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