Okla. Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc. v. Timmons

538 P.3d 163

The OKLAHOMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, INC., a domestic not-for-profit corporation, The Board of Trustees of the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., a domestic not-for-profit corporation, Jimmy Nunn, Bishop of the Oklahoma Annual Conference, Victor McCullough, District Superintendent of the Heartland District of the Oklahoma Annual Conference, Petitioners,

v. The Honorable Aletia H. TIMMONS, Judge of the District Court of Oklahoma County, Respondent,andThe First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, an incorporated religious association acting by and through its duly Elected Trustee, Real Party in Interest.

No. 121,483

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

Filed October 24, 2023

Ross A. Plourde, Kate N. Dodoo, Peyton S. Howell, McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Petitioners

Cheryl Plaxico, Plaxico Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Cara S. Nicklas, Ashley Ray, McAlister, McAlister & Nicklas, P.L.L.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Real Party in Interest

KUEHN, J.:

¶1 The First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City (First Church) is affiliated with the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). First Church wished to undergo the process of disaffiliation from UMC while retaining its real property, as provided in Paragraph 2553 of the United Methodist Book of Discipline. First Church ultimately sued UMC in pursuit of this goal, and Respondent granted it injunctive relief. We conclude that this remedy violates the doctrine of church autonomy, and Respondent lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case. For this reason, we granted the writs of mandamus and prohibition by Order on October 5, 2023.

Facts and Procedural History

The UMC Disaffiliation Process

¶2 The General Conference is the United Methodist Church's (UMC) principal governing body. The General Conference enacts the Book of Discipline, UMC's governing document. The Book of Discipline includes both matters of doctrine and policy, and procedures for implementing them. Each church joining UMC agrees to abide by the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline. Individual churches have no ability to change those provisions. UMC has subordinate organizational levels. These include regional districts. The Oklahoma Annual Conference consists of clergy serving within Oklahoma along with an equal number of lay members elected by local churches. The General Conference also has a Judicial Council which decides disputes and controversies concerning doctrine and Book of Discipline provisions.

¶3 The general rule according to UMC's Book of Discipline is that a church may disaffiliate, but UMC retains the associated church property. In 2019 UMC enacted Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline, an exception to that general rule. It provides an opportunity for congregations who disagree with UMC's doctrine related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of homosexuals, as provided in the Book of Discipline, to disaffiliate and keep their property. The process begins with notice to the UMC and an initial vote by the congregation (called a church conference), conducted according to Book of Discipline provisions, in which two thirds of the congregation must vote to disaffiliate. As allowed by the terms of Paragraph 2553, the Oklahoma Annual Conference Board of Trustees provided that a congregation may take a church conference vote only once in a one-year period; however, the district superintendent has discretion to call a second church conference vote within the year. After the church conference vote, a disaffiliation agreement along with specific materials must be compiled and presented to support formal approval of disaffiliation by the Oklahoma Annual Conference. To facilitate this requirement the Oklahoma Bishop scheduled Annual Conference meetings in October 2022, April 2023, and October 2023. To accommodate the time necessary to prepare the agreement and materials, the Annual Conference required any church wishing to be considered for disaffiliation at the October 2023 meeting to hold its church conference vote by September 6, 2023. Finally, any congregation wishing to disaffiliate by the means of Paragraph 2553 must complete the entire process before December 31, 2023.

First Church Request to Disaffiliate

¶4 In late 2022, First Church told UMC it wanted to begin the disaffiliation process under Paragraph 2553. UMC scheduled the First Church conference vote on disaffiliation for January 23, 2023. Subsequently UMC received information which caused it to question whether First Church was a viable institution. On January 17, UMC postponed the January 23 vote until it conducted a viability study (CCV), as provided for in the Book of Discipline. The CCV process was delayed. On February 2, First Church held an informal church conference vote to disaffiliate. On May 5, First Church asked UMC to cancel the CCV. On May 16, First Church sent UMC a demand letter, asking for a response by May 19 and for UMC to schedule a formal church conference vote. UMC did not respond.

First Church District Court Litigation

¶5 On June 1, while completion of the viability study remained pending, First Church sued UMC in Oklahoma County District Court for injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, and damages. That same day Respondent issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting continuation of the CCV process and preserving the status quo as to the church property. On June 16 UMC filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. This was denied after a hearing on July 7, as was UMC's immediate motion to stay that decision pending appeal. Immediately after concluding the hearing on the motion to dismiss, Respondent began the hearing on First Church's request for an injunction on July 7, and this second hearing continued on July 14 and 17. On July 25, Respondent granted a temporary mandatory injunction, ordering: (1) First Church was not required to complete the CCV process imposed by UMC; (2) UMC must recognize First Church's February 5 internal church conference vote to disaffiliate; (3) UMC must call a special Annual Conference on or before August 6, 2023, to vote on whether to approve First Church's disaffiliation agreement with the UMC Board of Trustees, and the delegates to that conference shall be the same membership as the delegates who voted on disaffiliation agreements at the April 22, 2023 special Annual Conference; and (4) the temporary restraining order of June 1 remained in effect.

¶6 UMC did not appeal this ruling, although it could have done so as an interlocutory order appealable by right under Supreme Court Rule 1.60(c) and Title 12, Sections 952(b)(2) and 993(A)(2). Instead, on July 26, UMC filed this application for a writ, asking this Court to prohibit the District Court from enforcing its July 25 Order, and to order the court to dismiss First Church's suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On August 2 this Court stayed the injunction pending resolution of this writ. Due to the stay, UMC did not hold the court ordered Annual Conference.

¶7 First Church has suggested that UMC's filing in this Court was untimely under Rule 1.191(i), Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules, 12 O.S. ch. 15, App. 1. However, that Rule does not apply. Rule 1.191(i) requires a party seeking a stay of a proceeding to file its application at least ten days before the proceeding it wants to stay is set in the district court. The rule applies where the petitioner wants to prevent a district court from conducting a hearing; it is filed before the proceeding happens. But here, UMC asked this Court to stay an order Respondent had already issued, and to prevent Respondent from enforcing its order. That is, UMC wanted to stop enforcement of a ruling that had already happened — and filed that request within ten days of the hearing. UMC's request was not untimely.

Standard of Review

¶8 Petitioner seeks a writ of mandamus and/or prohibition. For a writ of mandamus, Petitioner must show (1) it has a clear legal right to the relief sought; (2) Respondent has a plain legal duty regarding the relief; (3) Respondent has refused to perform the duty; (4) the duty does not involve an exercise of discretion; and (5) Petitioner has no plain and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law. Nichols v. Ziriax , 2022 OK 76, ¶ 11, 518 P.3d 883, 887. For a writ of prohibition, a petitioner must show (1) an exercise of judicial or quasi-judicial power; (2) which is unauthorized by law; (3) and which will result in injury for which there is no other adequate remedy. Maree v. Neuwirth , 2016 OK 62, ¶ 6, 374 P.3d 750, 752. Petitioners have shown both a clear legal right to the relief sought, that Respondent refused to perform its duty, and an exercise of unauthorized judicial power, and have no remedy other than an extraordinary writ.

Church Autonomy Doctrine Applies

¶9 The United States Supreme Court established long ago that church authority governs internal ecclesiastical disputes, to avoid the courts becoming entangled in religious doctrine. Watson v. Jones , 80 U.S. 679, 727, 13 Wall. 679, 20 L.Ed. 666 (1871). Under the church autonomy doctrine, also known as the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, courts have no subject matter jurisdiction over matters of "theological controversy, church discipline, [or] ecclesiastical government...." Serbian E. Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich , 426 U.S. 696, 714, 96 S.Ct. 2372, 49 L.Ed.2d 151 (1976). Where ecclesiastical decisions are at issue, constitutional due process and "secular notions of ‘fundamental fairness’ or impermissible objectives" are irrelevant. Id . at 714-15, 96 S.Ct. 2372. This affords churches the freedom to decide their own government, faith and doctrine. Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral of Russian Orthodox Church in North America , 344 U.S. 94, 116, 73 S.Ct. 143, 97 L.Ed. 120 (1952). This is considerably broader than questions of who may...