Yates v. El Bethel Primitive Baptist Church

• Citation: 847 So.2d 331
• Parties: Jonathan YATES v. EL BETHEL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH.
• Decision Date: 11 October 2002
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

847 So.2d 331

Jonathan YATES v. EL BETHEL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH.

1001913.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

October 11, 2002.

Richard D. Horne of Horne & Dailey, L.L.C., Mobile, for appellant.

Vanessa Arnold Shoots and Tracie B. Lee, Mobile, for appellee.

HARWOOD, Justice.

The Reverend Jonathan Yates (hereinafter referred to as "Yates") appeals from the July 19, 2001, judgment of the trial court setting aside a June 17, 2001, election of deacons and trustees of the El Bethel Primitive Baptist Church (hereinafter referred to as "the Church").

On March 30, 2001, the Church, by and through its board of deacons and trustees (hereinafter referred to as "the Board"),¹ petitioned the trial court for a temporary restraining order to prevent Yates from interfering with the financial operation of the Church. On or about April 11, 2001, before the petition had been ruled upon, the Board filed an amended petition, seeking a more clearly focused temporary restraining order, or in the alternative, a preliminary injunction. Both versions of the petition sought an order restraining Yates "from interfering with the financial operation of the Church, interfering with all day to day operations of the Church, including supervising daycare employees and Church employees, and ordering him to direct all Church employees with financial records of the Church to turn over all financial records and documents of the Church to the Deacon and Trustee Boards." In the "complaint" portion of the amended petition, the Board asserted that Yates was "using the church's funds for his personal benefit, providing false financial statements to the Board[ ] at its monthly meetings, and failing to withhold income tax from several employees' paychecks." There were also allegations that Yates had sexually harassed a female employee of the Church. Finally, the assertion was made that Yates had "admitted [to the Board] that he had misappropriated the Church's funds for his personal use and that income tax had not been withheld from several employees' paychecks." The trial court conducted hearings on April 12 and April 17, receiving testimony ore tenus. (The record does not contain a transcript of those proceedings.) On May 18, 2001, the trial court issued an order that stated that "this Court notified both parties that the hearing would be considered [one for] a Permanent Injunction." Thereafter, the court ordered that "The Board of Deacons and/or Trustees are vested by its membership with the authority to transact business on behalf of the Church," including, but not being limited to, the following:

"1. Establish an annual budget for the Church as well as the individual departments and services provided for by the Church.

"2. Appointing a committee consisting of [Yates], Board of Deacons and/or Trustees, and Church members to develop proposed By-Laws for the Church so that there will be a clear line of authority within the Church in the future approving decisions involving major expenditures of the Church. Of course, in all such matters the members of said church, in good standing, should be the final arbitrator in approving or not approving such expenditures.

"3. [Yates] is hereby restrained from obligating the Church and its members in any financial manner without having the authority to do so by vote of the Church and the approval of the Board of Deacons and/or Trustees.

"4. [Yates] is restrained from authorizing loans of Church monies to any person or entity. The Church should not be in competition with financial institutions. And,

"5. A CPA should be employed to audit the financial condition and practices of the Church so that clear violations of financial policies can be corrected. Of course, this, as in any other major decision, should be the joint decision of [Yates] and the Board of Deacons and/or Trustees of said Church."

That order, having addressed all pending issues, and being expressly designated as a permanent injunction, constituted a final order. Yates has not sought in any way to challenge the validity or binding effect of that order. He filed no postjudgment motion seeking to alter, amend, or vacate the order; he filed no appeal with respect to it; and he has not challenged or contested it in this appeal. Accordingly, it stands as the binding "law of the case." Rather than comply with that final order, however, Yates undertook to circumvent it by convening an "election meeting," as referenced in the next sentence and otherwise described and explained in this opinion. On June 21, 2001, the Board filed a motion for contempt and to set aside an election that had been held at the Church at Yates's insistence on June 17 and that purportedly had resulted in the election of a new slate of deacons and trustees. On June 28, 2001, a hearing was held on the Board's motion, and the trial court heard testimony regarding the events that had transpired at the Church on dates subsequent to its May 18 order. On July 19, 2001, the court issued an order that denied the contempt portion of the motion, but that declared that "the election held on June 17, 2001, is due to be, and is, hereby set aside." In pertinent part, the order stated:

"This matter comes before this Court on a Motion for Contempt and to Set Aside an Election of Deacons of El Bethel Primitive Baptist Church. This matter originally came to this Court's attention following the filing of a Petition for a Restraining Order, which was filed by its Board of Deacons and Trustees. This Court issued an order dated May 18, 2001, which in effect stressed that the Board of Deacons and Trustees and [Yates] should work hand in hand in a harmonious and productive manner for the good of the Church.

"Shortly after the aforementioned order was issued, the present Motion for Contempt and to Set Aside the Results of an Election was filed in this Court. In fact it was on June 21, 2001. In this latest motion, the Plaintiffs allege that Reverend Jonathan Yates has totally ignored the Court's instructions and, in a spiteful and revengeful attitude, sought to dismiss the Deacons who participated and were parties to the original filing of the action in this Court. In addition, the Plaintiffs allege that the Deacons were refused the right to examine the financial records of the Church and that a dictatorial attitude was Reverend Yates's daily demeanor. It is therefore obvious that this cause arises out of disputes between members of the congregation of El Bethel Baptist Church and its Pastor, Reverend Jonathan Yates. The determinative issue is whether the actions by Reverend Yates are contemptuous and whether the election of new Deacons was the result of a valid election. That is, was it held in accordance with the rules the Church has agreed to be bound by?

"As this Court stated in its prior order, it is mindful that Courts are limited in their authority to interfere with the conduct of a religious institution. As was stated in In re Galilee Baptist Church, 279 Ala. 393, [397,] 186 So.2d 102 [,106] (1966):

"`Spiritualities are beyond the reach of temporal courts, and a pastor may be deposed by a majority of the members at a congregational meeting at any time, so far as the civil courts are concerned, subject only to inquiry by the courts as to whether the church, or its appointed tribunal as proceeded according to the law of the church....'

"This Court was convened on June 12, 2001,[²] and, the testimony was taken at that time. The testimony of all the witnesses for both parties was taken ore tenus. In addition, exhibits were introduced into evidence. Both sides have presented briefs of legal authorities favoring their contentions. The Court has carefully considered the evidence, statutory law, and appellate decisions, which were discussed in the aforementioned briefs submitted by these attorneys to this Court.

"As stated, it is rather clear that a civil court should not interfere with the questions and issues that would be better left to a vote of the Church members; it is equally clear that a Church must be governed by the rules it has chosen to be governed by. In this particular Church they have chosen to be guided by the Disciplines of The Primitive Baptist Church. These `Disciplines' are printed and a copy of the same was introduced into evidence as an Exhibit. This Court has read these rules from beginning to end.

"Although it is alleged that Reverend Yates acted more like a dictator than a Pastor, this Court did not find sufficient evidence to support [such a finding]. However, it is clear that the Plaintiffs may have felt intimidated by the action of Reverend Yates and the fact that the `Disciplines' were not followed. Although as stated earlier herein, this Court is reluctant to become involved in questions and issues that would be better left to a vote to the Church members, the Church through its Pastor must follow its own rules. These rules should have been followed to the letter. These rules were not strictly followed.

"In view of the foregoing, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED by this Court that the Motion to Hold Reverend Jonathan Yates in contempt is hereby DENIED. It is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the election held on June 17, 2001, is due to be, and is hereby set aside."

On July 25, 2001, Yates filed a motion for stay of the July 19, 2001, order pending appeal; the trial court denied that motion on August 1, 2001. On appeal, Yates argues that the June 17, 2001, election was consistent with the Church's rules, with Alabama law, and with the considerations of notice and due process, and, thus, that it was a valid, legal election. The core of Yates's argument to this Court is "that the opinion of the trial court is not fairly supported by credible evidence under any reasonable interpretation and that it is palpably wrong." The Board argues that the manner in which the election was conducted violated the due-process rights of the members of the Board and was contrary...