Judge denies presbytery’s motion to halt civil case over Kirk property, assets
The Layman Online, October 27, 2006
In a split decision, Oklahoma District Court Judge Jefferson Sellers ruled Thursday afternoon against the Presbytery of Eastern Oklahoma’s motion to set aside a temporary restraining order that prohibits the presbytery from intervening in its property dispute in the case of Kirk of the Hills Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
But Sellers also ruled in favor of the presbytery in its motion to require the Kirk to give the presbytery a current list of the Kirk’s members. With 2,700 members, the Kirk is the largest congregation in the presbytery.
Oklahoma has been considered a state whose courts follow “hierarchical” principles in settling church property disputes. Sellers’ ruling was viewed as a judgment that “neutral principles” of law should be followed.
The presbytery’s arguments in both cases focused on the PCUSA’s contention that the denomination is hierarchical and that the civil courts have no legal right to try to resolve the Kirk’s property claims.
The presbytery wanted the membership list as a means to identify Kirk members as a possible “true church” faction that might be considered the rightful owners of the Kirk’s multi-million-dollar facilities and assets. The presbytery held previous meetings with members who disagreed with the outcome of the congregational votes, but few attended.
In February, the presbytery filed affidavits declaring the presbytery’s authority to limit the right of congregations to sell or encumber their church property and challenging the congregations’ right to stake a claim to the property if its members voted to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA).
On August 30, the Kirk’s congregation voted 96 percent (967-36) to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and 97 percent (971-31) to retain its co-pastors as part of a new corporation affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Before that vote, Kirk attorneys convinced a judge to sign a temporary restraining order and filed a lawsuit for a quiet title to prevent the presbytery from staking its claim on the property under the provisions of the Book of Order property trust clause. That clause says the property of local congregations is held in trust for the benefit of the denomination.
The Kirk argued that it is no longer under the jurisdiction of the presbytery or the Presbyterian Church (USA) and that the presbytery has no claim on the property or right to receive the membership and other documents.
It was after reading the denomination’s “privileged and confidential” recommendations for hardball legal and administrative tactics – including the filing of affidavits as a means to secure local church property – that the Kirk’s elders decided to challenge the presbytery’s claim.
The presbytery responded by establishing an administrative commission, which, without the temporary restraining order, would have had the authority to assume control of the Kirk.