Church Property Litigation

Four Anglican parishes in Los Angeles and Orange Counties have been involved in litigation with the Episcopal Church and its Diocese of Los Angeles regarding the ownership of their church properties.

After All Saints', Long Beach, St. David's, North Hollywood, and St. James, Newport Beach, ended their affiliation with the Episcopal Church and aligned with the Anglican Church of Uganda, the three parishes and their volunteer board members were sued by the Episcopal Church in 2004, in an effort to take the church property away from the parishes. Initially, the three parishes prevailed in the trial court on motions to dismiss the cases against them. However, the Episcopal Church appealed to the Court of Appeal and succeeded in having the favorable judgment overturned. The three parishes appealed this decision, titled Episcopal Church Cases, to the California Supreme Court, which unanimously agreed to consider the lower court decisions. This will result in a significant legal decision, determining whether churches and their members have the same rights as other property owners under California law. The California Supreme Court will likely address this matter in 2008.

St. Luke's-of-the-Mountains in La Crescenta ended its affiliation with the Episcopal Church in early 2006. The Episcopal Church filed suit against the parish and its volunteer board members shortly afterward. After the California Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Episcopal Church against the three parishes discussed above, the Episcopal Church obtained a judgment against St. Luke's. St. Luke's has appealed that judgment, and the trial court has ruled that St. Luke's can remain in possession of their property while the appeal is pending. The outcome of the appeal will be affected by the decision of the Supreme Court in the Episcopal Church Cases.

Myron Steeves
Contributing Editor
Legal Affairs

Look for reports on other Western Anglican parishes in coming weeks.