Defrocked Episcopal priest sues his own lawyer

Fri, Jan. 1, 2010
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Rev. David Moyer, the outspoken former Episcopal priest who unsuccessfully sued his bishop in 2008 for sacking him, has filed a malpractice lawsuit against the lawyer who represented him - often free - for many years in his battles with the diocese.

The suit, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, alleges that prominent Philadelphia litigator John Lewis and the firm of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads failed to adequately represent Moyer in the unusual trial against Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. and then failed to file an appeal when the jury rejected their claim.

Moyer and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont - where he serves as rector despite his ouster by the diocese in 2002 - are seeking millions of dollars in compensation for the legal costs of the trial and what they say is damage to Moyer's and the parish's reputations. the rest