Church cautiously optimistic about suit

Deepa Bharath

Real estate law or canon law?

It’s going to be a difficult choice for the courts entrusted with

the case that pits a church and a diocese against each other.

The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is suing three Southern

California churches, including St. James Church in Newport Beach. The

diocese alleges that the churches committed a breach of fiduciary

duty when they broke away from the diocese and aligned with an

African church in the worldwide Anglican Communion last month.

The churches announced secession Aug. 17, stating they did not

agree with the Episcopal Church’s liberal views on homosexuality, the

divinity of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the Bible.

The land on Via Lido, where St. James Church sits, belongs to a

nonprofit organization called The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of

St. James Parish, which was set up in the late 1940s, property deeds

show.

The property of a mission is typically held under the name and

control of the diocese and its bishop. But in California, the parish

is usually organized as a nonprofit corporation run by an elected

vestry or board of directors. The rector of the parish, in this case

Praveen Bunyan, acts as the president of the church corporation.

But diocesan officials say it doesn’t matter whose name is on a

piece of stamped paper.

The lawsuit states the “canons of the Episcopal Church, which were

repeatedly adopted and ratified by the parish and expressly

incorporated into its Articles of Incorporation and by-laws provide:

All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any

parish, mission or congregation is held in trust for this church and

diocese thereof ...”

The lawsuit also says the founders of St. James swore in their

application to become a parish that the church would be “forever held

under and conform to and be bound by the ecclesiastical authority of

the Bishop of Los Angeles and his successors in office” and the

constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church.

The canons, laws written by the Episcopal Church, clearly state

the church properties are held for the benefit of the diocese, said

John Shiner, the attorney representing the diocese.

“The churches that seceded did not follow those canons they had

agreed to follow,” he said.

But Eric Sohlgren, an attorney for the seceded churches, said the

judges should and will base their verdict on California real estate

law, not canon law.

As precedent, Sohlgren uses a 1981 case, Protestant Episcopal

Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles vs. John D. Barker. About 23

years ago, the diocese was in a similar situation, fighting four

churches that broke away because they were unhappy with the diocese’s

ordination of female priests.

Three out of the four churches in that fight succeeded in keeping

their respective churches and surrounding properties. The churches

initially lost the case but won it on appeal.

In the initial case, Sohlgren said, the judges looked at two

things -- who owns the deed to the land and who contributes money to

whom.

“The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Parish own the

deed to the property, and secondly, for many, many years, St. James

has been contributing to the diocese, not the other way around,” he

said.

Last year alone, St. James contributed about $72,000 to the

diocese, Bunyan said.

“That’s pretty close to the amount of money we’ve donated to the

diocese every year for the last 55 years,” he said.

The churches in the 1981 case also amended their articles of

incorporation to delete all references to the diocese and Episcopal

Church of the United States, just as St. James did.

It’s unfair to compare what churches in other states have done

with similar lawsuits involving the Episcopal Church, Sohlgren said.

“California is a state that follows the neutral principles of

law,” he said. “The courts step back and look at who would own the

property if it were not a church. Courts are supposed to follow

published law and precedents.”

But canon law can still apply in a court of law, Shiner said.

“There are many precedents after Barker, which show that

California courts have upheld church canon laws,” he said.

Bunyan said he is cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the

lawsuit.

“We’re confident, but we’re also not naive about it,” he said.

The congregation voted 280 to 12 to secede from the Episcopal

Church and 340 to 4 in favor of amending the Articles of

Incorporation, Bunyan said. The church’s membership is 1,200, but

that number includes babies, children and adolescents, he said.

“It even includes people who moved away but haven’t let us know,”

he said. “Our quorum for an annual meeting is 200, and the number of

people who attended these meetings exceeded that number.”

Church administrators made phone calls to inform every family

about the important meeting, Bunyan said.

All church members who voted in favor of the secession are in it

for the long haul, he said.

“For so many years, they have poured everything they have into

this church,” Bunyan said. “They want to see all that used for

something they believe in.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.