Dio. of Fort Worth Wins Partial Early Victory in Property Battle

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Stand Firm

In a hearing today in the141st District Court, Judge John Chupp granted the Diocese partial relief under Rule 12 of the Texas code Rules of Civil Procedure. He ruled that attorneys Jonathan Nelson and Kathleen Wells do not represent the diocese or the corporation which have realigned under the Province of the Southern Cone. He denied a second aspect of Rule 12 relief which would have removed the plaintiffs’ diocese and corporation from the lawsuit filed April 14, 2009.

The judge also ruled that neither the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church nor the Constitution and Canons of this diocese prohibit withdrawal from TEC and realignment under another province. Further, he found that the Diocese had done so at its November 2008 annual convention, saying that “they [the members] took the diocese with them.” The action of the November convention was not, he said, ultra vires and void, as the suit’s plaintiffs have argued. He declared, too, that the Diocese had taken its property with it in realignment. He said he did not consider any court ruling concerning a realigning parish to be applicable in the present case, and he said that he considered it “self-serving on [the part of TEC] to say that [Bishop Iker] abandoned his job.” the rest

Ruling-pdf here

Both Sides Debate Significance of Fort Worth Ruling

Analysis by A.S. Haley: High Noon in Fort Worth
"Thus while somewhat confusing for Bishop Iker and his group, the Order cannot be good news for the plaintiffs. It sounds as though the Court has already, in effect, ruled that they cannot prevail on their motion for summary adjudication to obtain title to the diocesan assets, since he ruled that nothing prevented Bishop Iker's Diocese from leaving the Church with its property.

Let's wait for the dust in Fort Worth to settle a bit, and then I will have more. I am told that Bishop Iker's office will issue a statement shortly -- the statement is now out, and may be read here. It adds even more detail to what the Judge said at the hearing, and reinforces my conclusions above."