Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 August 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. W2019-01411-COA-R3-CV,W2019-01411-COA-R3-CV |
| Parties | CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST, INC., ET AL. v. L.M. HALEY MINISTRIES, INC., ET AL. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Chancery Court for Shelby County
Jim Kyle, Chancellor
This appeal concerns a dispute over church property. David A. Hall ("Bishop Hall"), a bishop with The Church of God in Christ, Inc. ("COGIC"), tried to assert control over New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ ("New Jerusalem Church"), a COGIC member church, but was blocked by parties opposed to his pastorate. Bishop Hall, COGIC and New Jerusalem Church ("Plaintiffs," collectively) sued these opponents ("Defendants," collectively) in the Chancery Court for Shelby County ("the Trial Court"). Plaintiffs later filed a motion for summary judgment, which the Trial Court granted. Defendants appeal. Defendants argue, among other things, that under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the Trial Court and this Court lack subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate this dispute. However, we find this case amenable to resolution under the hybrid neutral-principles approach articulated by our Supreme Court in a factually similar case. The undisputed material facts show that New Jerusalem Church's property is held in trust for COGIC and that Bishop Hall is the duly appointed Jurisdictional Bishop with rights of pastor at New Jerusalem Church. Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment. We affirm.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed; Case Remanded
D. MICHAEL SWINEY, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ANDY D. BENNETT and CARMA DENNIS MCGEE, JJ., joined.
Dewun R. Settle, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Lonnie M. Haley, III, Jeremiah R. Haley, Dwight C. Haley, Jacqueline K. Haley, L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., New Jerusalem Church Memphis, Inc., and Ulysses C. Polk.
Darrell J. O'Neal, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellees, Church of God in Christ, Inc., David A. Hall, and New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ.
OPINIONBackground
New Jerusalem Church, the subject church, is located at 2711 Ketchum Road in Memphis, Tennessee. In October 2009, L.M. Haley, Jr., who served as Pastor for many years, died. New Jerusalem Church was a member of the Tennessee Headquarters Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction ("THEJ") of COGIC. Upon Pastor Haley's death, Bishop J.O. Patterson, Jr., the Jurisdictional Bishop of THEJ, personally assumed the pastorate of the church rather than appoint a successor pastor. Bishop Patterson served in that position until his death in 2011. The position of Jurisdictional Bishop of THEJ then went vacant temporarily. During this time, certain members of New Jerusalem Church began to consider leaving THEJ to affiliate with the Tennessee Eastern First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of COGIC. A majority vote taken in October 2011 purported to change New Jerusalem Church's jurisdictional affiliation.
In November 2011, Bishop Hall was appointed to fill the vacancy at THEJ. Upon his consecration, Bishop Hall tried to assert control over New Jerusalem Church. However, the dissenting members asserted that they no longer submitted to the authority of THEJ or Bishop Hall. This sparked an internal process within the church hierarchy. On November 23, 2013, an Ecclesiastical Council of THEJ issued a judgment confirming Bishop Hall's authority and excommunicating a number of those members in opposition. This internal church dispute would spill over into litigation.
In December 2017, Plaintiffs filed their Complaint for Injunction, Accounting and Damages against Defendants in the Trial Court. Plaintiffs alleged that Bishop Hall was the lawful pastor of New Jerusalem Church, and that Defendant L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., by and through the other named Defendants, unlawfully had assumed control of the church's property, funds and records. Plaintiffs alleged further that Defendants' vote to change jurisdictions was conducted improperly, and that one or more of Defendants had filed a corporate charter for New Jerusalem Church Memphis, Inc. with the Tennessee Secretary of State. Plaintiffs requested that the Trial Court restructure the deed to New Jerusalem Church to reflect that it was held in trust for the use and benefit of its members subject to the laws of COGIC. The Complaint was supported by the sworn affidavit of Bishop Hall. Exhibit B to the complaint was a 1999 Warranty Deed reflecting that L.M. Haley, Frank Vann, Douglas Smith, and Theldridge L. Haley, Trustees of and for New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ Ministries, owned the property located at 2711 Ketchum Road.
In their complaint, Plaintiffs cited certain COGIC governing documents. Part III, Section A. The Local Church. 8 of the Official Manual and Constitution of COGICprovides: "The Pastor of a local church shall be appointed by the Jurisdictional Bishop of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church." The provision was modified to state:
All vacancies that occur in the pastorate of the local church shall be filled by the Jurisdictional Bishop. The supervision and management of the church shall remain with the Jurisdictional Bishop or his designee until such time as a pastor has been appointed to fill such vacancy. Page 45, Par. 17, 1968-1990 Certified and Proposed Amendments & Publications.
Plaintiffs cited also to Part I, Article III, Section D. 9 of the Official Manual and Constitution of COGIC, which provides as follows:
In March 2018, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss. In their motion, Defendants challenged Bishop Hall's standing to sue in his individual capacity, which he had done "for the use and benefit" of COGIC. Defendants stated further that "[i]t should be noted that there is no indication that this matter has been approved by the General Counsel for COGIC whose stated duties include participation in and selecting counsel for representation in all matters regarding COGIC."
In July 2018, Plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment and statement of undisputed material facts. In their memorandum of law, Plaintiffs cited our Supreme Court's opinion in Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. L.M. Haley Ministries, Inc., 531 S.W.3d 146 (Tenn. 2017) to support their position that New Jerusalem Church property is held in trust for its members subject to COGIC laws and that Bishop Hall is a duly appointed bishop with rights of pastor at the church. Church of God in Christ, Inc. involved Bishop Hall's efforts to assert control over Gospel Center Temple, another COGIC church assigned to THEJ. He succeeded in that case. Our Supreme Court stated: "In light of our conclusion that Temple COGIC held its real property in trust for COGIC and the Ecclesiastical Council's determination, to which we must defer, that Bishop Hall was the duly appointed pastor of Temple COGIC, we conclude that the Plaintiffs are entitled tosummary judgment on their claims regarding the real and personal property of Temple COGIC." Church of God in Christ, Inc., 531 S.W.3d at 173.
In March 2019, Plaintiffs filed their "additional statement of undisputed facts," relying on the affidavit of General Secretary and Bishop Joel H. Lyles, Jr., Secretary for the General Assembly and of COGIC. Bishop Lyles stated that Bishop Hall is the Jurisdictional Bishop for THEJ. Attached to Bishop Lyles' affidavit were several exhibits. Exhibit 5 to the affidavit was the November 2013 judgment of the Ecclesiastical Council, which reads, in part, as follows:
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