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MBC LAWSUIT UPDATE 🚨
Yesterday, the Virginia Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from MBC members regarding the circuit court’s ruling to dismiss their breach of contract lawsuit (the lawsuit citing that in the July 18, 2021 elder election, dissenting church members were illegally withheld from voting by MBC leadership to solidify a favorable outcome). The plaintiffs state circuit court’s errors based on the following arguments-
- The Circuit Court erred in finding the First Amendment to be a jurisdictional bar to discovery. A First Amendment discovery objection is an assertion of a
“qualified privilege,” subject to a balancing test.
- The Supreme Court Has Held That the First Amendment is a Qualified Privilege, Not a Bar to Discovery.
- Grandbouche v. Clancy Case Lays Out the Applicable Factors in a First Amendment Discovery Privilege Balancing Test.
- The Circuit Court erred in bypassing the balancing test, and in so doing, in effect finding that Appellee prevailed
in the balancing test. In fact, if the balancing test is correctly applied, Appellants should prevail, and
discovery should be ordered.
- The Circuit Court erred in failing to consider controlling federal and Virginia Supreme Court precedent that
members of congregational churches can appeal to the courts for protection of basic civil rights.
- Courts Can Examine the Governing Documents of Congregational Churches Under “Neutral Principles of
Law,” to Determine if the Church Has Actually Acted.
- Virginia’s Supreme Court Clarified That Courts Have Jurisdiction Where Congregational Church Members Seek
Only to Vindicate “Simple and Fundamental Principles of
Democratic Government.”
- Other Courts Recognize That the First Amendment is a Qualified Privilege, Not a Bar.
- Even if 2021’s Election Cannot be Redone, The Case is Not Moot as Appellants are Still Entitled to the Vote of
Confidence Required by MBC’s Constitution Since the
Election Was Held Illegally.
Plaintiff’s 51 pg. filing can be found here-
drive.google.com/file/d/1mZ-oj6…
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