5. The statement “In fact, it is contrary to the policy of The Episcopal Church to seek remedies from laypersons, and it has never done so” is manifestly false and misleading.

The American Anglican Council has documented at least 48 cases where the Episcopal Church and the diocese have sued individual vestry members (see pp. 27-28 of our brief). This too is a matter of public record and we are prepared to substantiate the facts with copies of the pleadings if necessary—copies that will show from past cases that it is indeed the policy of the Episcopal Church to sue individual vestry members and that such cases are current within the courts. In Virginia alone, approximately 200 individual vestry members were sued by The Episcopal Church and the diocese. In some cases, the Episcopal Church and the Diocese have sued for punitive damages—which requires a showing of malicious behavior on the part of the vestryperson being sued. In other words, The Episcopal Church is alleging that the act of leaving amounts to the kind of malicious conduct that would be on a par with a fraud or a tort. Such damages are often triple the amount of the property and/or the accounting alleged. The Episcopal Church sued individual vestry members for punitive damages in the California cases (St. David’s North Hollywood, St. James Newport Beach, All Saints Long Beach). Even where punitive damages were not alleged, there are cases where The Episcopal Church has sued individual vestry members for an accounting of all funds expended by the church after they have departed. In any case, when the Episcopal Church and/or Diocese sues an individual vestry member, the financial costs of hiring an attorney as well as the emotional distress and intimidation is costly. In all such cases, as we have noted, the mere existence of a lawsuit has financial implications for the vestry member sued. Those consequences include the inability to obtain a mortgage for a home or other necessities, or a security clearance for a new job.

Read it carefully and read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts

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