COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citing significant departures from both state and federal precedents, the Diocese of South Carolina and 29 parish churches today filed a petition for rehearing in the South Carolina Supreme Court regarding its recent ruling in Appellate Case No. 2015-000622. In 2012, the Diocese of South Carolina, along with 50 of its congregations voted to disassociate from The Episcopal Church. In a complicated and sharply divided ruling consisting of five separate opinions, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled on August 2 this year that parishes which had “acceded” to the national church’s ‘Dennis canon’ are subject to a trust interest in their property by The Episcopal Church (TEC). Only eight congregations were judged to have full rights to retain their property.
In a decision that partly reversed the February 2015 Circuit Court ruling of Judge Diane Goodstein, the Supreme Court significantly changed court precedents in multiple areas and divested the property rights of at least 28 congregations and over 20,000 church members.
Grounds for Rehearing
While there are multiple legal issues in the ruling that merit rehearing, the most crucial are possibly the constitutional ones controlling cases of religious property. As stated in the conclusion to the petition: “The majority has fashioned a neutral principles standard for religious organizations under South Carolina property, trust and corporate law that admittedly would not be applied to secular organizations. It then applied it to religious organizations today in a fashion it did not do 8 years ago involving the same issues between the Plaintiff Diocese, The Episcopal Church and a parish church. It does so when no appellant asked the trial court, either during trial or post trial, to apply such a standard. As a result, the majority would transfer the real and personal property of South Carolina religious organizations, many of whom preexisted The Episcopal Church and the United States, to a New York religious organization. This establishment of one religion over another impacts the choices these South Carolina religious organizations (and those associated with them) made in the free exercise of their religion. They chose to disassociate, exercising their right of association under the United States and South Carolina Constitutions which this Court has recognized. Yet, according to the majority, that constitutionally protected decision, requires a massive transfer of centuries old real and personal property when it would not be required for a secular South Carolina organization.”
The petition concluded: “These are serious issues for Respondents, Appellants and for all religious organizations in South Carolina. This Court should grant a rehearing.”
The petition pointed out that the Court’s ruling will severely disrupt the business lending and title insurance relationships of any religious organization that has a national affiliation.
Motion to Recuse
A motion to recuse Justice Kaye G. Hearn was also filed by the Diocese, the Trustees and the same parish churches. It was signed by 26 South Carolina attorneys of record in this case and was based on the expert affidavit testimony of Nathan M. Crystal, Professor and Adjunct Professor of Ethics at the University of South Carolina and NYU Schools of Law and Lawrence J. Fox, Professor of Ethics at Yale University.
LINKS:
A copy of today’s filed Petition, Motion and Affidavits can be found
here:
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/2017-09-01-petition-for-rehearing.pdf
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/2017-09-01-motion-to-recuse-and-vacate.pdf
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/crystal_affidavit_2017_8_29.pdf
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/fox_affidavit_2017_8_30.PDF
Supreme Court’s Current Ruling and Video of Oral Arguments:
http://www.sccourts.org/opinions/HTMLFiles/SC/27731.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu8CShvWcC8&feature=youtu.be
Judge Goodstein’s Orders from Trial Court:
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/15_2_3_final_order.pdf
http://www.diosc.com/sys/images/documents/tec/goodstein_denies_reconsider_2_23_25.pdf
South Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct
Canon 2 - http://www.sccourts.org/courtreg/displayRule.cfm?ruleID=501.0&subRuleID=Canon%202&ruleType=APP
Canon
3 - http://www.sccourts.org/courtreg/displayRule.cfm?ruleID=501.0&subRuleID=Canon%203&ruleType=APP
History of the Case and The Diocese of South Carolina:
http://www.diosc.com/sys/legal-media
About the Diocese of South Carolina
The Diocese was founded in 1785 by the parishes of the former South Carolina colony. Four years later the Diocese became a founding diocese of the Episcopal Church. Based in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, the Diocese is one of the oldest religious districts in the United States and counts among its members several of the oldest, operating churches in the nation.
The Diocese of South Carolina is a member of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and recognized by Anglican Dioceses and Provinces around the world, many of whom have broken fellowship with The Episcopal Church. In 2013 the Diocese joined the global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and entered into a formal relationship of Provisional Primatial Oversight with the Global South Primates. It was welcomed as a member diocese of the ACNA in June 2017.