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St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach, California, is filing a petition for writ of certiorari in late May 2009 with the United States Supreme Court in a property dispute which affects countless churches, religious groups, and congregations throughout America. A petition for certiorari means that St. James is asking the Justices to review the opinion rendered by the California Supreme Court. It includes a list of the parties, a statement of the facts of the case, the legal questions presented for review, and arguments as to why the Court should grant the petition.

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Important Dates

Important dates to watch as this case makes its way to the United States Supreme Court. Please know that some dates are approximate and subject to change. Sign up for site alerts to be notified of changes.

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Site Announcements

  • California Supreme Court Unanimously Grants Review of St. James Church Petition
    Wed, 06/09/2010 - 5:17pm

    News from St. James Anglican Church
     
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     

    California Supreme Court Unanimously Grants Review of St. James Church’s Petition Asking for Right to Pursue Its Property Ownership Case in the Orange County Superior Court

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – June 9, 2010 – In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court agreed today to hear St. James Anglican Church’s appeal that it has a constitutional right to continue its property rights battle against The Episcopal Church.  By granting the St. James petition, the Court has acknowledged that this property rights dispute is far from over as the Episcopal Church has claimed, and that the Court must decide whether a defendant can be deprived of its property before it has had the opportunity to defend itself with evidence in a court of law. 

    St. James petitioned the California Supreme Court following a March opinion by two justices of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Third Division, in which two of three justices interpreted a prior California Supreme Court decision called Episcopal Church Cases as having finally resolved the property dispute between the Episcopal Church and St. James in favor of the Episcopal Church, thus depriving St. James of any opportunity to defend its property with evidence in the Orange County Superior Court.

    But a stinging dissent by the Appellate Court’s third justice called the majority’s opinion “revolutionary,” “unprecedented” and “without any basis in law.” Dissenting Justice Fybel said that this was “the only case in the history of California where entry of judgment has been ordered upon overruling a demurrer and denial of an anti-SLAPP motion.”  In the opinion, both the Court of Appeal majority and Justice Fybel urged the California Supreme Court to step in and clarify what it meant in its 2009 decision entitled, Episcopal Church Cases.
     

  • Appellate Court 2010 Decision
    Sat, 03/13/2010 - 11:58am

    From here: http://stjamesnb.org/content/appellate-court-2010-decision
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    News from St. James Anglican Church

    Contact:  Karen Bro
    Communications Director, St. James
    [949] 235-4568 – mobile

    Eric C. Sohlgren, Lead Attorney
    Payne & Fears LLP
    [949] 851-1100 ext. 252 – office
    [949] 439-6149 – mobile

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        

    In a “Revolutionary” Decision,
    California Court of Appeal Robs St. James Church of
    Constitutional Right to Defend its Property in Court
     
    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – March 29, 2010 – Late Friday, March 26, 2010, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Third Division – in a 2 to 1 split – issued a decision granting a petition brought by the Episcopal Church seeking to deprive St. James Anglican Church of any opportunity to submit its evidence to the trial court to defend its property.
     
    Since the appellate decision does not become final for at least 30 days, St. James is now considering a possible appeal to the California Supreme Court as suggested by Justice Fybel in his stinging dissent.

    At the start of the case, the Orange County Superior Court ruled in 2005 (see case summary, below) that the Episcopal Church’s allegations were legally defective.  After the trial court dismissed the Episcopal complaints, the appellate courts took years to decide what law should apply to the dispute, eventually ruling that the Episcopal complaints could go forward. In early 2009, the California Supreme Court sent the case back to the Orange County Superior Court, where St. James for the first time answered the Episcopal complaints, raised affirmative defenses, began discovery, and looked forward to defending the property that its members bought, paid for and maintained since its founding six decades ago. Friday’s decision rules that St. James may not defend itself, and that the Episcopal Church is entitled to judgment in their favor based on their allegations alone.
     
    Justice Fybel asked the California Supreme Court to step in and set straight the majority’s unprecedented ruling (emphasis below is in the original opinion):
     
  • U.S. Supreme Court Decides on Petition for Writ of Certiorari
    Mon, 10/05/2009 - 8:13am

    News from St. James Anglican Church

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    ST. JAMES CHURCH’S PROPERTY RIGHTS BATTLE WITH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA’S ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT; U.S. SUPREME COURT DENIES PETITION

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – October 5, 2009 – The Supreme Court of the United States today denied a petition by St. James Church, Newport Beach, CA to hear its church property rights battle with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church (TEC). However, the property rights case is far from over and the case continues in the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA.

  • Analysis of our Latest Court Ruling
    Thu, 07/16/2009 - 8:24pm

    See A.S. Haley's (Anglican Curmudgeon) excellent article summarizing the procedural history of the St. James court case in light of the favorable court ruling on behalf of St.

  • St James Church Prevails on Two Motions
    Wed, 07/15/2009 - 1:47pm

    NEWS FROM ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    ST. JAMES CHURCH PREVAILS ON TWO MOTIONS BROUGHT BY THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES AND THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
    SEEKING TO END THE CASE IN THEIR FAVOR

    SANTA ANA, Calif. – July 15, 2009 – On July 13 St. James Church won a significant legal battle in its property rights case in Orange County Superior Court when Judge Thierry P. Colaw denied two motions brought by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and The Episcopal Church which sought to end the case in their favor.

    The Diocese brought a demurrer — a formal objection to an opponent’s pleadings — to the St. James cross-complaint, arguing that the California Supreme Court’s February 2009 decision definitively awarded St. James’s property to the Diocese. The Diocese also argued that a Diocesan-issued 1991 letter waiving the Diocese’s trust interest over the property on 32nd Street had already been addressed in favor of the Diocese by the California Supreme Court. Attorneys for The Episcopal Church brought a similar motion, arguing that they prevailed on their complaint on similar grounds. The Episcopal parties made these arguments even though the case went up on appeal before the St. James defendants ever answered the Episcopal complaints or brought affirmative defenses.

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Contact the SteadfastInFaith.org team directly using our online contact form or by reaching us at:

St James Anglican Church
Attn: SteadfastInFaith.org
3209 Via Lido
Newport Beach CA 92663
www.stjamesnb.org
Tel: +1 (949) 675-0210