This Opinion has been issued in two consolidated cases. The first case was filed in 2000 by All Saints seeking to invalidate a notice filed by the Diocese claiming to hold that the Parish held the property in trust for the Diocese, i.e., the Dennis Canon. The second case was filed in 2005 by the "minority vestry", a few remaining TEO loyalists who sought to seize control from the over 2/3 majority who had voted for the Parish to leave TEO.
Just as previous judges in Fairfax, VA, and Ft. Worth, TX, have done, the SC Supreme Court's Opinion is a model of clarity and direct statements of fact and law. I suppose this illustrates that doing the right thing is easy, and does not need to be "spun" or dressed up in a lot of unnecessary rhetoric and verbiage. The Opinion first lays out, chronologically, the ownership history of All Saints Parish. It then reviews the evolution of civil courts dealing with religious bodies, from the "deference" rule to the "neutral principles of law" manner of deciding cases which is growing more prevalent. The Court then drops these bombs:
Furthermore, we hold that neither the 2000 Notice nor the Dennis Canon has any legal effect on title to the All Saints congregation’s property. A trust “may be created by either declaration of trust or by transfer of property….” Dreher v. Dreher, 370 S.C. 75, 80, 634 S.E.2d 646, 648 (2006). It is an axiomatic principle of law that a person or entity must hold title to property in order to declare that it is held in trust for the benefit of another or transfer legal title to one person for the benefit of another. The Diocese did not, at the time it recorded the 2000 Notice, have any interest in the congregation’s property. Therefore, the recordation of the 2000 Notice could not have created a trust over the property.
For the aforementioned reasons, we hold that title to the property at issue is held by All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, Inc., the Dennis Canons had no legal effect on the title to the congregation’s property, and the 2000 Notice should be removed from the Georgetown County records.
In so many words, the Court has determined that the Dennis Canon is an illegal and untenable attempt to usurp control over property to which TEO has no legal right. Amen, and hallelujah!
The Court thereafter stated:
The facts presented by this case demonstrate that the congregation, in compliance with relevant statutory provisions and applicable bylaws, passed the Articles of Amendment, thus removing any reference to the ECUSA and Diocese and explicitly severing any legal relationship with those organizations. Therefore, through the application of neutral principles of law, it is clear to us that the true officers of All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, Inc. are the members of the majority vestry.
The "rump" vestry has thus been rejected, and the majority vestry declared rightful officers of the Parish. Amen, and hallelujah!
As my dear friend the Curmudgeon has said, this is a clean-sweep for All Saints. I have seen some mention of a possible appeal by TEO to the U.S. Supreme Court, but IMNSHO I think the likelihood of the Court consenting to hear this case is small. The use of neutral principles of law derives from a Supreme Court case, Jones v. Wolf, and I do not see any compelling reason in All Saints for the US Supreme Court to re-visit that principle.
It is difficult at best to predict what effect this may have on other litigation, pending and future. I tend to think this does creat some positive momentum for orthodox parishes, and reduces any sense of hopelessness that may have been derived from TEO wins in the past. On the other hand, so many of these property issues are based upon different prior laws and rulings in state civil property law, which do vary from state-to-state. While All Saints does, importantly, stand for application of neutral principles of law, there is a great deal of variance among what laws may be applied in the various states.
The clarity of analysis and ruling in this Opinion, which as a state Supreme Court ruling will carry somewhat more weight than any trial-level rulings, are very helpful as a template for the manner of analysis that needs to be taken in other, similar cases. I have believed all along that an overriding principle should be that the Dennis Canon is an illegal usurpation of common-law property rights; as the All Saints Court points out, "A trust “may be created by either declaration of trust or by transfer of property….” Dreher v. Dreher, 370 S.C. 75, 80, 634 S.E.2d 646, 648 (2006). It is an axiomatic principle of law that a person or entity must hold title to property in order to declare that it is held in trust for the benefit of another or transfer legal title to one person for the benefit of another."
In other words, the Dennis Canon was not a legal or acceptable move to protect property, but was a concealed gun to be held to the head of orthodox Episcopalians if and when they awoke to the "innovations" and revisions being contemplated by liberal factions in the Church. It is indeed sad that it took so long for the orthodox to see this coming and to forestall its destruction of TEO as a respected, Christian entity. Nevertheless, perhaps cases like All Saints can help stem the revisionist tide.
It is hoping against hope to think that the Presiding Heretic would view even a series of All Saints-like decisions as reason to abandon the scorched-earth property litigation strategy she has implemented. After all, she has gutted TEO's missions budgets to hire new lawyers and sustain nationwide property litigation over the next triennium. What she should fear, but probably will not, and perhaps has no reason to, is some action from within the House of Bishops as it begins to see courtroom losses for the large fees expended, and a move to withdraw from that kind of litigation where possible. In addition, continuation of litigation to the point where losses mount (a point which has NOT been reached) beyond all reason could be yet another item on the growing list of bases for a presentment against her for misuse of the so-called "powers" of her office, and of TEO funds.
For today, however, we can rejoice in another win for the orthodox, who simply want to remain free, in their familiar church buildings when they are the majority in a parish, to worship God and believe that Jesus Christ is "the Way, the Truth and the Life", and not in an "awfully small box."
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