A U.S. Federal Court magistrate found no evidence of misconduct in the 2013 sale of Glorieta Baptist Conference Center to a Christian camping ministry. The judge’s 79-page document filed Sept. 4 recommends dismissal of all claims in a lawsuit filed against LifeWay Christian Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and its Executive Committee and Glorieta 2.0, the ministry that bought Glorieta from LifeWay in September 2013.
“The judge’s recommendations could not be more positive,” said Thom S. Rainer, LifeWay’s president and CEO. “We are particularly gratified the judge says the plaintiff’s charges of misconduct by LifeWay, the SBC and Glorieta 2.0 ‘have no basis in fact,’ leaving no doubt of our integrity throughout this entire process.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Federal District Court in Albuquerque, N.M., by Kirk and Susie Tompkins of Little Rock, Ark., who were at the time leasing a lot at Glorieta. Their suit claimed the 2,400-acre property located east of Santa Fe was not properly transferred and that leadership staff of LifeWay, the SBC Executive Committee and Glorieta 2.0 were deceptive and fraudulent in the sale.
Robert Hayes Scott, U.S. Magistrate Judge, disagreed.
‘Transfer … not fraudulent’
“The transfer of Glorieta by LifeWay was not fraudulent,” Scott wrote. “Allegations of fraud and misconduct are baseless and have no foundation in the evidence.”
The judge’s filing also said Tompkins had “no legal interest” in the sale of the property and “has not suffered any harm” as a result of the sale. At one point, the judge wrote Tompkins “flung around vague accusations” of misconduct. He recommended all the claims be dismissed “with prejudice,” which means they should not be re-filed with any court.
The magistrate gave Tompkins 14 days to reply to his findings before the recommendations are sent to the federal district judge who will issue the final ruling.
(LifeWay)
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