'legal news' Tagged Posts (Page 4)
Austin Court of Appeals Rules for Good Shepherd San Angelo Episcopalians
On March 16, 2011, the Court of Appeals in Austin issued its opinion affirming the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of the Diocese of Northwest Texas and the continuing Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in San Angelo. A copy of the opinion is here. In 2006, a majority of the members of Good Shepherd voted to leave The Episcopal Church to affiliate with the Diocese of Uganda, Africa; however, they refused the order of Bishop C. Wallis Ohl, then the bishop…
Amended Order Entered on Motions for Summary Judgment
After a hearing on February 8, 2011, the Hon. John P. Chupp, judge of the 141st District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, entered an amended order affirming his rulings on January 21, 2011 in a form agreed to by all the parties. A copy of the order is below. Amended Order on Church and Local Episcopal Parties’ Motion for Summary Judgment 020811 The order reaffirms that the court grants the motions for summary judgment filed by the Episcopal Parties (Episcopal…
New date set for hearing
On January 25, 2011 the Southern Cone parties filed Objections to the Form of the Summary Judgment Orders granting the summary judgment motions of the Episcopal Parties on January 21. The objections are set for hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2011. You may read a copy of the Episcopal Parties’ response to their objections.
Judge Grants Episcopal Parties’ Motions for Summary Judgment, Orders Surrender of Diocesan Property
On Friday, January 21, 2011, the Hon. John P. Chupp of the 141st District Court, Tarrant County, Texas, granted the Local Episcopal Parties’ and The Episcopal Church’s Motions for Summary Judgments. He denied the Southern Cone parties Motion for a Partial Summary Judgment. The orders can be seen here. The Court orders provide in part that the defendants, including Bishop Jack L. Iker, “surrender all Diocesan property, as well as control of the Diocesan Corporation, to the Diocesan plaintiffs and to…
Summary Judgment hearings held
On Friday, January 14, 2011, the Hon. John P. Chupp of the 141st District Court of Tarrant County considered the motions for summary judgment in the dispute between the Episcopal parties and the Southern Cone parties, former members of the Episcopal Church. Competing motions for summary judgment are filed by the Episcopal Parties [The Episcopal Church, the Local Episcopal Parties (officials of the continuing diocese), and Episcopal Congregations (continuing parishes and missions and officials)] and the Southern Cone Parties (individuals…
Episcopal Parties Make Final Filings in Preparation for January 14 Hearings
On Tuesday, January 11, 2011, in preparation for the upcoming hearings in the 141st District Court of Tarrant County, the Episcopal Parties filed various responses and objections to the filings of the Southern Cone parties. The following motions are set for hearing on Friday, January 14: Episcopal and Southern Cone competing motions for summary judgment, Episcopal Congregations’ motion for continuance, Bishop Ohl’s motion to compel production of documents, and Episcopal Rule 12 motions challenging the authority of the attorneys for…
Parties File Summary Judgment Responses in Diocesan Litigation
On January 7, 2011 the Episcopal Parties filed responses to the motion for partial summary judgment filed by the faction of former Episcopalians led by former Bishop Jack Iker. The responses, filed in the 141st District Court of Tarrant County, were filed by The Episcopal Church, the Local Episcopal Parties (Bishop Ohl and other individual diocesan officials), and Episcopal Congregations (Episcopal parishes and missions, with clergy and vestry members from those congregations). These responses are in preparation for the summary…
Federal Judge Issues Stay of Diocese’s Trademark Case
On January 6, 2011 U.S. District Judge Terry Means stayed the trademark case filed in his court by the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth against its former bishop, Jack Iker. Judge Means determined that the issues in the state court case, The Episcopal Church v. Salazar, pending in the 141st District Court in Tarrant County, and federal case,Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth v. Iker, pending the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, are sufficiently “parallel” that he will…
Episcopalians Challenge Authority of Attorneys for Breakaway Factions
The Episcopal parties filed motions in the 141st District Court of Tarrant County to challenge the authority of the attorneys for the break-away Southern Cone factions. The motions seek to strike the pleadings of these attorneys who claim to represent the historic Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and historic entities of the diocese. The motions state two grounds for declaring that the attorneys are not authorized to represent the entities they claim to represent: First, the breakaway-faction attorneys lack authority…
Court rules in favor of Episcopal Church in El Paso
On December 16, 2010 the district court in El Paso County, Texas signed a final summary judgment in favor of The Episcopal Church and its Diocese of the Rio Grande against a faction formerly with St. Francis Episcopal Church that attempted to control parish property after they left the Church in October 2008. A copy of the Final Summary Judgment is here. The court’s ruling is the second by a Texas district court to grant judgment for the Church and its…
Local Episcopal parties file amended documents in partial summary judgement case
On December 21, 2010 the Local Episcopal Parties (Bishop Ohl and other diocesan officials) filed amended documents in preparation for the January 14, 2010 hearing on their Amended Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. The amended motion adds a ground for summary judgment and supporting argument reflecting the rulings in the Schofield opinion regarding the Diocese of San Joaquin, which opinion was issued after the local motion was filed; Two supplemental exhibits were added to the summary judgment evidence in support…
U.S. District Court Judge issues order staying proceedings on Diocesan trademark case
On December 20, 2010 U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means issued an order staying the proceedings in the Diocesan trademark case, Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth v. Iker, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. As a result the court will consider the motions to intervene filed by the Iker-related Southern Cone factions calling themselves the “Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth” and the “Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth” before…
Defendant Jack L. Iker Files Delay Motion in Federal Court
On Thursday, December 16, 2010, Defendant Jack L. Iker, former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, filed a delay motion in United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, attempting to put off answering the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth’s motion for partial summary judgment by seeking “an emergency stay.” The diocese filed the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment to protect its federally-registered name and seal from infringement by Bishop Iker. In his motion, Bishop…
Bishop Ohl Files Motion to Compel Southern Cone Faction to Produce Property Ownership Records
On Thursday, December 16, 2010, counsel for Bishop C. Wallis Ohl filed a motion to compel the Southern Cone faction’s production of documents related to ownership of diocesan and parish property in the case pending before Judge John P. Chupp, presiding judge of the 141st District Court of Tarrant County, Texas. On November 9, 2010, Bishop Ohl had requested that the Southern Cone faction produce all documents showing descriptions of and any ownership interests in the properties that the Southern…
Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth Files Federal Motion for Partial Summary Judgment
On Monday, December 13, 2010, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment with the Hon. Terry R. Means, District Judge in the Northern District of Texas, to protect its federally-registered name and seal from infringement by former bishop Jack Iker. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth has been using its historic name and seal for nearly thirty years. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the Episcopal Diocese two federally-registered service marks…
Judge John P. Chupp Disposes of Motion to Disclose Potential Conflicts
On Thursday, December 9, 2010, the Hon. John P. Chupp, judge of the 141st District Court, disposed of the latest procedural motion filed by attorneys for former Bishop Jack L. Iker and other former diocesan officials. After waiting 18 months, the Defendants had filed a Motion for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts, asking that the judge “fully disclose on the record whether he, his family members, or his court staff: are members of any of the churches, congregations, schools or other…