Seceding churches might be sued as 1

Deepa Bharath

An Orange County Superior Court judge will decide whether to combine

lawsuits filed by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles against three

Southern California churches, including one on Via Lido, that seceded

from the national church.

Judge David Velasquez on Tuesday refused to rule on several

motions filed on behalf of the three churches, including one asking

to dismiss the case, arguing that the diocese’s property claims have

no legal basis, said Eric Sohlgren, an attorney representing the

churches.

St. James Church in Newport Beach, All Saints’ in Long Beach and

St. David’s in North Hollywood seceded from the Episcopal Church of

the United States in August because they did not agree with the

national church’s liberal views on homosexuality, the divinity of

Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the Bible.

The churches placed themselves under the Diocese of Luwero in the

Anglican Province of Uganda, Africa. The Episcopal Diocese of Los

Angeles filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against the

churches in September, stating that the church buildings and

surrounding properties belong to the diocese.

Velasquez has issued a stay, which is basically a freeze until

Dec. 9, when he’ll decide if the cases against all three churches

should be tried as one, Sohlgren said.

It is likely that a combined case will be tried in Orange County

Superior Court, he said. Also, a sitting judge of the Los Angeles

County Appellate Court has been named as part of the diocese’s

lawsuit against All Saints’ because the judge is one of the church’s

board members.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a conflict of interest,”

Sohlgren said. “But it’s definitely an awkward situation.”

John Shiner, the attorney representing the Diocese of Los Angeles,

said he was happy to hear the judge issue the stay.

“The judge made the right decision by delaying ruling on those

motions until the cases were coordinated,” he said.

Shiner would not comment on his opinion about combining the three

cases.

“We plan to file a brief on Friday with our position on that,” he

said. “I’ll reserve my comment until that time.”

On Oct. 8, Sohlgren filed what is known as a “demurrer” in

response to the diocese’s lawsuit. A demurrer assumes all allegations

made by the diocese in its lawsuit are true and asks the question

that even if everything that’s alleged turns out to be true, is there

a legal wrong here? Sohlgren and the churches’ position is that there

is no legal wrong. If the court grants the demurrer, the case will be

over.

Sohlgren said he would support combining the cases. The lawsuits

against All Saints’ and St. David’s were filed in Los Angeles

Superior Court.

“It’s beneficial to have one judge considering the case,” he said.

“All three churches have a different history, but similar legal

issues. Combining them also means great efficiency for the courts and

the parties.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.