Filing a lawsuit against a church used to be the last thing someone would do. Not anymore. In today’s litigious society, the church is often a target — sometimes an easy target — for lawsuits both serious and frivolous.
About 25 years ago the American Bar Association began sponsoring workshops on the best way to sue a church. Regional and national conferences discussed serious issues like holding churches accountable for sexual abuse of minors or clergy misconduct. Sometimes, according to one account, the emphasis was on how to land large settlement amounts.
Recently when a survey asked how people might become independently wealthy, the two most common answers were “win the lottery” and “win a big lawsuit.”
Whatever the reason, churches are the target of more than their fair share of the more than 100 million lawsuits filed in state courts each year. That is about one lawsuit for every two adults in the United States.
There is some good news coming from the courts. After a decade of being the number one legal matter involving American churches, sexual abuse of minors fell to number two in 2016 according to the publication Church Law and Tax. The publication’s review of state appellate and federal court rulings found 8.3 percent of cases involved child sex abuse in 2016. That was down from 11.7 percent in 2015.
Protecting children
Hopefully the primary reason for the drop is that churches are doing a better job of protecting children in their care. For at least a decade churches have been urged to adopt policies and procedures to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse.
Some of the polices promoted by LifeWay Christian Resources include: background checks (including child abuse and sex offender registries and criminal history) for all church staff positions, Sunday School teachers, ministry leaders and children and youth workers; waiting periods before new church members can work with children or youth; a buddy system so workers are never alone with children or youth; prohibition of unsupervised cross-gender contact between leaders and students; adequate child-adult ratios for Sunday School and off-campus activities.
Occasionally a church has resisted adopting these or similar guidelines for fear they would offend volunteers. However, volunteers who object to such policies may not be the kind of individuals who should be working with children and youth in the first place.
In 2016 the primary legal matter involving churches was property disputes which composed 8.7 percent of cases before the courts. In 2015 that percentage was 10.2 percent.
Frequently property cases pit members against members. Often it is a group of members who contend they are the “true” church because others in the congregation have abandoned the “true faith” in some way. Sometimes the argument is about factions in the church attempting to exercise power and leadership.
On Aug. 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of South Carolina ended a long-running lawsuit over control of 29 former Episcopal churches in that state which had seceded to form an Anglican diocese. The state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and awarded the property valued at more than $500 million to the Episcopal denomination, effectively kicking out the members of the churches who had built and paid for them and who had overwhelmingly voted to leave the Episcopal Church because of what they called liberal theology.
Interestingly, the courts in Illinois reached the opposite conclusion in a case with almost the same set of facts. The Illinois decision allowed the Diocese of Quincy, which also seceded from the Episcopal Church, to keep its property because the national denomination did not have a policy that kept dioceses from withdrawing their membership.
The lower court in South Carolina reached the same finding based on the same reason as the Illinois court in siding with the churches. That decision was reversed by the state Supreme Court. In Illinois, the state Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the national denomination.
These cases illustrate the complicated nature of legal actions. One court’s finding is no assurance that another will reach the same decision. Going to court always involves risk.
After property disputes and sexual abuse of minor cases, cases involving personal injury, insurance coverage disputes and zoning conflicts most frequently landed churches in court.
Again, churches can mitigate their risk of lawsuits through carefully adopted policies and procedures. LifeWay offers suggestions beginning with clear position descriptions for all employees, including the pastor, as a first step. A whole series of church safety practices are suggested as are periodic reviews of insurance coverage.
Reviewing LifeWay’s suggestions is a good starting place and a prudent step for any church today.
Even when a church wins in court, victory often comes with high costs. A court case can take up an inordinate amount of time and energy and impact the morale of the church. A lawsuit can create division. It can sap a congregation’s energy. It is far better to avoid litigation in the first place if possible.
Also to be remembered is what the Bible teaches about Christians suing one another. The apostle Paul cautions against the practice in 1 Corinthians 6:1–8. In verse 5 he urges those in disagreement to find a “wise” man from among them to help settle the issue. Today that could be called Christian mediation or arbitration.
Preventing pettiness
Mediation or arbitration provides an opportunity for disagreements to be settled without creating a public furor, without the combative nature of a court room. Reconciliation becomes the goal rather than winning.
This might not work if someone’s motivation is to get rich quick by suing the church for emotional distress or fraud. But it might help prevent some of the pettiness that sometimes shows up in court rooms when a person becomes more interested in “my rights” than in being at peace with one another as Romans 12:18 suggests.
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