THE BASES ARE LOADED
It's the bottom of the Ninth Inning in the World Series between the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina. The Church is at bat, the bases are loaded and there are no outs. The two sides are tied. Will the Church smash a Grand Slam or fizzle out? This is where we are today in the schism.
Hit number one came on Monday (May 7) when the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church in South Carolina filed a forceful response to DSC's petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court. (See blog entry of May 7, "The Episcopal Church Responds to the Diocese of South Carolina in the U.S. Supreme Court.").
The second on-base came on Tuesday (May 8) when TEC/TECSC submitted a petition in the (state) circuit court essentially to repossess the 28 (29) parishes in question, the Camp, and the assets and entity of the pre-schism diocese.
The third hit in a row occurred on Wednesday (May 9) when TECSC filed a Third Amended Complaint against DSC in the federal court.
Today, our attention turns to the second and third hits, in the circuit and federal courts.
On May 9, 2018, TECSC submitted "Third Amended Complaint by Bishop vonRosenberg Bishop Adams & Intervenor the Episcopal Church in South Carolina (the "Associated Diocese")" in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division, Judge Richard Gergel. Find it here .
This essentially continued the original suit of March 2013 in which the Episcopal Church bishop, Charles vonRosenberg, sued the independent diocesan bishop, Mark Lawrence, for violation of a federal law called the Lanham Act that protects nationally registered trademarks. In short, Bp vonR asked the court to recognize him and not Lawrence as the legal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
On March 1, 2018, TECSC filed a "[Proposed] Third Amended Complaint..." in this case seeking to broaden the suit to include DSC's Trustees and parishes. The Third Amended Complaint filed this week made a few changes to the March paper. It deleted the earlier requests to remove and replace the DSC Board of Trustees and vestries. In this week's papers, the purposes of this earlier request would be transferred to the circuit court. Judge Gergel said in his April 16, 2018, "Order and Opinion" that he would not enforce the terms of the trust held by TEC because the property issues had already been settled by the South Carolina Supreme Court whose decision should be enacted by the appropriate court, the circuit court of Dorchester County. The Third Amended Complaint of this week did ask the court to cancel or transfer to TEC/TECSC, DSC's state registered trademarks (p. 31). Otherwise, the suit in federal court continues on basically the same. In essence, the Episcopal Church is asking the federal court to affirm its claim to the legal rights over the pre-schism diocese.
Probably the strongest and most consequential hit of the week was TEC/TECSC's petition to the state circuit court. Find it here . This is a sweeping and dramatic appeal to the court to enact the majority decisions of the South Carolina Supreme Court. In essence, it would mean the Church's repossession of the old diocese. The petition itself is only 11 pages but the whole paper comes to 114 pages as it contains 3 attached exhibits, the SCSC decision of August 2, 2017, Judge Gergel's Order and Opinion of April 16, and the Acts of the SC assembly on Trustees (1880, 1902).
The 11-page petition contains some major requests. In general, "The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese seek the intervention of this Court to effect an orderly transition of possession and control of the property to which they are entitled by the judgment of the South Carolina Supreme Court" (p. 3). In short, it asked the court to order the return of the diocese and parishes to the Episcopal Church.
As for the diocese, the major point is that the court should enforce the installment of the TECSC Board of Trustees as the trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina: "the members of the Board of Trustees elected by the Associated Diocese [TECSC] be installed as the Board of the Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina (the "Trustees") to hold the diocesan property in trust for Associated Diocese..." (p. 5). This, of course, would mean the removal of the DSC Board of Trustees. The petition continued, "ordering that members elected by the Associated Diocese be installed as the Board of Trustees to hold the diocesan property in trust for the Associated Diocese" (p. 6). Installing the TECSC Board of Trustees would mean all assets and rights of the old diocese would return to the Church diocese.
As for the parishes in question, matters are more complicated. The SCSC ruled that 28 (29) parishes of DSC had acceded to the Dennis Canon and remained under the terms of this church law. The Canon held that the parish would retain deed to the property as long as it remained part of the Episcopal Church. Upon "disaffiliation," the parish broke the terms of the trust and forfeited ownership of the deed. Ownership moved to the beneficiaries of the trust, the Church and the Church diocese. On page 8, the petition asks the court to "require" the 28 parishes to "execute" transfer of titles to TEC/TECSC: "the Court should enforce the August 2, 2017 Opinion of the South Carolina Supreme Court, by transferring title to the parish property from the parish corporations to The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese, by requiring Plaintiffs to execute any necessary deeds or instruments of title, or issuing the same by Court order" (p. 8).
Then, when TEC and TECSC get the deeds, they will transfer them to the Episcopal parishes (the parishioners in communion with the Episcopal Church bishop) (p.9): "Upon receiving the deeds or other instruments of title, The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese may form new parish corporations and transfer the deeds or instruments of title to real and personal property to them thereby allowing them hold and use the property operating as Episcopal parishes in accordance with the hierarchical governance of The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese contained in the Constitution and Canons of each" (p. 9).
With this process, TEC will not have to confront, remove, or evict any DSC vestry. The DSC vestry will simply be replaced by a parish vestry adhering to TEC/TECSC. The TEC/TECSC vestry will become the holder of the parish deed.
Finally, the Church petition asked the court to appoint a "Special Master" to oversee the transition: "the appointment of a Special Master who will be able and authorized to enhance an orderly and expeditious resolution of all such issues" (p. 10). This impartial person would be one acceptable to both sides and the court. The management of a neutral overseer would remove the burden of making difficult changes from the parties involved.
If the circuit court grants the TEC/TECSC petition it will in fact transfer both the old diocese and the 28 (29) parishes in question to the Episcopal Church diocese. The Church is seeking to do this through orders of the court.
What now?
We can expect DSC to file a response to TEC/TECSC's petition. Then, the circuit court judge will have to decide on the various petitions before him.
We can expect the U.S. Supreme Court to give its decision on whether to accept DSC's appeal by the end of June. I expect they will deny the appeal. That will clear the field for the final actions of the circuit and federal courts in the legal war between the independent diocese and the Episcopal Church. The next six months will be critical in the history of the schism.
The advantage, the momentum, now is on the Episcopal Church side. However, it is premature to draw conclusions. The game is not over even though the bases are loaded and the Church is up at bat.
The second on-base came on Tuesday (May 8) when TEC/TECSC submitted a petition in the (state) circuit court essentially to repossess the 28 (29) parishes in question, the Camp, and the assets and entity of the pre-schism diocese.
The third hit in a row occurred on Wednesday (May 9) when TECSC filed a Third Amended Complaint against DSC in the federal court.
Today, our attention turns to the second and third hits, in the circuit and federal courts.
The federal court.
On May 9, 2018, TECSC submitted "Third Amended Complaint by Bishop vonRosenberg Bishop Adams & Intervenor the Episcopal Church in South Carolina (the "Associated Diocese")" in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division, Judge Richard Gergel. Find it here .
This essentially continued the original suit of March 2013 in which the Episcopal Church bishop, Charles vonRosenberg, sued the independent diocesan bishop, Mark Lawrence, for violation of a federal law called the Lanham Act that protects nationally registered trademarks. In short, Bp vonR asked the court to recognize him and not Lawrence as the legal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
On March 1, 2018, TECSC filed a "[Proposed] Third Amended Complaint..." in this case seeking to broaden the suit to include DSC's Trustees and parishes. The Third Amended Complaint filed this week made a few changes to the March paper. It deleted the earlier requests to remove and replace the DSC Board of Trustees and vestries. In this week's papers, the purposes of this earlier request would be transferred to the circuit court. Judge Gergel said in his April 16, 2018, "Order and Opinion" that he would not enforce the terms of the trust held by TEC because the property issues had already been settled by the South Carolina Supreme Court whose decision should be enacted by the appropriate court, the circuit court of Dorchester County. The Third Amended Complaint of this week did ask the court to cancel or transfer to TEC/TECSC, DSC's state registered trademarks (p. 31). Otherwise, the suit in federal court continues on basically the same. In essence, the Episcopal Church is asking the federal court to affirm its claim to the legal rights over the pre-schism diocese.
The circuit court.
Probably the strongest and most consequential hit of the week was TEC/TECSC's petition to the state circuit court. Find it here . This is a sweeping and dramatic appeal to the court to enact the majority decisions of the South Carolina Supreme Court. In essence, it would mean the Church's repossession of the old diocese. The petition itself is only 11 pages but the whole paper comes to 114 pages as it contains 3 attached exhibits, the SCSC decision of August 2, 2017, Judge Gergel's Order and Opinion of April 16, and the Acts of the SC assembly on Trustees (1880, 1902).
The 11-page petition contains some major requests. In general, "The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese seek the intervention of this Court to effect an orderly transition of possession and control of the property to which they are entitled by the judgment of the South Carolina Supreme Court" (p. 3). In short, it asked the court to order the return of the diocese and parishes to the Episcopal Church.
As for the diocese, the major point is that the court should enforce the installment of the TECSC Board of Trustees as the trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina: "the members of the Board of Trustees elected by the Associated Diocese [TECSC] be installed as the Board of the Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina (the "Trustees") to hold the diocesan property in trust for Associated Diocese..." (p. 5). This, of course, would mean the removal of the DSC Board of Trustees. The petition continued, "ordering that members elected by the Associated Diocese be installed as the Board of Trustees to hold the diocesan property in trust for the Associated Diocese" (p. 6). Installing the TECSC Board of Trustees would mean all assets and rights of the old diocese would return to the Church diocese.
As for the parishes in question, matters are more complicated. The SCSC ruled that 28 (29) parishes of DSC had acceded to the Dennis Canon and remained under the terms of this church law. The Canon held that the parish would retain deed to the property as long as it remained part of the Episcopal Church. Upon "disaffiliation," the parish broke the terms of the trust and forfeited ownership of the deed. Ownership moved to the beneficiaries of the trust, the Church and the Church diocese. On page 8, the petition asks the court to "require" the 28 parishes to "execute" transfer of titles to TEC/TECSC: "the Court should enforce the August 2, 2017 Opinion of the South Carolina Supreme Court, by transferring title to the parish property from the parish corporations to The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese, by requiring Plaintiffs to execute any necessary deeds or instruments of title, or issuing the same by Court order" (p. 8).
Then, when TEC and TECSC get the deeds, they will transfer them to the Episcopal parishes (the parishioners in communion with the Episcopal Church bishop) (p.9): "Upon receiving the deeds or other instruments of title, The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese may form new parish corporations and transfer the deeds or instruments of title to real and personal property to them thereby allowing them hold and use the property operating as Episcopal parishes in accordance with the hierarchical governance of The Episcopal Church and the Associated Diocese contained in the Constitution and Canons of each" (p. 9).
With this process, TEC will not have to confront, remove, or evict any DSC vestry. The DSC vestry will simply be replaced by a parish vestry adhering to TEC/TECSC. The TEC/TECSC vestry will become the holder of the parish deed.
Finally, the Church petition asked the court to appoint a "Special Master" to oversee the transition: "the appointment of a Special Master who will be able and authorized to enhance an orderly and expeditious resolution of all such issues" (p. 10). This impartial person would be one acceptable to both sides and the court. The management of a neutral overseer would remove the burden of making difficult changes from the parties involved.
If the circuit court grants the TEC/TECSC petition it will in fact transfer both the old diocese and the 28 (29) parishes in question to the Episcopal Church diocese. The Church is seeking to do this through orders of the court.
What now?
We can expect DSC to file a response to TEC/TECSC's petition. Then, the circuit court judge will have to decide on the various petitions before him.
We can expect the U.S. Supreme Court to give its decision on whether to accept DSC's appeal by the end of June. I expect they will deny the appeal. That will clear the field for the final actions of the circuit and federal courts in the legal war between the independent diocese and the Episcopal Church. The next six months will be critical in the history of the schism.
The advantage, the momentum, now is on the Episcopal Church side. However, it is premature to draw conclusions. The game is not over even though the bases are loaded and the Church is up at bat.
