2021 IL App (3d) 190292
Ill. App. Ct.2021Background
- Trinity Lutheran Church of Kankakee was a congregation of the hierarchical Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); the Central/Southern Illinois Synod is the intermediate judicatory.
- By 2013 membership and governance at Trinity had collapsed; the congregation relied heavily on ELCA/Synod subsidies which ended in 2014 after paperwork failures.
- In January 2016 member John Edwards changed the church locks, denied Synod-appointed pastor access, and rented the building to another church.
- The Synod Council, invoking its constitution and Trinity’s governing documents (reversion clause), found the congregation no longer viable and voted to take charge of the property to preserve and wind up affairs.
- The Synod sued to quiet title and for possession; the trial court granted summary judgment to the Synod, deferring to the Synod’s ecclesiastical determination under the First Amendment and church governance documents.
Issues
| Issue | Synod's Argument | Defendants' Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Synod validly declared Trinity nonviable and regained title under church constitutions | Synod: its constitution and Trinity’s bylaws authorize the Synod Council to declare a congregation nonviable and take property; civil courts must defer to ecclesiastical decisions | Defs: civil court must adjudicate title; neutral-principles require examining deed and secular law, not ecclesiastical rulings | Court: Defer to Synod on ecclesiastical matter; plain language of constitutions effected reversion, so summary judgment for Synod |
| Whether the trial court properly considered Bishop Roth’s out-of-county deposition | Synod: deposition was admissible and provided factual support for Synod action | Defs: deposition improper because taken in Peoria without defendants present; should not have been considered | Court: objection forfeited by late raising; consideration was proper |
| Whether defendants were entitled to exhaustion of ELCA-level administrative remedies before Synod sued | Synod: no required delay; defendants did not pursue appeal to higher judicatory so Synod was the highest forum actually reached | Defs: Synod had to allow appeal to ELCA before litigating in court | Court: issue forfeited by failure to press at trial; in any event defendants made no effort to appeal so Synod was the highest judicatory reached |
| Whether the ELCA (national church) rather than the Synod had to bring the suit | Synod: Synod was the highest judicatory to which the defendants carried the matter and thus could act | Defs: only the highest church court (ELCA) may decide and litigate such disputes | Court: issue forfeited; law requires deference to the highest judicatory actually reached — here the Synod |
Key Cases Cited
- Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese for the United States of America & Canada v. Milivojevich, 426 U.S. 696 (Supreme Court) (civil courts must defer to hierarchical church decisions on internal governance)
- Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595 (Supreme Court) (describes the neutral-principles approach to church property disputes)
- Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. 679 (Supreme Court) (deference to highest ecclesiastical judicatory to which matter is carried)
- Pielet v. Pielet, 2012 IL 112064 (Ill.) (standard of review for cross-motions for summary judgment)
- Clay v. Illinois District Council of Assemblies of God Church, 275 Ill. App. 3d 971 (Ill. App. Ct.) (upheld reversion under church bylaws and deference to internal church determination)
- Leonardi v. Loyola University of Chicago, 168 Ill. 2d 83 (Ill.) (appellate review affirms judgment not reasoning; procedural law on appellate affirmance)