United Methodist Church, Inc. v. Culver

• Decision Date: 31 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 99-1522.,99-1522.
• Citation: 627 N.W.2d 469,2001 WI 55,243 Wis.2d 394
• Parties: The WISCONSIN CONFERENCE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF the UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ronald CULVER, Loretta Konrad, Lucille Krentz, Arthur Lamonska, Gordon Trapp, John Does 1 through 20 and Jane Does 1 through 20, Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

243 Wis.2d 394

2001 WI 55

627 N.W.2d 469

The WISCONSIN CONFERENCE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF the UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ronald CULVER, Loretta Konrad, Lucille Krentz, Arthur Lamonska, Gordon Trapp, John Does and Jane Does , Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners.

No. 99-1522.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Oral argument January 31, 2001.

Decided May 31, 2001.

For the defendants-respondents-petitioners there were briefs by Lan Waddell and Waddell & Pavia, Columbus, and oral argument by Lan Waddell.

For the plaintiff-appellant there was a brief by Jon G. Furlow, Mary C. Turke and Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP, Madison, and oral argument by Jon G. Furlow.

An amicus curiae brief was filed by Kevin J. Sjostrom and Brusky & Sjostrom, S.C., Wauwatosa, on behalf of Katrine L. Anderson, Judy Bell, Ernest Cutting, Alyson Janke, Michael B. Lukens, and Clifton Kirkpatrick as stated clerks of the Presbytery of Northern Waters, the Milwaukee Presbytery, the Twin Cities Area Presbytery and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, the John Knox Presbytery, the Winnebago Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United House of Prayer for all People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith.

¶ 1. ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.

This case requires us to address the ownership of church property when a local Methodist church breaks away from the Methodist denomination. The defendants, the trustees of a local church formerly known as the Elo United Methodist Church, seek review of a published decision of the court of appeals reversing the summary judgment determinations of the circuit court.¹ The court of appeals concluded that the plaintiff, the Wisconsin Conference Board of Trustees of the United Methodist Church (Conference), was entitled to the property because the local church's withdrawal from the United Methodist Church (UMC) rendered it a "defunct" or "dissolved" local Methodist church under Wis. Stat. § 187.15(4) (1997-98).² Because we agree with the court of appeals' interpretation of the statute and conclude that title to the property at issue vests in the Conference, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

¶ 2. We preface our discussion with the following undisputed facts that provide a brief history of the local church, its ties to the Methodist denomination, the local church property, and the events preceding our review.

¶ 3. In the 1840s, a congregation of Methodists formed in the town of Utica in Winnebago County. The group began meeting in members' homes, and by the late 1840s was a recognized Methodist Episcopal church, known as the Elo church. The Elo church was a member church of the Liberty Prairie Circuit, a group of local churches organized by the Wisconsin Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. That statewide conference was responsible for appointing a minister to serve the congregations within the circuit.

¶ 4. The property at issue today came to be used by the Elo congregation following an 1860 conveyance. An 1860 deed documents the transfer of ten acres of land in the town of Utica from Isaac and Abigal Corliss to the "Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Liberty Circuit Wisconsin Conference." The trustees purchased the property for $400, and it was deeded to the trustees "in Trust for the Methodist Episcopal Church."³

¶ 5. Subsequent to the conveyance, the Elo congregation built a church upon the land. The church was eventually called the Elo Methodist Church. Sometime later, a parsonage was erected to house the acting minister.

¶ 6. The Elo Methodist Church continued as a Methodist Episcopal church well into the twentieth century. It maintained its affiliation with organized Methodism through successive mergers between the Methodist Episcopal Church and other Methodist branches. In 1939 the Methodist Episcopal Church merged with other Methodist denominations to become the Methodist Church. Another merger in 1968 created the United Methodist Church. ¶ 7. The UMC is organized in a hierarchical fashion. The Conference is its state-level organizational body. The relationship among the national, regional, and local levels of the denomination is governed by the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, which sets forth the doctrinal law of the denomination.

¶ 8. In 1970 members of the Elo church filed a certificate of incorporation organizing itself as a "religious society of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church." Under its certificate of incorporation, the Elo church became the Elo United Methodist Church, a duly incorporated religious society under Wis. Stat. § 187.01.

¶ 9. The Elo church continued its affiliation with the UMC until 1997. In that year, a dispute arose between the congregation and the UMC over certain doctrinal matters. On June 25, 1997, the Elo church passed, by a near-unanimous vote of the congregation, the following resolution withdrawing from the UMC:

1. Whereas: The United Methodist Conference has acted to create a major doctrinal change and, in spite of an attempt to change that position through existing procedures, has reaffirmed its position on those matters

and

2. Whereas: We, as a "Christian Bible based" congregation cannot reconcile their actions with the "Scripture" as we understand it:

Therefore

We, as a Christian Church, hereby disavow ourselves from the United Methodist Conference and do rescind any and all relationships with said Conference, thereby declaring ourselves as a non-affiliated and independent Christian Church, effective as of this date, June 25, 1997.

¶ 10. Thereafter, the Elo church changed its name to the Elo Evangelical Church. The church continued to operate as an independent, nondenominational congregation. The congregation removed all UMC insignia and signage on the church property and also refused to continue the financial arrangements it had previously maintained with the UMC, including its share of support for the minister appointed to serve the church and who was housed in the Elo parsonage.⁴

¶ 11. After a period of fruitless attempts at reconciliation with the Elo congregation, the Conference responded to the Elo church's withdrawal from the UMC in December 1998. It resolved that the property held by the Elo church had been "abandoned" under church rules by virtue of the Elo church's disaffiliation. Under the provisions of the Book of Discipline, the Conference concluded that it was to assume control of the local church property.

¶ 12. By authorization of the resolution, the Conference filed suit against the Elo trustees individually in February 1999, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Its primary contention was that under Wis. Stat. § 187.15(4), the Elo church had become defunct or dissolved, thus entitling the Conference to all property held by the Elo church.⁵ ¶ 13. The Elo trustees responded by moving to dismiss the complaint. In addition to claiming that the circuit court lacked the subject matter jurisdiction to resolve this internal church dispute, the Elo trustees claimed that the requirements of § 187.15(4) had not been met. They maintained that because the Elo congregation continued to exist, it could not constitute a "defunct" or "dissolved" church within the dictionary definitions of those terms. The Conference responded with a summary judgment motion claiming that it was entitled to a judgment in its favor because there was no disputed issue of fact that the Elo congregation's resolution to disaffiliate rendered it defunct or dissolved under § 187.15(4).

¶ 14. The circuit court heard both motions together. After examining numerous affidavits and documents submitted with the motion for summary judgment, including the 1860 deed, the circuit court concluded that title to the property was held by the Elo trustees and that § 187.15 is triggered only if the local congregation ceased functioning and abandoned the property. Accordingly, the court entered a judgment dismissing the Conference's complaint.

¶ 15. The Conference appealed and the court of appeals reversed. After explaining that its resolution of an intra-church property dispute is restricted by the First Amendment to a consideration of neutral principles of law, the court of appeals interpreted and applied § 187.15(4). Wisconsin Conf. Bd. of Trs. of the United Methodist Church, Inc. vs. Culver, 2000 WI App 132, ¶¶ 13-17, 237 Wis. 2d 343, 614 N.W.2d 523. It concluded that Elo church's disavowal of all ties to the UMC rendered it defunct or dissolved under the statute. Id. at ¶ 29. The court explained: "We cannot imagine a clearer statement and demonstration of Elo's intent to dissolve its ties with the UMC. . . . While Elo continues to endure, the dissolution of its relationship with the UMC rendered it defunct as a local church of the UMC." Id.

I

¶ 16. This case requires us to decide competing motions for summary judgment. While the circuit court resolved this case by granting the Elo trustees' motion to dismiss and denying the Conference's motion for summary judgment, the circuit court considered matters outside the pleadings in deciding the motion to dismiss. We thus treat the motion as one for summary judgment and the circuit court's judgment as one entered upon the grant of that motion. See Wis. Stat. § 802.06(3); Schwab v. Timmons, 224 Wis. 2d 27, 35, 589 N.W.2d 1 (1999).

[1, 2]

¶ 17. We review a motion for summary judgment using the same methodology as employed by the circuit court. Stelpflug v. Town of Waukesha, 2000 WI 81, ¶ 17, 236 Wis. 2d 275, 612 N.W.2d 700. Summary judgment is granted where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Wis. Stat. § 802.08(2); Stelpflug, 2000 WI 81 at ¶ 17. [3]

¶ 18. Ultimately, we conclude that resolution of the competing motions for summary judgment is a matter of interpretation and application of § 187.15(4). We must determine...