Fairfield Pentecostal Church v. Johnson

170 So. 3d 357, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 68, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1161, 2015 WL 3534122
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 3, 2015
DocketNo. 15-68
StatusPublished

This text of 170 So. 3d 357 (Fairfield Pentecostal Church v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fairfield Pentecostal Church v. Johnson, 170 So. 3d 357, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 68, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1161, 2015 WL 3534122 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge.

|, The plaintiff, Fairfield Pentecostal Church, Inc., appeals a judgment of the trial court establishing the voting membership of the Church as of a date certain. Finding no manifest error on the part of the trial court, we affirm the judgment.

I.

ISSUES

We must decide whether the trial court manifestly erred in establishing the voting membership of the Church as of a date certain.

II.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Pentecostal church in Grant Parish began its existence in the 1940’s with the conveyance of two adjacent tracts of land from A.C. and Bessie Johnson to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ of Black Creek and' Fairfield Communities. In March 2009, the church became independent of the Pentecostal Assemblies and incorporated itself under the non-profit corporation laws of Louisiana as Fairfield Pentecostal Church, Inc. In August 2010, the church’s pastor, Reverend Elmer Mun-dy, sought the church’s approval of Reverend Darrell Franks as his successor due to Reverend Mundy’s progressing age and disability. Whether Reverend Franks was approved or voted in as the pastor, or as the assistant to the pastor, is indeterminable from the record on appeal. He did, however, assume the duties of pastor in 2010, and the church subsequently split into two factions. There are allegations of intimidation and threats on both sides.

|gIn early November 2013, Reverend Mundy and two individuals from the original pre-incorporated church purported to sell the church property for $1,000.00 and other consideration to Elwood Johnson and his sister Billie Nell Johnson Oaks (hereafter, “Johnson heirs” or “John-[359]*359sons”),1 the heirs of the deceased A.C. and Bessie Johnson. The property was initially conveyed to the church with the condition that it revert to the Johnson heirs if the church disorganized. The November 2013 conveyance attempted to invoke the reversionary clause, declaring that the original church was no longer in existence and that the Johnson heirs were the present owners. The Johnsons constructed a fence and gate in front of the church property, removed records, and boxed up Reverend Franks’ personal property, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting the property for the congregation and the community. In late November 2013, the subject suit, No. 22,990, was filed in the trial court on behalf of the incorporated church, without including the name of the individual representative filing on behalf of the church. In suit No. 22,990, the church sought to be maintained in possession of the property, and it sought a preliminary and permanent injunction and damages against the Johnsons for erecting the fence and preventing open access to the buildings.

The Johnsons filed an exception of subject matter jurisdiction, asserting that Reverend Franks had actually brought the suit in his capacity as pastor, that he was never duly elected as pastor, and that he had no real right in the property at the time of its disturbance. The Johnsons argued that whether Darrell Franks was pastor was an ecclesiastical issue which could only be decided by the |schurch members. At the December 2013 hearing, without deciding who was pastor, the trial court denied the exception as to jurisdiction, stating that the court could determine non-ecclesiastical matters. The trial court granted the injunction to the extent that the gates were to be unlocked for church attendance at all of the specific regular meeting times previously enjoyed. The trial court also ordered that the records be returned. Pretrial and status conferences followed. The defendants and members of the anti-Franks faction allegedly appeared at a Wednesday night prayer meeting and held a business meeting, voting Reverend Franks out and voting Reverend Mundy in as pastor. The Franks followers at the prayer meeting did not participate.

Reverend Franks filed a petition to intervene in the suit, attempted to add a third defendant, attacked the cash sale to the Johnsons, attacked the business meeting as improperly held, and sought to be restored as pastor. The defendants excepted to the intervention as improperly adding a party, improperly using summary proceedings, and improperly cumulating actions; and they reconvened against Reverend Franks stating that he was never elected as pastor but only as helper to ■ Pastor Mundy.

The defendants asserted that Reverend Mundy, reclaiming his pastoral leadership in order to end the dispute, had presided over the videotaped December 2013 business meeting, and that he properly adhered to the procedures required by the charter. The defendants further alleged that Reverend Franks had bullied and abused members from the pulpit who disagreed with him, that he treated church funds as his own, that he moved $40,000.00 into an account that only he and his daughter (as church secretary) could access, that attendance fell by eighty-five percent, and that those who remained were mostly from Winn Parish where |4Reverend Franks resided. At some point between the December 2013 business meeting and the defendants’ February [360]*3602014 exceptions and reconvention, Reverend Mundy passed away.

In February 2014, Reverend Franks filed another original “petition,” on behalf of himself and the church, in the same suit number, No. 22,990, wherein he named the third defendant that he had added in his intervention, plus three more defendants. He improperly revised the heading to include himself as plaintiff and to include the four new named defendants without leave and without seeking permission to do so. The petition re-asserted the allegations from the intervention and alleged that the four added defendants had illegally amended the articles and bylaws, designating Reverend Mundy as registered agent, and designating themselves as officers and trustees — James Finch as President; Robert Wyatt, Kenneth Wyatt, and Jamie Hyde as trustees.

In March 2014, following a February 26 phone conference with the parties’ attorneys, the trial judge issued an order providing that, as no one denied that the church had been in possession of the property for over a year prior to the alleged disturbances, the church would be maintained in possession of the legally described immovable property. He further ordered that the Johnsons had sixty days to file a petitory action asserting title to the property; that Reverend Franks be recognized as pastor until further order by the court or proper vote by the church membership; that the parties through counsel exchange within five, days their respective lists of members; that within five days of the exchange, the respective attorneys complete a list of members objected to with reasons for each objection; and that the attorneys attempt to determine the correct membership. Finally, the order scheduled a hearing date to determine membership if no agreement could be 1 Breaclied. The order specifically stated that the court’s involvement in determining the voting membership would be limited to non-ecclesiastical facts.

The hearing for determination of membership, initially scheduled for March, was finally held on May 23, 2014. After receiving six lists into evidence and hearing testimony from members of both factions, the trial court declared that the names on the plaintiffs exhibit B2 and the defendants’ exhibit D-23

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Bluebook (online)
170 So. 3d 357, 15 La.App. 3 Cir. 68, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1161, 2015 WL 3534122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fairfield-pentecostal-church-v-johnson-lactapp-2015.