| Alaska Supreme Court awards property to conference
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James Allen |
Oct. 17, 2006
By J. Richard Peck*
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (UMNS) —
The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that a wood building that once housed
a 60-member United Methodist congregation is owned by the Alaska
Missionary Conference and former members who claimed the property are
guilty of trespassing.
Almost eight months after the case was argued before the five justices
on Jan. 25, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Alaska Superior
Court Judge Richard Savell to award disputed property of St. Paul Church
to the Alaska Missionary Conference.
The five-member state Supreme Court affirmed Oct. 13 the historic "trust
provisions" of the United Methodist Church. The court rejected claims
made by a dissident group to a church building valued two years ago at
$322,000 and a parsonage valued at $196,000.
The trust clause is a measure introduced in the 1700s by Methodism
founder John Wesley to protect the security of the "preaching house" as a
place for worship. The clause, declaring that the title to all local
church property is held by the annual (regional) conference, has been
upheld by a variety of U.S. courts during the 200-plus history of the
denomination in the United States. The California Court of Appeals is
the only court to rule that a local church could revoke the trust
clause.
James Allen, general counsel of the United Methodist General Council on
Finance and Administration, celebrated the Alaska decision. "The
decision by this state Supreme Court is completely opposite the
unfortunate decision in the St. Luke's case from Fresno, Calif., on
enforcement of the trust clause, leaving the California case as an
aberration applicable only in California," said Allen.
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Bishop Edward W. Paup |
The finance agency and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries
helped pay for legal work on the Alaska case. GCFA Legal Services worked
with Bishop Edward W. Paup's team in Alaska, and acted as outside
advisers to the attorneys that represented the Alaska Missionary
Conference.
Paup, who presides over the missionary conference, said the decision
"clearly supports the principle of connectionism in the United Methodist
Church that a local church exists on behalf of the entire denomination.
We do continue to pray for all those involved in this case."
"What we rejoice in the most is we were able to be a servant for the
entire church in defending the trust clause of the denomination," said
Lonnie Brooks, president of the Alaska Missionary Conference Board of
Trustees.
While Paup welcomed the decision, which brings closure to the 4-year-old
case, he said he was saddened by the fact that the good news could not
be shared with Tom Dahl, the conference chancellor who died a few days
after a March 28 accident in Moss Point, Miss.
Dahl was helping rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina when he fell
from a ladder and never regained consciousness. "Tom gave tireless
skill and commitment to this court case and was instrumental in arguing
the questions in a way that led the conference to be victorious," Paup
said.
Church closed in 2002
The St. Paul church was officially closed by a 61-1 decision of the
Alaska Missionary Conference in 2002. "The decision to close the
18-year-old church was a difficult one," said the Rev. Rachel Lieder
Simeon, the district superintendent responsible for St. Paul.
"The church was discontinued because after an 18-month assessment of the
internal workings of the church, it became clear that the core
leadership was unwilling to be subject to the authority of the
denomination," Simeon said. "They would not take directions from the
pastor, the superintendent or the bishop."
After the decision, members of the former congregation denied the
conference access to the church building. The conference then went to
court to assert its ownership of the property.
Court rulings
Although the property deed didn't refer to the trust clause, the court
found that a letter by Bishop Calvin McConnell explaining the trust
clause left no room for the defendants to argue lack of intent to create
a trust. Moreover, the clause was not revoked when St. Paul amended its
articles of incorporation.
When comparing this case with the Fresno case, the court said the
applicable Alaska law with respect to revocability of trusts was the
reverse of the California law. Moreover, the court pointed out that the
California Court of Appeals found that a trust had been created, which
reinforced the findings of the state Supreme Court.
The court also found that the St. Paul congregation's act of advising
the missionary conference that there was no trust language in the deed
merely reinforced the fact that the congregation did with intent and
foreknowledge affiliate with the United Methodist Church.
The state Supreme Court stated that the Superior Court was correct in holding the
defendants personally liable. The defendants have 10 days from the ruling in which to request a rehearing by the court.
Cam Carlson, a defendant in the case, said group members have not yet
met with their attorney to decide whether to request a rehearing. The
group will probably draft a response at that time, she said.
Carlson told United Methodist News Service on Oct. 17 that individuals
involved in the case have paid "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in
legal fees. She said it was against their policy to reveal how many
people were paying these costs.
Brooks said no responsible attorney would advise them to request such a rehearing in the face of this kind of decision.
Building to be sold
The missionary conference was awarded $1,000 costs by the court and it
has until Oct. 23, to present a case for additional reimbursement from
the appellants for costs in the appeal process. Brooks said Fairbanks
attorney Joe Sheehan will present the claim to the court.
Plans to sell the St. Paul Church building are under way.
"The conference has a contract with St. James Temple African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church to sell them the church building, which they
currently occupy and maintain, at our unrecovered cost of litigation,"
Brooks said. "We still don't know what that cost is because we have to
go back to the Superior Court, from which Judge Savell has since
retired, to assert our claim for cost and fees. We already have agreed
with the defendants, and the Superior Court has entered a judgment
affirming the settlement, on damages of $20,000."
That settlement was contingent on a property decision of the Supreme Court in favor of the missionary conference.
*Peck is a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference and
communications coordinator of the Commission on United Methodist Men
Related Articles
Judge upholds Alaska Missionary Conference's property rights
State supreme court rules against conference in property case
Church property rights hinge on adhering to doctrine
U.S. courts address church property issues
Resources
Alaska Missionary Conference
The Trust Clause: Who Owns Our Church?
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