Court finds in favor of Carrollton church
Court rules trust clause negated and state trust laws must be followed
The Layman, September 15, 2011
The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal issued its opinion in the church property dispute between the tiny Carrollton Presbyterian Church in New Orleans and the Presbytery of South Louisiana (PSL). The court adopted the rationale presented by Carrollton and affirmed the trial court’s ruling in favor of the local church.
Mary Koss, Carrollton’s clerk of session, commented that, “Carrollton is very pleased with what we believe is the right decision in this case. We are anxious to have this case behind us and move forward with the business of being the church. This has preoccupied our time and talent and resources for far too long, but we recognized that staying the course was not only for us, but for lots of other churches for whom our case sets a precedent. We wanted to do whatever we could to help them.”
Case timeline and related articles:
April 2011: Carrollton case has bearing on all former southern PCUS congregations in PCUSA
January 2010: Presbytery appeals decision
December 2009: Carrollton church wins Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction
December 2009: Presbytery forced to release documents
October 2009: Presbytery found in contempt of court
September 2009: Judge orders Presbytery to back off
August 2009: Judge issues “written reasons” favoring Carrollton
September 2008: Presbytery votes to aggressively pursue churches contemplating leaving
Koss is referring to the precedent set in this case for thousands of other churches that participated in Reunion but voted, as the Book of Order allowed, to retain authority over their particular congregation’s real and financial property.
The Court of Appeal said that the application of PCUS 6-8 (through timely vote on G-8.0701) negates the PCUS and PCUSA trust clauses.
But the decision of the court has even wider potential application as the Court of Appeal said that even if PCUS 6-8 did not apply to negate the trust clauses, state trust law must be followed in order to create an enforceable trust. In this case, the court determined that state trust law was not followed. The Court made it clear that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Jones v. Wolf did not say, as the Presbytery contended, that the mere addition of a trust clause in the denominational constitution sufficed to create a valid and enforceable trust.
The Court of Appeal also rejected the Presbytery’s argument that the injunction that blocked the administrative commission from acting against Carrollton violated the PCUSA’s free exercise of religion. The Court carefully examined the text of the injunction and found “no unconstitutional breach.”
Arguing the case for Carrollton are attorneys Lloyd Lunceford and Eugene Groves of Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips, LLP. Lunceford has represented the property interests of several Louisiana congregations, and he has consulted or been retained by Presbyterian congregations in 12 states. He is editor of The Guide to Church Property Law: Theological, Constitutional and Practical Considerations, now available in its 2nd edition, published by Reformation Press.
At this time it is not known if the Presbytery will appeal. Two avenues of appeal are open to the Presbytery which could seek rehearing by the Court of Appeal or discretionary review by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
*Editor’s note: When you open the pdf of the court’s opinion, you will see a heading that reads “Not Designated for Publication.” Clarification of the meaning of that heading is in order. The rules of the court require that the heading be applied until the time for appeal expires. The rules of the court also say that “opinions posted…may be cited as authority.”