Holiness Baptist Assoc. Inc. v. Barber

The issue of who had control over real property used by a church was not an ecclesiastical matter.

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This is an appeal from the dismissal of an action in ejectment involving a dispute about church property. For the reasons which follow, we reverse the dismissal as the trial court erroneously determined that resolution of the dispute is an ecclesiastical matter.

Holiness Baptist Association, Inc. “Association”, a corporation consisting of approximately twenty-five member churches, filed an action in ejectment against Barber and other members of the Board of Deacons of Vickers Holiness Baptist Church “Church” seeking to oust the Church from real property it occupied and to have a judgment declaring that the Association was entitled to the exclusive use, possession, and control of the property.1 The Association alleged that the Church had been a member of the Association for over thirty years, and therefore, was subject to the Association’s bylaws, articles of faith, and disciplinary rules, which provided in pertinent part: “The Association shall hold all church property, regardless if all members vote to change the church to some other faith.” The complaint also alleged that the deed to the Church property established a trust for the benefit of the Association and was “an implied trust by the Association’s discipline.” The Association maintained that certain actions by the Church,2 evidenced an intent and desire to withdraw from membership in the Association, and that inasmuch as the real property used and occupied by the Church is the property of the Association, the Church should be ejected. The Church countered that it remained a member of the Association and that the Association did not have the right to control the Church property. Both sides moved for judgment as a matter of law.3 The trial court dismissed the action after concluding that resolution of the dispute would require that it decide the Church’s membership in the Association, a matter which the Association had an internal method for determining, and therefore, an ecclesiastical issue.4

Holiness Baptist Assoc. Inc. v. Barber

The issue of who had control over real property used by a church was not an ecclesiastical matter.

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