Title: Higgs, Sr. v. Bole
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 1110868
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: August 31, 2012

r e l : 08/31/2012 
Notice: T h i s 
o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
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p u b l i c a t i o n i n 
t h e 
advance 
s h e e t s o f Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e r e q u e s t e d t o 
n o t i f y t h e 
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Alabama 
A p p e l l a t e 
C o u r t s , 300 D e x t e r Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 
((334) 
2 2 9 - 0 6 4 9 ) , o f 
any t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r 
o t h e r e r r o r s , i n 
o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may 
be made 
b e f o r e t h e 
o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
SPECIAL TERM, 
2012 
1110868 
Ex parte Tom Bole 
PETITION FOR 
WRIT OF 
MANDAMUS 
(In re: Lawton Higgs, 
Sr. 
v. 
Tom Bole) 
1110892 
Ex parte Reverend Ron 
Schultz 
PETITION FOR 
WRIT OF 
MANDAMUS 
(In re: 
Lawton Higgs, Sr. 
v. 
Tom 
Bole) 
(Jefferson C i r c u i t Court, CV-2011-902392) 
WISE, J u s t i c e . 
Lawton H i g g s , S r . , f o r m e r l y a p a s t o r and p a s t o r 
e m e r i t u s 
at the Church of the R e c o n c i l e r ("COR"), a U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
c h u r c h , 
b r o u g h t 
an 
a c t i o n i n the 
J e f f e r s o n C i r c u i t 
C o u r t 
a g a i n s t Tom 
B o l e , a l a y member of COR, 
a l l e g i n g 
d e f a m a t i o n , 
i n v a s i o n of p r i v a c y , and i n t e n t i o n a l i n f l i c t i o n of 
e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s . 
D u r i n g 
the 
p r o c e e d i n g s , 
Higgs 
f i l e d 
a 
c i v i l 
subpoena r e q u e s t i n g the p r o d u c t i o n of c e r t a i n documents from 
Reverend Ron 
S c h u l t z , the 
d i s t r i c t 
s u p e r v i s o r of the 
South 
C e n t r a l D i s t r i c t of the N o r t h Alabama Conference of the U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t Church ("the C o n f e r e n c e " ) . 
Reverend S c h u l t z 
f i l e d 
a 
v e r i f i e d 
o b j e c t i o n t o 
and 
a m o t i o n 
t o quash 
the 
c i v i l 
subpoena based on 
F i r s t Amendment c o n c e r n s . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , 
B o l e 
f i l e d 
a m o t i o n 
t o 
d i s m i s s 
the 
c l a i m s 
a g a i n s t 
him, 
a l l e g i n g 
t h a t the 
t r i a l 
c o u r t d i d not have 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n over the c l a i m s b a s e d on the F i r s t and 
F o u r t e e n t h 
Amendments t o the U n i t e d S t a t e s C o n s t i t u t i o n ; 
the t r i a l 
c o u r t 
2 
1110868, 1110892 
d e n i e d B o l e ' s m o t i o n . The t r i a l c o u r t l a t e r e n t e r e d an o r d e r 
i n 
which i t g r a n t e d 
i n p a r t and d e n i e d 
i n p a r t 
Reverend 
S c h u l t z ' s 
m o t i o n t o quash. 
I n case no. 1110868, 
B o l e 
p e t i t i o n e d f o r 
a w r i t o f mandamus r e q u e s t i n g t h a t t h i s C o u r t 
d i s m i s s H i g g s ' s c l a i m s 
a g a i n s t him. 
I n case no. 1110892, 
Reverend S c h u l t z p e t i t i o n e d f o r a w r i t o f 
mandamus a s k i n g t h i s 
C o u r t t o 
quash t h e subpoena i n i t s e n t i r e t y on t h e 
b a s i s t h a t 
the 
r e c o r d s 
subpoenaed 
by 
Higgs 
were 
p r i v i l e g e d , 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
r e c o r d s o f t h e U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t 
Church. 
We 
g r a n t 
t h e p e t i t i o n 
i n case no. 1110868 and d i s m i s s t h e 
p e t i t i o n i n case no. 1110892. 
F a c t u a l Background and P r o c e d u r a l H i s t o r y 
Higgs s e r v e d as t h e p a s t o r o f COR from 1993 u n t i l he 
r e t i r e d i n 2005. 
A f t e r he r e t i r e d , Higgs c o n t i n u e d t o s e r v e 
i n 
t h e c a p a c i t y o f p a s t o r 
e m e r i t u s 
and as a 
f u l l - t i m e 
v o l u n t e e r a t COR. 
H i s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s as p a s t o r 
e m e r i t u s 
were " [ t ] o 
be p r e s e n t , t o g i v e s p i r i t u a l l e a d e r s h i p and c r e a t e 
an environment o f hope and c a r e f o r 
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s 
t h e r e , 
p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g t h e 
day 
program." 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t 
p. 14.) He a l s o t e s t i f i e d t h a t he was t h e p r e s i d e n t o f 
t h e 
B o a r d o f 
t h e 
R e c o n c i l e r Development, I n c . ("RDI"), a n o n p r o f i t 
3 
1110868, 1110892 
c o r p o r a t i o n committed t o p r o v i d i n g r e s o u r c e s f o r t h e homeless 
and t o r a i s i n g 
funds t o h e l p s u p p o r t t h e o p e r a t i n g budget o f 
COR. 
H i g g s ' s 
son, K e v i n 
Higgs 
("Kevin"), was a s e n i o r 
m i n i s t e r a t COR. 
In h i s a f f i d a v i t , B o l e s t a t e d t h a t he had s e r v e d i n 
COR's 
m i n i s t r y t o t h e homeless, had s e r v e d on COR's 
f i n a n c i a l 
committee, had s e r v e d on COR's p e r s o n n e l b o a r d , and 
had s e r v e d 
as COR's banquet and a u c t i o n c h a i r . 
B o l e s t a t e d t h a t t h e 
p a s t o r and b o a r d o f COR had asked him " t o u n d e r t a k e t o 
o r g a n i z e i t s f i n a n c i a l r e c o r d s " and t h a t he "undertook t o 
do 
so." He a l s o s t a t e d t h a t i n 
e a r l y 2011 Reverend S c h u l t z asked 
him " t o r e p o r t t o him on m a t t e r s 
c o n c e r n i n g t h e 
f i n a n c i a l 
a f f a i r s and governance a t 
COR." On March 18, 2011, 
B o l e wrote 
a l e t t e r t o Reverend S c h u l t z , s t a t i n g : 
" I c u r r e n t l y s e r v e on t h e P e r s o n n e l Board and 
F i n a n c e Committee o f COR. I have s e r v e d t h e c h u r c h 
f o r t h e 
p a s t f o u r y e a r s . 
D u r i n g t h e 
p a s t two y e a r s , 
I have a t t e m p t e d t o i n t r o d u c e some changes r e g a r d i n g 
f i n a n c i a l 
a c c o u n t a b i l i t y and t r a n s p a r e n c y . 
Having 
been a b u s i n e s s owner o f more than one b u s i n e s s , I 
f e l t as though t h i s was n e c e s s a r y i n 
o r d e r f o r us 
t o 
g a i n 
more 
f i n a n c i a l 
s u p p o r t 
from 
t h e b u s i n e s s 
community and from g r a n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s . 
" D u r i n g 
t h i s 
p e r i o d , 
though 
we 
have 
made 
p r o g r e s s , 
I 
have 
w i t n e s s e d 
s e v e r a l 
a c c o u n t i n g 
i r r e g u l a r i t i e s 
and 
a 
r e s i s t a n c e 
t o 
complete 
a c c o u n t a b i l i t y and t r a n s p a r e n c y . 
Examples i n c l u d e 
4 
1110868, 1110892 
not b e i n g a b l e t o l o c a t e and 
t r a c k d o n a t i o n s f o r 
s p e c i f i c 
p r o j e c t s . 
On 
10/13/08, Reverend 
Lawton 
Higgs wrote a l e t t e r o f g r a t i t u d e t o W.T. 
R a t l i f f 
[ s i c ] 
of C o l l a t e r a l Mortgage 
f o r a $50,000 p l e d g e 
f o r 
the 
c o n s t r u c t i o n 
o f 
a 
shower 
and 
l a u n d r y 
f a c i l i t y . 
I have 
asked 
b o t h 
Lawton 
and 
K e v i n 
[Higgs] i f t h i s money was 
r e c e i v e d and i f so, what 
happened 
t o 
i t . 
N e i t h e r 
one 
can 
g i v e 
me 
a 
d e f i n i t i v e answer. 
Because a t t h a t time t h e r e were 
no m e a n i n g f u l a c c o u n t i n g r e c o r d s , I have not been 
a b l e 
t o 
t r a c e 
the 
f u n d s . 
I s u s p e c t t h e y were 
d e p o s i t e d i n the a c c o u n t of R e c o n c i l e r 
Development, 
a company f o r w h i c h no r e c o r d s have e v e r been made 
a v a i l a b l e . 
C o l l a t e r a l 
Mortgage 
i s now 
out 
o f 
b u s i n e s s and Mr. 
R a t c l i f f 
[ s i c ] has had a l l 
o f h i s 
numbers d i s c o n n e c t e d . 
"There 
has 
a l s o been 
cash m i s s i n g from 
the 
o f f e r i n g b e f o r e i t c o u l d be c o u n t e d and d e p o s i t e d . 
"In 
J u l y o f 2008, we 
r e c e i v e d a $5,000 g r a n t 
from 
J e f f e r s o n 
County 
f o r t h e s e same 
f a c i l i t i e s . 
T h i s was 
a n o n - p a s s - t h r o u g h 
g r a n t [ ; ] however, the 
money 
was 
c o m i n g l e d 
[ s i c ] w i t h 
the 
o p e r a t i n g 
a c c o u n t . 
We 
had 
u n t i l 
9/30/09 
t o 
r e n d e r 
an 
a c c o u n t i n g of the e x p e n d i t u r e s . T h i s has not been 
done. 
"The c h u r c h r e c e i v e d a $10,000 check from Mary 
B u t t e r w o r t h , 
a l s o 
earmarked 
f o r the 
showers 
and 
l a u n d r y . 
These 
funds were 
a l s o 
c o m i n g l e d 
w i t h 
g e n e r a l 
o p e r a t i n g 
funds and were never 
a c c o u n t e d 
f o r . 
"The c h u r c h r e c e i v e d a $15,000 check from Crumly 
Chapel 
UMC 
and 
a $5,000 
check 
from 
independent 
P r e s b y t e r i a n Church w h i c h were a l s o c o m i n g l e d and 
unaccounted f o r . 
"To my knowledge, 
t h e r e are no funds r e s e r v e d 
f o r 
t h i s p r o j e c t and i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e y were used 
to 
supplement 
o p e r a t i n g expenses. 
Each time I t r y 
5 
1110868, 1110892 
t o c r e a t e a t r a i l f o r 
t h e f l o w o f t h e s e funds, I am 
met w i t h poor memories. 
"There a r e o t h e r 
examples o f 
t h i s 
s o r t o f 
f i n a n c i a l management[;] however, I would 
l i k e t o 
t u r n your a t t e n t i o n t o a n o t h e r d i s t u r b i n g m a t t e r . 
Many members and v i s i t o r s , 
i n c l u d i n g m y s e l f , 
have 
c o m p l a i n e d about t h e p o l i t i c a l r h e t o r i c t h a t 
o c c u r s 
d u r i n g t h e 
Sunday sermon. 
R a t h e r than p r e a c h i n g t h e 
G o s p e l , 
much o f t h e sermon 
i s e i t h e r p r a i s i n g 
l i b e r a l 
p o l i t i c i a n s 
o r 
d e a m i n i z i n g 
[ s i c ] 
c o n s e r v a t i v e ones. 
I n f a c t , when H o l y S c r i p t u r e 
i s 
r e a d , names and p l a c e s a r e r e p l a c e d w i t h 
p o l i t i c a l 
f i g u r e s and c i t i e s 
w i t h w h i c h t h e y do not agree. 
Birmingham C i t y o f f i c i a l s a r e c a l l e d out and blamed 
f o r t h e p l i g h t o f t h e homeless. 
They a r e a l s o 
c o n f r o n t e d i n p u b l i c d e m o n s t r a t i o n s and i n t e r v i e w s . 
P e r s o n a l 
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s r a r e l y a d d r e s s e d . 
Many 
homeless p e o p l e s l e e p d u r i n g t h e s e r v i c e and some 
come i n h i g h on a l c o h o l o r d r u g s . 
" I n a d d i t i o n , many i n s t a n c e s o f s e x u a l a c t s and 
the 
s e l l i n g o f drugs on c h u r c h grounds and i n s i d e 
the b u i l d i n g t a k e p l a c e . 
The H i g g s [ e s ] 
r e f u s e t o 
h o l d t h e s e p e o p l e a c c o u n t a b l e nor a r e 
we a l l o w e d t o 
c a l l t h e p o l i c e . 
T h i s 
b e h a v i o r 
not o n l y 
d e f i l e s 
God's house b u t i t 
i s d i s t u r b i n g t o v o l u n t e e r s and 
v i s i t o r s , e s p e c i a l l y t o t h e number o f young p e o p l e 
who a r e t h e r e . 
" L a s t l y , t h e r e a r e 
a number o f homeless v e t e r a n s 
and 
s e v e r a l v e t e r a n s who v o l u n t e e r a t t h e c h u r c h , 
i n c l u d i n g 
m y s e l f 
and a 
v e r y 
p r o l i f i c 
f i n a n c i a l 
s u p p o r t e r . 
K e v i n has made i t c l e a r t h a t he sees our 
government and our m i l i t a r y as i m p e r i a l i s t [ ] war 
mongers. 
I see t h i s as a v e r y d i v i s i v e 
a t t i t u d e . 
" I n c l o s i n g , w h i l e I do n o t 
know what t h e answer 
i s , 
I do know 
t h a t 
t h e r e 
w i l l 
soon be a mass 
v o l u n t e e r exodus i f 
changes a r e n o t made." 
6 
1110868, 1110892 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , Reverend S c h u l t z s e n t a l e t t e r d a t e d March 31, 
2011, t o H i g g s . 
That l e t t e r s t a t e d , i n p e r t i n e n t p a r t : 
" T h i s 
l e t t e r 
i s t o i n f o r m you 
i n w r i t i n g 
t h a t an 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s b e i n g conducted 
a t Church 
of the 
R e c o n c i l e r 
r e g a r d i n g 
r e c e n t 
a l l e g a t i o n s made 
i n 
r e f e r e n c e t o y o u r s e l f 
as P a s t o r E m e r i t u s 
and 
the 
c u r r e n t S e n i o r M i n i s t e r . 
You 
are asked t o remove 
y o u r s e l f from a c t i v i t i e s a t R e c o n c i l e r u n t i l you are 
i n f o r m e d t h a t the i n v e s t i g a t i o n has been c o m p l e t e d . " 
The 
Conference 
i s s u e d a 
" R e s o l u t i o n of 
C o m p l a i n t " 
("the 
r e s o l u t i o n " ) d a t e d May 
23, 2011. 
The 
r e s o l u t i o n s t a t e d , i n 
p e r t i n e n t p a r t : 
" I t 
i s normal 
p r o c e d u r e 
t o 
suspend 
c l e r g y 
w h i l e 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s are c o n d u c t e d . 
I n t h i s case however, 
i n 
l i e u 
of 
s u s p e n s i o n , 
the 
C a b i n e t 
d i r e c t e d 
the 
Reverends H i g g s [ e s ] t o s t e p away from the m i n i s t r y 
and 
t a k e 
an 
e x t e n d e d 
v a c a t i o n 
w h i l e 
the 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n was c o n d u c t e d . 
T h i s was done so t h a t 
Rev. 
K e v i n H i g g s ' m e d i c a l 
i n s u r a n c e coverage 
and 
p e n s i o n would remain 
i n t a c t . 
" F i n d i n g s 
"The 
B i s h o p and C a b i n e t f i n d the f i n a n c i a l r e c o r d s 
of 
[COR] 
t o be 
i n s h a m b l e s . 
The 
o n l y c l e a r 
and 
a c c u r a t e 
f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t 
t h a t can be 
p r o d u c e d 
f o r 
t h i s m i n i s t r y i s f o r the year 2010. 
There i s 
e v i d e n c e 
o f 
c a r r y i n g 
l a r g e 
c r e d i t 
debt 
on 
h i g h 
i n t e r e s t 
c r e d i t 
c a r d s , 
m i s s i n g 
payments 
and 
i n c u r r i n g 
p e n a l t i e s , 
p a y i n g minimum payments 
and 
thus 
i n c r e a s i n g 
the 
debt 
t h r o u g h 
h i g h 
i n t e r e s t 
c h a r g e s . There i s a l s o e v i d e n c e t h a t Rev. Higgs S r . 
( R e t i r e d ) o v e r s t e p p e d 
h i s a u t h o r i t y 
and 
d i r e c t e d 
[COR] 
funds t o be used t o pay debts i n c u r r e d by a 
501.3c [ s i c ] e n t i t y e s t a b l i s h e d by Rev. Higgs S r . t o 
address 
h o u s i n g needs of the homeless 
community. 
7 
1110868, 1110892 
There i s a l s o e v i d e n c e t h a t on one o c c a s i o n g r a n t 
money was used by [COR] f o r 
needs o t h e r than t h o s e 
s p e c i f i e d i n 
t h e G r a n t . 
II 
"We 
f i n d no e v i d e n c e 
i n d i c a t i n g a need t o p u r s u e 
f o r m a l charges a g a i n s t t h e s e m i n i s t e r s . 
" R e s o l u t i o n 
"The 
C o m p l a i n t 
a g a i n s t R e v . K e v i n H i g g s and R e v . 
Lawton H i g g s S r . i s 
hereby d i s m i s s e d . " 
On May 26, 2011, Reverend 
S c h u l t z s e n t out an e - m a i l t o 
s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t r e c i p i e n t s . 
The s u b j e c t l i n e o f t h e e - m a i l 
was "Church o f t h e 
R e c o n c i l e r 
update." 
I n t h e e - m a i l , S c h u l t z 
s t a t e d : 
"Thank you f o r 
your p a t i e n c e over t h e l a s t 
s e v e r a l 
weeks as t h e D i s c i p l i n a r y p r o c e s s has been f o l l o w e d 
r e g a r d i n g t h e c o m p l a i n t s 
f i l e d 
a g a i n s t K e v i n and 
Lawton H i g g s . 
" I am p l e a s e d t o share w i t h you t h a t t h e B i s h o p and 
C a b i n e t a r e s a t i s f i e d 
t h a t a j u s t 
r e s o l u t i o n has 
been r e a c h e d and t h a t no e v i d e n c e has been 
found 
t h a t would l e a d t o j u d i c i a l c h a r g e s . 
" T h e r e f o r e t h e c o m p l a i n t i s d i s m i s s e d and K e v i n 
remains a m i n i s t e r i n good s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e N o r t h 
Alabama 
Conference 
and Lawton 
remains 
i n good 
s t a n d i n g i n 
h i s r e t i r e d 
r e l a t i o n s h i p . 
II 
"As we move f o r w a r d t h e f o l l o w i n g changes a r e b e i n g 
i n s t i t u t e d : 
8 
1110868, 1110892 
K e v i n w i l l be a p p o i n t e d t o B r o w n s v i l l e 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church 
i n the 
C e n t r a l 
D i s t r i c t . 
"
*  
"* Lawton 
w i l l 
no l o n g e r be c o n n e c t e d 
t o 
Church of the R e c o n c i l e r i n any c a p a c i t y . " 
I t 
appears 
t h a t M a r t i S l a y , a member of COR, 
f o r w a r d e d 
the 
message from Reverend S c h u l t z t o o t h e r r e c i p i e n t s . 
On May 
27, 
2011, Mary Wade, a member of COR, 
s e n t an e - m a i l t o v a r i o u s 
r e c i p i e n t s . 
I n her e - m a i l , Wade s t a t e d : 
" I f 
the charges 
or who knows what t h e y a r e , have 
been d i s m i s s e d , why 
are K e v i n and R a c h a e l 
[ M a r t i n ] 
b e i n g 
r e l o c a t e d , and why 
i s Lawton f o r e v e r banned 
from COR??? 
" I s 
t h e r e any a p p e a l p r o c e s s ? 
I f n o t , I am 
v e r y 
p e r p l e x e d about t h i s p r o c e s s and outcome. 
I 
w i l l 
not say more i n an e m a i l . " 
L a t e r t h a t same day, James Walker, a l a y member of the A n n u a l 
Conference from COR and a l e a d e r i n the h o u s i n g m i n i s t r y , s e n t 
an e - m a i l t o Wade and numerous o t h e r r e c i p i e n t s . 
I n h i s e¬
m a i l , Walker e x p r e s s e d h i s sadness a t the l o s s of K e v i n 
and 
Lawton a t COR. 
He a l s o 
s t a t e d : 
" I 
know 
i t i s 
f r u s t r a t i n g 
but 
i n 
the 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church 
the 
B i s h o p 
has 
a 
p r e t t y 
much 
a b s o l u t e power t o d e c i d e where t o a p p o i n t c l e r g y t o 
l o c a l 
churches 
e t c . 
Through 
the 
D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t 
the 
B i s h o p 
c o n s u l t s w i t h 
[ P a s t o r 
P a r i s h R e l a t i o n s ] 
about the needs of the c h u r c h as 
9 
1110868, 1110892 
w e l l 
as 
w i t h 
a f f e c t e d 
c l e r g y but 
i n the 
end 
the 
B i s h o p 
d e c i d e s . 
"  
"The 
i s s u e 
of charges i s r e a l l y 
s e p a r a t e . 
I t i s 
more e a s i l y t h o u g h t of a p e r s o n n e l i s s u e a f f e c t i n g 
... 
K e v i n ' s 
s t a n d i n g 
as 
an 
' e l d e r . ' 
U n l i k e 
i n a 
c o n g r e g a t i o n a l 
system where the two 
i s s u e s might be 
more d i r e c t l y 
l i n k e d and 
d e a l t w i t h 
a t 
the 
l o c a l 
c h u r c h 
l e v e l , 
i n 
the 
M e t h o d i s t 
c h u r c h 
'charges' 
i n v o l v e i s s u e s t h a t a f f e c t a p a s t o r ' s s t a n d i n g t o be 
a U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t p a s t o r anywhere. 
I n t h i s 
c o n t e x t 
charges are not 
a l o c a l c h u r c h i s s u e . 
They are 
a 
c o n f e r e n c e p e r s o n n e l i s s u e [ ] ( a p a s t o r 
i s a member 
of an A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e , not a l o c a l c h u r c h ) and 
are 
not a p p r o p r i a t e l y d i s c u s s e d p u b l i c l y out of c o n c e r n 
f o r the r e p u t a t i o n of the p a s t o r and t h o s e 
d i r e c t l y 
i n v o l v e d i n the s p e c i f i c 
i s s u e . 
II 
" I n t h i s case i t appears t h a t K e v i n and Lawton were 
c l e a r e d 
of 
any 
charges t h a t w o u l d t h r e a t e n 
t h e i r 
s t a n d i n g (membership) w i t h the A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e but 
the B i s h o p f o r whatever r e a s o n d e c i d e d i t was 
time 
f o r new 
l e a d e r s h i p a t [COR]. 
F r u s t r a t i n g l y we don't 
have 
a n y t h i n g 
t o 
say 
about 
t h i s 
and 
I c e r t a i n l y 
t h i n k the c o n f e r e n c e s h o u l d have done a b e t t e r 
j o b 
e x p l a i n i n g what was 
g o i n g on and what c o u l d happen 
as a 
r e s u l t . " 
On May 
31, 
2011, 
B o l e s e n t an e - m a i l t o Walker and numerous 
o t h e r r e c i p i e n t s . 
I n t h a t e - m a i l , B o l e s t a t e d : 
" I would l i k e t o comment, and I t h i n k you have s a i d 
t h i s 
i n 
your 
own 
way, 
t h a t 
the 
[ D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ] s a i d t h a t t h e r e was 
not 
s u f f i c i e n t 
e v i d e n c e 
t o 
b r i n g 
' J u d i c i a l 
Charges,' w h i c h 
can 
p o s s i b l y r e s u l t i n d i s m i s s a l from the c h u r c h and 
the 
s u r r e n d e r i n g 
of t h e i r a u t h o r i t y t o m i n i s t e r . 
What 
10 
1110868, 1110892 
he d i d not say, and p u r p o s e l y so, i s t h a t t h e r e was 
s u f f i c i e n t e v i d e n c e o f b e h a v i o r t h a t w a r r a n t e d 
t h e i r 
removal from COR. 
A d v e r t i s i n g t h e s e t h i n g s , as you 
have p o i n t e d o u t , w i l l 
s e r v e o n l y t o damage 
t h e i r 
r e p u t a t i o n u n n e c e s s a r i l y s i n c e t h e y w i l l c o n t i n u e t o 
s e r v e 
e l s e w h e r e . 
"There 
have 
been 
a c t s 
of 
sabotage, 
d i s r u p t i o n , 
t h e f t , 
d e s t r u c t i o n 
o f 
c h u r c h 
p r o p e r t y 
and 
w i t h h o l d i n g of s u p p o r t funds by c e r t a i n 
i n d i v i d u a l s 
who were more committed t o K e v i n and Lawton than t o 
the m i s s i o n . 
T h i s s h o u l d o u t r a g e us more than a 
t r a n s f e r 
o f m i n i s t e r s . 
As you 
s a i d , 
we 
cannot 
c o n t r o l who 
s e r v e s 
i n God's m i s s i o n b u t we 
can 
c o n t r o l who you s e r v e 
f i r s t . " 
I n 
r e s p o n s e , S l a y s e n t t h e f o l l o w i n g e - m a i l t o B o l e , 
Walker, 
and numerous o t h e r 
r e c i p i e n t s : 
"Tom, 
"You have made so many b l a t a n t l y 
f a l s e 
s t a t e m e n t s 
and d i s t o r t e d assumptions 
i n your e m a i l t h a t i t 
i s 
h a r d t o know how t o respond. 
"My 
f i r s t response was 'how dare you?' 
How dare you 
impugn t h e i n t e g r i t y of K e v i n and Lawton when the 
D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t 
has s t a t e d t h e c o m p l a i n t s 
have been d i s m i s s e d ? 
I am c h a i r of t h e b o a r d and a 
member of t h e S t a f f P a r i s h R e l a t i o n s Committee, and 
the o n l y communication I have r e c e i v e d c o n c e r n i n g 
the r e s o l u t i o n o f t h i s i s s u e i s t h e one I f o r w a r d e d , 
w i t h Bud's a p p r o v a l , t o a l a r g e r l i s t of members and 
f r i e n d s , 
so 
t h a t , 
f o r t h e 
f i r s t 
time 
i n 
t h i s 
p r o c e s s , t h e y would have some u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f what 
i s happening t o our c h u r c h . 
How i s i t 
t h a t you have 
i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e s e c o m p l a i n t s beyond what the 
l e a d e r s of the c h u r c h know? 
I f t h e B i s h o p 
and 
[ D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ] have 
d e c l a r e d t h a t the 
c o m p l a i n t s have been d i s m i s s e d and K e v i n remains i n 
good 
s t a n d i n g , 
who 
a r e 
you 
t o 
c o n t i n u e 
t h i s 
11 
1110868, 1110892 
d e s t r u c t i v e 
and d i v i s i v e 
c h a p t e r 
o f our c h u r c h 
h i s t o r y by making p u b l i c c l a i m s t h a t keep t h e a t t a c k 
a g a i n s t our f o u n d i n g 
p a s t o r and ( u n t i l 
t h i s week) 
c u r r e n t p a s t o r a l i v e ? 
" I n your e m a i l , you attempt t o make J i m Walker say 
t h i n g s he d i d 
n o t say. I suggest you l e t him speak 
f o r h i m s e l f . 
"You 
a l s o make i t sound as i f you have knowledge o f 
charges n o t s h a r e d i n D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t Ron 
S c h u l t z ' s 
e m a i l . 
You i m p l y 
t h a t t h e p u b l i c has 
p u r p o s e f u l l y been kept i n 
t h e d a r k about a d d i t i o n a l 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
c o n c e r n i n g 
K e v i n 
and Lawton, 
t h a t 
a d d i t i o n a l 
i n f o r m a t i o n has been 
s h a r e d 
w i t h t h e 
S t a f f 
P a r i s h 
R e l a t i o n s Committee o r someone 
e l s e 
o f f i c i a l l y 
r e l a t e d t o Church o f t h e R e c o n c i l e r . 
That 
i m p l i c a t i o n i s c o m p l e t e l y 
f a l s e . 
As I ' v e 
a l r e a d y 
s t a t e d , 
t h e r e 
has 
been 
no 
o t h e r 
communication r e g a r d i n g 
K e v i n and Lawton from t h e 
D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t t o t h e c h u r c h , 
o t h e r 
t h a n 
the one I have f o r w a r d e d . 
"And 
t h i s communication from Ron S c h u l t z i s c l e a r : 
There i s 
no e v i d e n c e o f any k i n d w h i c h would l e a d t o 
any charges a g a i n s t K e v i n o r Lawton. 
"Your comments about ' a c t s o f sabotage, d i s r u p t i o n , 
t h e f t , 
d e s t r u c t i o n 
o f 
c h u r c h 
p r o p e r t y 
and 
w i t h h o l d i n g o f s u p p o r t funds' i n t e n d s t o p o r t r a y t h e 
members o f Church o f t h e R e c o n c i l e r who 
s u p p o r t 
K e v i n and Lawton as o u t l a w s and c r i m i n a l s . Those o f 
us who r e p r e s e n t t h e overwhelming m a j o r i t y a t 
t h e 
c h u r c h , 
who 
s u p p o r t 
K e v i n 
and Lawton and 
t h e i r 
l e a d e r s h i p , have i n 
no way behaved i n t h i s manner. 
I t i s d e e p l y 
o f f e n s i v e and f a l s e 
t h a t you would 
p o r t r a y us i n t h i s 
f a s h i o n . 
Whatever 
' a c t s o f 
sabotage, d i s r u p t i o n , t h e f t , d e s t r u c t i o n o f c h u r c h 
p r o p e r t y 
and w i t h h o l d i n g 
o f s u p p o r t 
funds' 
has 
happened i s because o f t h e chaos and d i s r u p t i o n 
caused by t h e a b r u p t and m y s t e r i o u s removal o f K e v i n 
and 
Lawton and t h e r e s u l t i n g removal o f 
t h e i r 
12 
1110868, 1110892 
l e a d e r s h i p 
among 
the 
homeless, 
f o l l o w i n g 
the 
f r i v o l o u s c o m p l a i n t s b r o u g h t a g a i n s t them. 
Tom, 
you 
are p a r t of a v e r y , v e r y s m a l l m i n o r i t y of p e o p l e 
who 
are c r i t i c a l of the m i n i s t r y of K e v i n and Lawton 
Higgs and what t h e y r e p r e s e n t i n t h e i r l e a d e r s h i p a t 
Church of the R e c o n c i l e r . 
Your comments show your 
b i a s a g a i n s t them. Your e m a i l i s o f f e n s i v e , and your 
s t a t e m e n t has no b a s i s i n r e a l i t y a t Church of 
the 
R e c o n c i l e r . 
" I b e l i e v e you owe 
a p u b l i c a p o l o g y t o those 
of 
us 
who 
s u p p o r t 
K e v i n 
and Lawton and p e r c e i v e 
t h a t 
an 
i n j u s t i c e has been done. 
I a l s o b e l i e v e t h a t 
you 
owe K e v i n and Lawton a p u b l i c a p o l o g y . 
I f Church of 
the 
R e c o n c i l e r 
i s t o h e a l 
and move f o r w a r d 
from 
t h e s e 
d e s t r u c t i v e , 
d i v i s i v e , 
and 
u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d 
c o m p l a i n t s , 
we must end 
t h i s p e r i o d of 
a c c u s a t i o n , 
s u s p i c i o n , and a t t a c k , and d e a l w i t h each o t h e r i n 
an open, h o n e s t , and l o v i n g manner." 
I n r e s p o n s e , on May 
31, 2011, 
B o l e s e n t an e - m a i l t o S l a y 
and 
numerous o t h e r r e c i p i e n t s . 
I n t h a t e - m a i l , B o l e s t a t e d : 
"As 
I 
t r i e d t o e x p r e s s 
t o you 
today a t COR, 
I 
do 
know much more, more than 
I 
w i s h 
I knew b u t 
I 
cannot r e v e a l i t nor do I want t o . 
I have no d e s i r e 
t o see Lawton or K e v i n h u r t any f u r t h e r . 
I 
r e s p e c t 
t h e i r 
h e a r t 
and 
t h e i r 
m i s s i o n 
f o r the 
homeless. 
That b e i n g 
s a i d , 
as 
the 
[ D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ] 
e x p l a i n e d 
t o 
you, 
me 
and 
the 
o t h e r s 
d u r i n g 
our 
m e e t i n g 
w i t h 
him, 
t h e r e 
are 
two 
t y p e s 
of 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n s . 
Those w h i c h r e s u l t i n a n y t h i n g from 
a w r i s t s l a p , c o u n s e l i n g t o a t r a n s f e r from 
t h e i r 
c h u r c h . 
A t 
t h i s 
l e v e l , 
t h e y would remain i n good 
s t a n d i n g . 
The 
o t h e r , 
r e f e r r e d t o as 
' j u d i c i a l , ' 
w h i c h c o u l d 
r e s u l t i n s t r o n g e r punishment such 
as 
removal from the m i n i s t r y or even the c h u r c h body. 
The 
[ D i s t r i c t S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ] 
s p e c i f i c a l l y used the 
word 
' j u d i c i a l ' when r e f e r r i n g t o the c h a r g e s . 
I t 
s h o u l d be o b v i o u s t h a t t h e y removed them from 
COR 
13 
1110868, 1110892 
f o r a r e a s o n b u t i t 
would s e r v e o n l y t o t a r n i s h them 
f u r t h e r t o e l a b o r a t e on t h e reasons 
p u b l i c l y . 
" R e g a r d i n g t h e a c t s of sabotage, 
t h e y a r e r e a l and 
documented. 
I d i d not say nor i m p l y t h a t you or 
anyone e l s e you a r e d e f e n d i n g had a n y t h i n g t o do 
w i t h 
i t . 
You c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e c o m p l a i n t s a g a i n s t 
Lawton and K e v i n as f r i v o l o u s and m y s t e r i o u s . 
I f 
t h e y a r e m y s t e r i o u s how can you know i f t h e y are 
f r i v o l o u s ? 
" I am not c r i t i c a l o f t h e i r m i n i s t r y as you 
c l a i m . 
As I s a i d , 
t h e i r h e a r t was i n t h e r i g h t p l a c e [ ; ] 
however, you have no i d e a what s e r i o u s j e o p a r d y the 
c h u r c h and t h e c o n f e r e n c e was i n due t o some o f t h e 
d e c i s i o n s t h e y made. I am s p e a k i n g o f b o t h c r i m i n a l 
and 
c i v i l . 
You would not know because t h e r e was 
v e r y l i t t l e o v e r s i g h t and most p e o p l e were s h e l t e r e d 
from t h e t r u t h . 
Had anyone on the [ S t a f f 
P a r i s h 
R e l a t i o n s C o m m i t t e e ] been d o i n g 
t h e i r j o b , t h e s e 
t h i n g s 
would have 
e i t h e r 
not happened 
or 
been 
u n c o v e r e d 
l o n g a g o . I owe no-one 
an a p o l o g y f o r 
t e l l i n g t h e t r u t h . 
Those who a r e making judgements 
w i t h o u t any f a c t s a r e t h e ones who s h o u l d a p o l o g i z e . 
E v e r y word I have s a i d i s t h e t r u t h . 
A l l 
of t h e 
d i s s e n t e r s can do i s s p e c u l a t e and p o n t i f i c a t e . 
"You a r e r i g h t about one 
t h i n g . There must be a 
coming t o g e t h e r o f everyone r e g a r d l e s s o f which s i d e 
of 
t h i s i s s u e t h e y a r e on i n o r d e r f o r t h e c h u r c h t o 
s u r v i v e . The m i n i s t r y i s b i g g e r than any of us and 
i t i s not about u s . 
" I f I have m i s q u o t e d J i m I welcome h i s comments and 
I w i l l a p o l o g i z e . " 
14 
1110868, 1110892 
On J u l y 1, 2011, Higgs sued B o l e and o t h e r 
f i c t i t i o u s l y 
named d e f e n d a n t s
1 
a l l e g i n g c l a i m s o f d e f a m a t i o n , i n v a s i o n o f 
p r i v a c y , and i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n o f e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s . 
The c o m p l a i n t a l l e g e d t h a t Higgs had been f a l s e l y a c c u s e d o f 
m i s a p p r o p r i a t i n g 
funds 
b e l o n g i n g t o COR; t h a t 
defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s had 
been made r e g a r d i n g t h a t and 
o t h e r a c c u s a t i o n s ; 
t h a t , as a r e s u l t o f t h e a l l e g e d l y defamatory s t a t e m e n t s , 
charges were f i l e d a g a i n s t Higgs w i t h t h e C o n f e r e n c e , which 
r e s u l t e d i n 
an i n v e s t i g a t i o n ; t h a t , d u r i n g t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
Higgs was asked t o t a k e a v a c a t i o n from h i s d u t i e s w i t h COR; 
t h a t t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e u l t i m a t e l y found t h a t he was n o t 
a t f a u l t ; 
and t h a t , as a r e s u l t o f t h e a l l e g e d l y defamatory s t a t e m e n t s , 
he was asked t o r e f r a i n from f u r t h e r a c t i v i t i e s w i t h COR. 
On December 2, 2011, Higgs 
f i l e d a " C i v i l Subpoena 
f o r 
P r o d u c t i o n o f Documents under R u l e 45," f o r Reverend 
S c h u l t z . 
In 
t h a t 
subpoena, 
he 
r e q u e s t e d a l l 
w r i t i n g s , 
e - m a i l s , 
documents, and w r i t t e n communications i n Reverend 
S c h u l t z ' s 
p o s s e s s i o n t h a t made any r e f e r e n c e t o H i g g s ; t h a t r e l a t e d t o 
the 
f i n a n c e s o r a c c o u n t i n g o f funds f o r COR and RDI f o r t h e 
1 H i g g s d i d n o t s u b s t i t u t e any named d e f e n d a n t s f o r any 
o f 
the 
f i c t i t i o u s l y named p a r t i e s . 
15 
1110868, 1110892 
p a s t 
f i v e y e a r s ; t h a t 
c o n s t i t u t e d 
" f o r m a l and/or 
i n f o r m a l 
c o m p l a i n t s and/or charges a g a i n s t Lawton H i g g s , S r . , whether 
i n d r a f t o r f i n a l f o r m " ; t h a t a r o s e from the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of 
H i g g s ; t h a t a r o s e from an 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
i n t o the 
f i n a n c e s 
and/or a c c o u n t i n g of funds f o r COR 
and/or RDI; and t h a t s e t 
f o r t h Reverend 
S c h u l t z ' s j o b d e s c r i p t i o n , 
r o l e , 
and 
d u t i e s 
w i t h the U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church. 
On December 29, 2011, Reverend S h u l t z 
f i l e d a 
" V e r i f i e d 
O b j e c t i o n t o C i v i l Subpoena f o r P r o d u c t i o n of Documents and 
M o t i o n t o Quash," 
i n w h i c h he 
s t a t e d : 
"8. By h i s c o m p l a i n t i n t h i s a c t i o n , [ H i g g s ] has 
c h a r g e d 
Defendant 
Tom 
B o l e 
w i t h , 
i n t e r 
a l i a , 
d e f a m a t i o n and i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n 
of e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s . 
These charges a r i s e from i n f o r m a t i o n and 
d o c u m e n t a t i o n p r o v i d e d by Mr. B o l e , a t the r e q u e s t 
of Reverend S c h u l t z , 
r e l a t i n g t o [ H i g g s ' s ] s e r v i c e 
as p a s t o r and, t h e r e a f t e r , as a f u l l - t i m e v o l u n t e e r , 
of 
the Church of the R e c o n c i l e r . 
[ H i g g s ] charges 
s p e c i f i c a l l y : 
"'As a r e s u l t o f the d e f a m a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s 
made 
by 
Defendants, 
c o m p l a i n t s 
a g a i n s t 
[ H i g g s ] were f i l e d a g a i n s t [ H i g g s ] w i t h the 
N o r t h Alabama 
C o n f e r e n c e 
o f 
the U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
C h u r c h 
and 
an 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
e n s u e d . ' 
" ( [ H i g g s ' s ] C o m p l a i n t a t 5 7 ) . 
"9. 
W i t h o u t 
q u e s t i o n , 
the 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
and 
d o c u m e n t a t i o n p r o v i d e d by Mr. B o l e (and o t h e r s ) t o 
Reverend 
S c h u l t z 
prompted 
Reverend 
S c h u l t z 
t o 
16 
1110868, 1110892 
i n i t i a t e 
and conduct 
an 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
i n t o t h e 
s t a t u s o f t h e r e c o r d s and f i n a n c i a l c o n d i t i o n o f 
t h e 
Church o f t h e R e c o n c i l e r d u r i n g t h e time 
[Higgs] 
s e r v e d as p a s t o r o f t h e c h u r c h , and, t h e r e a f t e r , 
when he c o n t i n u e d t o s e r v e t h e c h u r c h as a f u l l - t i m e 
v o l u n t e e r . 
"10. 
The 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
( i n c l u d i n g 
t h e 
p a r t i c i p a t i o n 
by members 
o f t h e Church 
o f t h e 
R e c o n c i l e r such as Mr. Bole) c o n d u c t e d by Reverend 
S c h u l t z , i n 
h i s 
c a p a c i t y as D i s t r i c t 
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t 
of t h e South C e n t r a l D i s t r i c t o f t h e N o r t h Alabama 
Conference 
o f t h e U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church, 
i s an 
i n t e r n a l , 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
m a t t e r 
o f t h e 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t Church, 
which i s g u a r a n t e e d t o be 
f r e e 
from 
j u d i c i a l 
i n t e r f e r e n c e 
by 
s e c u l a r 
c o u r t s 
p u r s u a n t 
t o t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t and Free 
E x e r c i s e 
C l a u s e s o f t h e F i r s t Amendment." 
On J a n u a r y 17, 2012, B o l e 
f i l e d a motion t o d i s m i s s 
H i g g s ' s c l a i m s a g a i n s t him on t h e ground t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t 
l a c k e d j u r i s d i c t i o n over t h e c l a i m s p u r s u a n t t o t h e F i r s t and 
F o u r t e e n t h Amendment. 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , he a s s e r t e d : 
"In 
t h i s case, c h u r c h governance i s 
a t t h e h e a r t 
of t h e m a t t e r , and b o t h t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t C l a u s e and 
the 
Free 
E x e r c i s e 
C l a u s e 
a r e 
i m p l i c a t e d . 
The 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church's 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
p r o c e e d i n g s , 
d e c i s i o n 
and 
a c t i o n , 
as 
[Higgs] 
i n s i s t s , 
'are 
c e n t r a l t o t h i s case' (see T r a n s c r i p t o f H e a r i n g on 
M o t i o n t o Quash), and [Higgs] seeks t o use t h e s e 
l e g a l p r o c e e d i n g s , 
i n d i r e c t l y i f 
n o t d i r e c t l y , t o 
i n q u i r e i n t o and r e f u t e t h e Church's i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
p r o c e e d i n g s , 
d e c i s i o n s and a c t i o n , and t o impose 
punishment on Tom B o l e (and p o s s i b l e o t h e r 
Church 
members) 
i n d i v i d u a l l y 
f o r p a r t i c i p a t i n g 
i n t h e 
Church's p r o c e e d i n g s . T h i s c i v i l a c t i o n a f f e c t s b o t h 
an 
entanglement 
w i t h 
c h u r c h 
governance 
and a 
17 
1110868, 1110892 
c h i l l i n g impact on i n d i v i d u a l f r e e e x e r c i s e t h r o u g h 
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h a t c h u r c h 
governance." 
On March 15, 2012, a f t e r c o n d u c t i n g a h e a r i n g ,
2 t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t e n t e r e d an o r d e r d e n y i n g B o l e ' s motion t o d i s m i s s . 
I n 
i t s o r d e r , t h e t r i a l c o u r t s t a t e d : 
" T h i s m a t t e r came b e f o r e t h i s C o u r t on F e b r u a r y 
21, 2012 t o hear 
o r a l arguments on Defendant 
Tom 
B o l e ' s M o t i o n t o D i s m i s s f o r 
l a c k o f s u b j e c t m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
p u r s u a n t 
t o R u l e 
12(b) (1) 
o f t h e 
Alabama R u l e s o f C i v i l 
P r o c e d u r e . 
I n response t o 
Defendant's 
M o t i o n 
t o 
D i s m i s s , 
[Higgs] 
must 
e s t a b l i s h t h e f a c t u a l p r e d i c a t e s o f j u r i s d i c t i o n by 
a preponderance o f t h e e v i d e n c e . 
Ex p a r t e Safewav 
I n s u r a n c e Company o f Alabama, I n c . , 
990 
( A l a . 
2008) 
( c i t i n g Erby v. U n i t e d Stat 
n,,,^,^ 
o ^ 
1 o n 
/ T> 
T> o 
o n n/T N N 
So. 2d 344 
S t a t e s , 424 F. 
Supp. 2d 180 (D.D.C. 2006)) 
"In 
h i s 
M o t i o n t o D i s m i s s , [Bole] argues 
t h a t 
l e g a l 
i n q u i r y by t h e C o u r t 
i n t o 
[Higgs's] c l a i m s 
would 
c o n s t i t u t e an entanglement 
i n t o m a t t e r s o f 
c h u r c h governance 
(thus, e c c l e s i a s t i c a l m a t t e r s ) and 
would 
v i o l a t e t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t C l a u s e and Free 
E x e r c i s e C l a u s e o f t h e F i r s t Amendment o f t h e U n i t e d 
S t a t e s C o n s t i t u t i o n . 
I t 
i s 
u n d i s p u t e d t h a t a 
c i v i l 
c o u r t may n o t become i n v o l v e d i n t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f 
d i s p u t e s i n v o l v i n g 
r e l i g i o u s d o c t r i n e o r p r a c t i c e . 
P r e s b y t e r i a n 
Church 
v. Mary 
E l i z a b e t h 
B l u e 
H u l l 
 
M e m o r i a l P r e s b y t e r i a n Church, 393 U.S. 440 (1969). 
However, [Higgs] argues t h a t t h e case a t hand does 
not 
i n v o l v e 
r e l i g i o u s 
d o c t r i n e , 
p r a c t i c e , o r any 
o t h e r m a t t e r s o f an e c c l e s i a s t i c a l n a t u r e . 
2A t r a n s c r i p t o f t h i s h e a r i n g was n o t i n c l u d e d w i t h B o l e ' s 
p e t i t i o n . 
18 
1110868, 1110892 
" I I . 
F i n d i n g s 
" I t i s 
t h e f i n d i n g o f t h i s C o u r t t h a t a l e g a l 
i n q u i r y by 
t h i s 
C o u r t 
i n t o 
[Higgs's] 
c l a i m s o f 
d e f a m a t i o n , 
i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y , and 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n o f e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s does not c o n s t i t u t e 
an entanglement i n t o m a t t e r s o f c h u r c h 
governance 
( t h u s , e c c l e s i a s t i c a l m a t t e r s ) and does n o t v i o l a t e 
the E s t a b l i s h m e n t C l a u s e and Free E x e r c i s e C l a u s e o f 
the 
F i r s t 
Amendment 
t o 
t h e 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
C o n s t i t u t i o n . 
T h i s case i n v o l v e s a c i v i l c l a i m by 
one l a y p e r s o n a g a i n s t a n o t h e r l a y p e r s o n , and 
n e i t h e r 
the Church nor any clergymen 
a r e p a r t i e s t o t h i s 
case. 
[Higgs's] 
c l a i m s a r e based on 
e v i d e n c e , 
i n c l u d i n g documents and v e r b a l s t a t e m e n t s , which a r e 
w h o l l y s e p a r a t e and a p a r t from any c h u r c h d o c t r i n e , 
b e l i e f , o r governance. The documents and s t a t e m e n t s 
t h a t 
form 
t h e b a s i s o f 
[Higgs's] 
c l a i m s 
were 
g e n e r a t e d 
and 
made 
by 
[Bole] 
o u t s i d e 
any 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
a c t i o n 
t a k e n 
by 
t h e 
Church. 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , 
t h e documents and s t a t e m e n t s 
were 
g e n e r a t e d 
and made 
by 
[Bole] 
a f t e r 
a 
Church 
 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n was c o n c l u d e d and were made by [Bole]  
about 
[Higgs] 
s e p a r a t e and a p a r t 
from any Church  
i n v e s t i g a t i o n . " 
(Emphasis added.) 
On 
A p r i l 5, 2012, t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t 
e n t e r e d an 
o r d e r 
g r a n t i n g 
Reverend 
S c h u l t z ' s 
" V e r i f i e d 
O b j e c t i o n t o 
C i v i l 
Subpoena f o r P r o d u c t i o n o f Documents and M o t i o n t o Quash" t o 
the e x t e n t i t 
r e q u e s t e d documents n o t p r o v i d e d t o Reverend 
S c h u l t z by B o l e and d e n y i n g i t 
t o t h e e x t e n t i t r e q u e s t e d 
documents p r o v i d e d t o Reverend S c h u l t z by B o l e . 
B o l e 
then 
f i l e d h i s p e t i t i o n f o r a w r i t o f mandamus i n t h i s 
C o u r t 
19 
1110868, 1110892 
s e e k i n g a d i s m i s s a l o f t h e a c t i o n . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , 
Reverend 
S c h u l t z f i l e d h i s 
p e t i t i o n s e e k i n g t o 
have h i s 
m o t i o n t o quash 
g r a n t e d i n i t s e n t i r e t y . 
S t a n d a r d o f Review 
"'Mandamus r e v i e w i s a v a i l a b l e where 
t 
he 
pe t i t i o n e r 
c 
h a l l 
enge 
s 
t 
he 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n o f t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t based on t h e p l a i n t i f f ' s a l l e g e d l a c k 
of s t a n d i n g t o b r i n g t h e l a w s u i t . 
"'"'"'Mandamus i s a 
d r a s t i c 
a n d 
e x t r a o r d i n a r y 
w r i t , t o 
be 
i s s u e d 
o n l y 
where 
t h e r e 
i s (1) a 
c l e a r 
l e g a l 
r i g h t 
i n t h e 
p e t i t i o n e r t o t h e o r d e r 
s o u g h t ; 
(2) 
a n 
i m p e r a t i v e 
d u t y 
upon 
the 
r e s p o n d e n t 
t o 
p e r f o r m , 
accompanied by 
a r e f u s a l t o do so; (3) 
the 
l a c k 
o f 
a n o t h e r 
adequate 
remedy; 
and 
(4) 
p r o p e r l y 
i n v o k e d 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
c o u r t . ' 
Ex 
p a r t e 
I n t e g o n 
Corp., 672 So. 
2d 
497, 
499 ( A l a . 
1995) 
. The q u e s t i o n o f  
s u b j 
e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
i 
s 
r e v i e w a b l e 
b y 
a 
p e t i t i o n 
f o r a w r i t o f 
mandamus. 
Ex 
p a r t e 
 
F l i n t 
C o n s t r . Co., 7 
75 
So. 
2d 
805 
( A l a . 
2000)." 
20 
1110868, 1110892 
"'"'Ex p a r t e 
L i b e r t y 
N a t ' l 
L i f e 
 
I n s . 
Co., 888 So. 2d 478, 480 
( A l a . 
2003) 
(emphasis 
added). 
"When a p a r t y 
w i t h o u t 
s t a n d i n g 
p u r p o r t s t o commence an a c t i o n , 
the 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
a c q u i r e s 
no 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . " 
S t a t e v. P r o p e r t y a t 
2018 Rainbow  
D r i v e , 
740 So. 2d 1025, 1028 
( A l a . 
1999). 
Under 
such 
a 
c i r c u m s t a n c e , t h e t r i a l c o u r t has 
"no 
a l t e r n a t i v e b u t t o d i s m i s s 
the 
a c t i o n . " 
740 
So. 
2d a t 
1 n 
o 
n 
I II 
1029.'" 
"'Ex 
p a r t e 
R i c h a r d s o n , 
957 So. 2d 1119, 
1124 
( A l a . 2006) ( q u o t i n g Ex p a r t e C h e m i c a l  
Waste Mgmt., I n c . , 929 So. 2d 1007, 
1010 
( A l a . 
2 0 0 5 ) ) . ' 
"Ex 
p a r t e 
H e a l t h S o u t h 
Corp., 974 So. 2d 288, 292 
( A l a . 
2007)." 
Ex p a r t e Board o f T r s . o f O l d 
Elam B a p t i s t Church, 983 So. 
2d 
1079, 1085 ( A l a . 2007). 
"[A] mandamus p e t i t i o n may be used t o r e v i e w 
r u l i n g s 
on 
motions t o quash 
subpoenas 
from 
p a r t i e s and 
n o n p a r t i e s . 
I n Ex p a r t e Thackston, 
275 A l a . 424, 
426, 
155 So. 3d 526 (1963), t h e Alabama Supreme 
C o u r t 
s t a t e d , 
' [ t ] h i s 
c o u r t 
has 
r e v i e w e d 
t h e 
i s s u a n c e 
o f a subpoena duces tecum, 
b o t h as t o 
p a r t i e s and n o n p a r t i e s , o r w i t n e s s e s , on a p e t i t i o n 
f o r mandamus.' See a l s o S t a t e v. R e y n o l d s , 819 
So. 
2d 72 ( A l a . Crim. App. 1999)." 
Ex p a r t e Summit Med. C t r . o f 
Montgomery, I n c . , 854 So. 2d 
614, 
616 
( A l a . Crim. App. 2002). 
21 
1110868, 1110892 
D i s c u s s i o n 
A. B o l e ' s P e t i t i o n -- case no. 1110868 
B o l e argues t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d when i t d e n i e d 
h i s 
motion 
t o d i s m i s s H i g g s ' s 
c l a i m s a g a i n s t him f o r l a c k o f 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , he contends t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t 
d i d 
not have 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over t h e c l a i m s 
p u r s u a n t t o t h e F i r s t and F o u r t e e n t h Amendments t o t h e U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
C o n s t i t u t i o n 
because, 
he 
s a y s , 
" [ t ] h e 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church's i n v e s t i g a t i o n , p r o c e e d i n g s , 
d e c i s i o n s , and a c t i o n s 
are a t t h e v e r y h e a r t o f [Higgs's] c l a i m s , and t h e d e f e n s e s 
t h e r e t o [ ] 
n e c e s s a r i l y 
e n t a i l 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
t h e 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church's i n v e s t i g a t i o n and p r o c e e d i n g s , and, t h e r e f o r e , i n t o 
the m o t i v e s , 
r e a s o n i n g , 
p e r c e p t i o n , i n t e n t , and d e c i s i o n s 
l e a d i n g t o t h e d i s a s s o c i a t i o n o f t h e [Higgses] from COR." 
In h i s 
response t o B o l e ' s p e t i t i o n , Higgs argues t h a t t h e 
F i r s t Amendment does n o t 
b a r h i s 
a c t i o n because t h e a c t i o n i s 
based on 
a l l e g e d l y 
d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s 
made 
a f t e r t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n had been completed and a f t e r t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n 
had been 
i s s u e d 
and because, 
he 
s a y s , t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s 
d i d n o t 
i n v o l v e 
e i t h e r 
t h e 
c h u r c h , 
c h u r c h 
governance, 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
m a t t e r s , 
o r any o t h e r 
form o f 
22 
1110868, 1110892 
r e l i g i o u s 
c o n c e r n b u t 
i n v o l v e d what he 
c h a r a c t e r i z e d 
as 
" a l l e g e d f i n a n c i a l 
i n e p t i t u d e . " 
We 
f i r s t s e t out t h e elements of d e f a m a t i o n , i n v a s i o n o f 
p r i v a c y , and i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n of e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s . 
"'To e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f a c i e case of 
d e f a m a t i o n , a p l a i n t i f f must show: 
"'"[1] t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t was a t 
l e a s t n e g l i g e n t [2] i n p u b l i s h i n g 
[3] 
a 
f a l s e 
and 
defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t 
t o 
a n o t h e r 
[4] 
c o n c e r n i n g 
t h e 
p l a i n t i f f , 
[5] 
which 
i s 
e i t h e r 
a c t i o n a b l e 
w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o prove 
s p e c i a l 
harm 
( a c t i o n a b l e 
p e r 
se) 
or 
a c t i o n a b l e upon a l l e g a t i o n s and 
p r o o f of s p e c i a l harm 
( a c t i o n a b l e 
p e r quod)."' 
"Ex p a r t e C r a w f o r d Broad. Co., 904 So. 2d 221, 225 
( A l a . 
2004) 
( q u o t i n g D e l t a H e a l t h Group, I n c . v.  
S t a f f o r d , 887 So. 2d 887, 895 ( A l a . 
2004), q u o t i n g 
i n t u r n N e l s o n v. Lapeyrouse G r a i n Corp., 534 So. 2d 
1085, 1091 ( A l a . 1988) (emphasis a d d e d ) ) . 
" T r u t h i s a 'complete and a b s o l u t e d e f e n s e ' t o 
d e f a m a t i o n . 
B a t t l e s v. F o r d Motor C r e d i t Co., 597 
So. 2d 688, 692 ( A l a . 
1992) 
( c i t i n g 
Jakob v. 
F i r s t 
 
Alabama Bank o f Montgomery, 361 So. 2d 1017 ( A l a . 
1978), c e r t . d e n i e d , 439 U.S. 968, 99 S. C t . 460, 58 
L. Ed. 2d 428 (1978); R i p p s v. H e r r i n g t o n , 241 
A l a . 
209, 
1 So. 2d 899 
( 1 9 4 1 ) ) . 
T r u t h f u l 
s t a t e m e n t s 
cannot, 
as a m a t t e r 
of law, have a 
d e f a m a t o r y 
meaning. 
See McCaig v. T a l l a d e g a P u b l ' g Co., 544 
So. 2d 875, 879 ( A l a . 1989) ('Given t h e t r u t h f u l n e s s 
of 
t h e 
p u b l i s h e d 
s t a t e m e n t s , 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
c o r r e c t l y 
d e t e r m i n e d 
t h a t 
t h e s t a t e m e n t s , 
as a 
23 
1110868, 1110892 
m a t t e r 
o f law, were 
n o t c a p a b l e 
o f h a v i n g 
a 
defamatory meaning 
' ) . ... 
" 
F e d e r a l C r e d i t , I n c . v. F u l l e r , 72 So. 3d 5, 9-10 ( A l a . 2011) . 
W i t h r e g a r d t o i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y , t h i s C o u r t has s t a t e d : 
" I n B u t l e r [v. 
Town o f Argo, 871 So. 2d 1 ( A l a . 
2 0 0 3 ) ] , t h i s C o u r t d e f i n e d t h e elements o f t h e t o r t 
of i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y , 
s t a t i n g : 
" ' " ' T h i s C o u r t d e f i n e s t h e t o r t 
of 
i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y as t h e 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
w r o n g f u l 
i n t r u s i o n 
i n t o one's p r i v a t e a c t i v i t i e s i n 
such a manner as t o o u t r a g e o r 
cause mental s u f f e r i n g , shame, o r 
h u m i l i a t i o n 
t o 
a 
p e r s o n 
o f 
o r d i n a r y s e n s i b i l i t i e s . ' " ... 
"'... 
[ T ] h i s 
C o u r t 
has 
adopted 
t h e 
f o l l o w i n g 
d e f i n i t i o n 
f o r " f a l s e 
l i g h t " 
i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y : 
"'"'One who g i v e s p u b l i c i t y t o a 
m a t t e r 
c o n c e r n i n g 
a n o t h e r 
t h a t 
p l a c e s 
t h e 
o t h e r 
b e f o r e 
t h e 
p u b l i c 
i n a 
f a l s e 
l i g h t 
i s 
s u b j e c t t o l i a b i l i t y t o 
t h e o t h e r 
f o r i n v a s i o n o f h i s 
p r i v a c y , 
i f 
"'"'(a) 
t h e 
f a l s e 
l i g h t 
i n 
which 
t h e 
o t h e r was p l a c e d would 
be 
h i g h l y 
o f f e n s i v e t o 
a 
r e a s o n a b l e 
p e r s o n , 
and 
"'"'(b) 
t h e a c t o r 
had 
knowledge 
o f o r 
24 
1110868, 1110892 
a c t e d 
i n 
r e c k l e s s 
d i s r e g a r d 
as 
t o t h e 
f a l s i t y 
o f 
t h e 
p u b l i c i z e d 
m a t t e r and 
the 
f a l s e 
l i g h t 
i n 
w h i c h t h e o t h e r 
would 
be p l a c e d . 
" ' S c h i f a n o v. Greene County Greyhound Park, 
I n c . , 
624 
So. 
2d 
178, 
180 ( A l a . 
1993)(emphasis omitted) ( q u o t i n g Restatement  
(Second) 
o f 
T o r t s 
§ 
652E 
( 1 9 7 7 ) ) . A 
f a l s e - l i g h t c l a i m does not r e q u i r e t h a t 
t h e 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
made 
p u b l i c 
be 
p r i v a t e ; 
i n s t e a d , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n made p u b l i c must 
be 
f a l s e . 
See Restatement 
(Second) o f  
T o r t s § 652E cmt. 
A. (1977).' 
"871 So. 2d a t 
12." 
C o t t r e l l v. N a t i o n a l C o l l e g i a t e A t h l e t i c A s s ' n , 975 So. 2d 
306, 348 ( A l a . 2007). The i n t e n t i o n a l i n f l i c t i o n o f e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s i s 
a l s o known as t h e t o r t o f o u t r a g e . See Chaney v. 
A l a . 
West-AL, LLC, 22 So. 3d 488 ( A l a . C i v . App. 2008). 
" T h i s C o u r t f i r s t r e c o g n i z e d 
t h e 
t o r t o f o u t r a g e 
i n 1980, 
i n 
American Road S e r v i c e Co. v. Inmon, 394 
So. 
2d 361 ( A l a . 
1980) . 
I n Inmon 
t h i s 
C o u r t 
r e c o g n i z e d t h e t o r t 
p r o p o s e d by t h e Restatement  
(Second) o f T o r t s § 46 (1948), h o l d i n g : 
"'[O]ne 
who by 
extreme 
and 
outrageous 
conduct i n t e n t i o n a l l y o r r e c k l e s s l y causes 
s e v e r e e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s t o a n o t h e r i s 
s u b j e c t t o l i a b i l i t y 
f o r such 
e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s and f o r b o d i l y harm r e s u l t i n g from 
the 
d i s t r e s s . 
The 
e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s 
t h e r e u n d e r 
must be so s e v e r e 
t h a t 
no 
r e a s o n a b l e 
p e r s o n 
c o u l d be e x p e c t e d t o 
25 
1110868, 1110892 
endure i t . Any r e c o v e r y 
must be r e a s o n a b l e 
and 
j u s t i f i e d 
under 
t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , 
l i a b i l i t y e n s u i n g o n l y when t h e conduct i s 
extreme. Comment, R e s t a t e m e n t [ (Second) of  
T o r t s § 4 6 ] , a t 78 [ ( 1 9 4 8 ) ] . By extreme we 
r e f e r t o conduct so o u t r a g e o u s i n c h a r a c t e r 
and so extreme i n degree as t o go 
beyond 
a l l p o s s i b l e bounds o f decency, and t o be 
r e g a r d e d 
as 
a t r o c i o u s 
and 
u t t e r l y 
i n t o l e r a b l e 
i n 
a 
c i v i l i z e d 
s o c i e t y . 
Comment ( d ) , Restatement, s u p r a a t 72.' 
"394 So. 2d a t 365. The C o u r t n o t e d i n Inmon t h a t 
the 
t o r t o f o u t r a g e 
"'does 
not 
r e c o g n i z e 
r e c o v e r y f o r "mere 
i n s u l t s , i n d i g n i t i e s , t h r e a t s , annoyances, 
p e t t y o p p r e s s i o n s , or o t h e r 
t r i v i a l i t i e s . " 
Comment, Restatement, s u p r a , a t 73. 
The 
p r i n c i p l e 
a p p l i e s 
o n l y 
t o 
u n p r i v i l e g e d , 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
o r 
r e c k l e s s 
conduct 
of 
an 
extreme 
and o u t r a g e o u s n a t u r e , and 
o n l y 
t h a t 
w h i c h 
causes 
s e v e r e 
e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s . ' 
"394 So. 2d a t 364-65. As t h i s C o u r t has s i n c e h e l d : 
"'The 
t o r t o f o u t r a g e i s an e x t r e m e l y 
l i m i t e d cause of a c t i o n . I t i s so 
l i m i t e d 
t h a t t h i s C o u r t has r e c o g n i z e d i t 
i n r e g a r d 
t o 
o n l y 
t h r e e 
k i n d s 
of 
conduct: 
(1) 
w r o n g f u l 
conduct 
i n 
t h e 
f a m i l y - b u r i a l 
c o n t e x t , W h i t t v. H u l s e y , 519 So. 2d 901 
( A l a . 1987); (2) b a r b a r i c methods employed 
t o c o e r c e an i n s u r a n c e s e t t l e m e n t , N a t i o n a l  
Sec. F i r e & Cas. Co. v. Bowen, 447 So. 2d 
133 
( A l a . 1983); and (3) e g r e g i o u s s e x u a l 
harassment, Busby v. T r u s w a l Sys. Corp., 
551 
So. 
2d 322 
( A l a . 1989) . 
See 
a l s o 
M i c h a e l L. R o b e r t s and Gregory S. Cusimano, 
Alabama T o r t Law, § 23.0 
(2d ed. 1996). In 
o r d e r 
t o 
r e c o v e r , 
a 
p l a i n t i f f 
must 
26 
1110868, 1110892 
demonstrate 
t h a t the d e f e n d a n t ' s 
conduct 
"(1) was 
i n t e n t i o n a l o r r e c k l e s s ; 
(2) was 
extreme 
and 
o u t r a g e o u s ; 
and 
(3) 
caused 
e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s 
so 
s e v e r e 
t h a t 
no 
r e a s o n a b l e 
p e r s o n 
c o u l d 
be 
e x p e c t e d 
t o 
endure i t . " Green Tree A c c e p t a n c e , I n c . v.  
S t a n d r i d g e , 565 So. 2d 38, 44 
( A l a . 1990) 
( c i t i n g 
American 
Road 
S e r v i c e 
Co. 
v. 
 
Inmon[, 394 So. 2d 361 
( A l a . 1 9 8 0 ) ] ) . ' 
" P o t t s v. Hayes, 771 So. 2d 462, 
465 
( A l a . 2000) 
. 
That 
i s not 
t o 
say, however, 
t h a t 
t h e 
t o r t 
of 
o u t r a g e i s v i a b l e i n o n l y t h e t h r e e c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
n o t e d i n P o t t s . 
R e c e n t l y , t h i s C o u r t a f f i r m e d a 
judgment on a t o r t - o f - o u t r a g e c l a i m a s s e r t e d a g a i n s t 
a 
f a m i l y 
p h y s i c i a n who, 
when a s k e d by 
a 
teenage 
boy's mother 
t o 
c o u n s e l t h e 
boy 
c o n c e r n i n g h i s 
s t r e s s 
over 
h i s p a r e n t s ' d i v o r c e , 
i n s t e a d 
began 
e x c h a n g i n g 
a d d i c t i v e 
p r e s c r i p t i o n 
drugs 
f o r 
homosexual sex f o r a number o f y e a r s , r e s u l t i n g i n 
the 
boy's drug a d d i c t i o n . 
See O'Rear v. B.H., 
69 
So. 3d 106 
( A l a . 2011) . 
I t i s c l e a r , however, t h a t 
the 
t o r t of o u t r a g e i s v i a b l e o n l y when the conduct 
i s 
'"so outrageous i n c h a r a c t e r and so extreme i n 
degree 
as 
t o 
go 
beyond 
a l l p o s s i b l e 
bounds 
o f 
decency, and t o be r e g a r d e d as a t r o c i o u s and u t t e r l y 
i n t o l e r a b l e i n a c i v i l i z e d s o c i e t y . " ' 
Horne v. 
TGM 
 
A s s o c s . , 
L.P., 
56 
So. 
3d 
615, 
631 
( A l a . 
2010) 
( q u o t i n g Inmon, 394 So. 2d a t 3 6 5 ) . " 
L i t t l e v. R o b i n s o n , 72 So. 2d 1168, 1172-73 ( A l a . 2011). 
W i t h r e g a r d t o a s t a t e c o u r t ' s j u r i s d i c t i o n over a c h u r c h 
i n t h e f a c e o f a F i r s t Amendment c h a l l e n g e , t h i s C o u r t has 
s t a t e d : 
"As i s t h e case w i t h a l l 
c h u r c h e s , t h e c o u r t s 
w i l l not assume j u r i s d i c t i o n , i n f a c t has none, t o 
r e s o l v e 
d i s p u t e s 
r e g a r d i n g 
t h e i r 
s p i r i t u a l 
o r 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
a f f a i r s . 
However, 
t h e r e 
i s 
27 
1110868, 1110892 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
t o 
r e s o l v e 
q u e s t i o n s 
o f 
c i v i l 
o r 
p r o p e r t y r i g h t s . 
W i l l i a m s v. Jones, 258 A l a . 59, 61 
So. 2d 101 (1952)." 
A b y s s i n i a M i s s i o n a r y B a p t i s t Church v. N i x o n , 340 So. 2d 746, 
748 
( A l a . 
1976) 
. 
See a l s o W a l t e r s v. S t e w a r t , 838 So. 2d 
1047, 1050 ( A l a . C i v . 
App. 2002). 
"[T]he 
f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n from 
L o t t [v. E a s t e r n  
Shore C h r i s t i a n C e n t e r , 908 So. 2d 922 ( A l a . 2005,] 
makes i t c l e a r 
t h a t t h e d e c i s i o n o f a c h u r c h t o 
d i s c i p l i n e a member o r t o t e r m i n a t e an i n d i v i d u a l ' s 
membership i s r e v i e w a b l e i n 
a c i v i l c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g 
o n l y under v e r y l i m i t e d c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
"As n o t e d i n L o t t , under l i m i t e d c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
' t h i s C o u r t has r e v i e w e d t h e a c t i o n s o f churches i n 
e x p e l l i n g members 
' 
908 So. 2d a t 928. One o f 
t h o s e 
c i r c u m s t a n c e s 
i s when 
a 
c h u r c h 
member 
c h a l l e n g e s whether h e r ' e x p u l s i o n was t h e a c t 
o f 
the 
 
a u t h o r i t y 
w i t h i n the c h u r c h 
h a v i n g t h e power t o  
o r d e r 
i t . ' 
A b y s s i n i a M i s s i o n a r y B a p t i s t Church v. 
N i x o n , 340 So. 2d 746, 748 ( A l a . 
1976) 
(emphasis 
added)." 
O l d Elam, 983 So. 2d a t 1090-93. 
None o f t h e p a r t i e s have c i t e d , and we have n o t found, 
any Alabama cases i n w h i c h t h i s C o u r t s p e c i f i c a l l y 
a d d r e s s e d 
whether c o u r t s have j u r i s d i c t i o n over c l a i m s o f d e f a m a t i o n , 
i n v a s i o n o f p r i v a c y , o r i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n o f e m o t i o n a l 
d i s t r e s s based on s t a t e m e n t s t h a t l e d 
t o an i n v e s t i g a t i o n and 
the u l t i m a t e removal o f a p a s t o r and/or p a s t o r e m e r i t u s 
from 
28 
1110868, 1110892 
a 
c h u r c h and s t a t e m e n t s made 
a f t e r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n 
d i s c u s s i o n s about t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n and about 
a c t i o n s t a k e n by c h u r c h h i e r a r c h y . 
However, c o u r t s from o t h e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n s have a d d r e s s e d s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n s . 
In Yaggie v. I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y Synod E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n  
Church i n A m e r i c a , 860 F. Supp. 1194 (W.D. Ky. 1994), 
Yaggie 
was t h e m i n i s t e r a t R e s u r r e c t i o n L u t h e r a n Church, which was 
p a r t o f t h e I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y 
Synod. 
The 
I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y 
Synod was p r e s i d e d over by B i s h o p R a l p h Kempski; P a s t o r 
L o w e l l 
Buss was a c l e r i c - a s s i s t a n t t o B i s h o p Kempski. 
The Church 
C o u n c i l asked Buss t o i n t e r v e n e and t o h e l p i n a 
c o n f l i c t 
between Yaggie and h i s 
p a r i s h i o n e r s . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , Buss and 
members o f a m i n i s t r y committee met w i t h t h e members o f 
R e s u r r e c t i o n L u t h e r a n ' s c o n g r e g a t i o n who were h a v i n g problems 
w i t h Y a g g i e . 
Buss was a l s o r e s p o n s i b l e f o r 
r e p o r t i n g t o 
t h e 
Church C o u n c i l about t h e s e m e e t i n g s . 
I n J u l y 1992, Buss gave 
the m i n i s t r y committee a d r a f t o f a r e p o r t he p r o p o s e d t o 
submit t o t h e Church C o u n c i l . Yaggie o b j e c t e d t o a p a r a g r a p h 
i n t h e d r a f t , and i t 
was d e l e t e d . 
However, t h a t p a r a g r a p h was 
the b a s i s f o r 
one o f Y a g g i e ' s d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m s . 
Yaggie sued 
29 
1110868, 1110892 
the 
I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y 
Synod 
and 
c l a i m e d 
t h a t 
he 
had 
been 
defamed by two 
of i t s agents or employees. 
Because 
the 
f i r s t 
attempt 
a t 
r e c o n c i l i a t i o n 
f a i l e d , 
B i s h o p Kempski, a t R e s u r r e c t i o n L u t h e r a n ' s r e q u e s t , 
a p p o i n t e d 
a three-member a d v i s o r y committee t o i n v e s t i g a t e the c h u r c h ' s 
d i f f i c u l t i e s 
and 
t o 
f o r m u l a t e 
a 
recommendation 
f o r 
the 
r e s o l u t i o n . 
A f t e r m e e t i n g w i t h B i s h o p Kempski, Y a g g i e , 
and 
Y a g g i e ' s w i f e , the a d v i s o r y committee s u b m i t t e d a r e p o r t 
t o 
the c o n g r e g a t i o n . 
That r e p o r t 
s t a t e d : 
" ' S i n c e 
P a s t o r 
L l o y d Y a g g i e announced 
t o 
the 
c o n g r e g a t i o n on September 13 
t h a t 
he 
had asked t h a t he 
'be put up f o r c a l l ' 
and 
i m p l i e d 
h i s 
subsequent 
a c c e p t a n c e 
of 
a 
c a l l , 
the 
A d v i s o r y 
Committee 
recommends 
t h a t h i s i n t e n t i o n t o r e s i g n be honored and 
t h a t 
a p p r o p r i a t e 
c o n s u l t a t i o n 
f o r 
p r o f e s s i o n a l 
development 
and 
p e r s o n a l 
h e a l i n g 
be 
o f f e r e d 
a t 
synod expense 
i n 
o r d e r t o f a c i l i t a t e the t r a n s i t i o n t o a 
new 
m i n i s t r y 
and 
ensure 
h i s 
f u t u r e 
p a s t o r a l 
e f f e c t i v e n e s s . ' " 
860 
F. Supp. a t 1196-97. 
Yaggie argued t h a t the language i n 
the 
r e p o r t 
r e g a r d i n g 
h o n o r i n g h i s 
i n t e n t i o n t o 
r e s i g n 
was 
d e f a m a t o r y and 
i n a c c u r a t e . 
" P a s t o r 
Y a g g i e ' s 
t h i r d 
and 
f i n a l 
c l a i m 
c o n c e r n [ e d ] a s t a t e m e n t a l l e g e d l y u t t e r e d by B i s h o p 
Kempski 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the 
meaning 
of 
the 
r e p o r t . 
P a s t o r 
Y a g g i e a s s e r t [ e d ] 
t h a t when B i s h o p Kempski 
was asked about the Committee's recommendation ' t h a t 
30 
1110868, 1110892 
a p p r o p r i a t e 
c o n s u l t a t i o n 
f o r 
p r o f e s s i o n a l 
development and 
p e r s o n a l h e a l i n g be 
o f f e r e d , ' 
he 
responded by s a y i n g , ' I t 
means P a s t o r Y a g g i e ' s 
g o i n g 
t o 
S a i n t Barnabas 
f o r p s y c h i a t r i c 
t r e a t m e n t 
and 
e v a l u a t i o n . ' P a s t o r Yaggie c l a i m [ e d ] t h i s 
statement 
was 
r e p e a t e d 
v e r b a t i m 
on 
the 
f o l l o w i n g 
t h r e e 
o c c a s i o n s 
860 F. Supp. a t 
1197. 
The 
I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y 
Synod moved t o d i s m i s s 
Y a g g i e ' s 
c o m p l a i n t on the ground t h a t the 
t r i a l 
c o u r t d i d not have 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
and 
because, 
i t argued, 
the 
c o m p l a i n t f a i l e d t o s t a t e a c l a i m upon which 
r e l i e f c o u l d be 
g r a n t e d . 
In a d d r e s s i n g t h i s argument, the f e d e r a l 
d i s t r i c t 
c o u r t s t a t e d : 
"The Supreme C o u r t mandated over a c e n t u r y 
ago 
t h a t 
t h i s 
c o u r t 
was 
not 
t o 
d e l v e 
i n t o 
m a t t e r s 
c o n c e r n i n g the i n n e r e c c l e s i a s t i c a l w o r k i n g s of the 
c h u r c h : 
"'But i t i s a v e r y d i f f i c u l t t h i n g where a 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
of 
d i s p u t e , 
s t r i c t l y 
and 
p u r e l y e c c l e s i a s t i c a l i n i t s c h a r a c t e r , -¬
a 
m a t t e r 
over 
which 
the 
c i v i l 
c o u r t s 
e x e r c i s e no j u r i s d i c t i o n , -- a m a t t e r which 
concerns 
t h e o l o g i c a l 
c o n t r o v e r s y , 
c h u r c h 
d i s c i p l i n e , 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l government, or 
the c o n f o r m i t y of the members of the c h u r c h 
t o the s t a n d a r d of morals r e q u i r e d of them, 
-- becomes the s u b j e c t of i t s a c t i o n . 
I t 
may 
be 
s a i d 
h e r e , 
a l s o , 
t h a t 
no 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
has 
been 
c o n f e r r e d 
on 
the 
t r i b u n a l t o t r y the p a r t i c u l a r case b e f o r e 
i t , 
or t h a t , i n i t s judgment, i t exceeds 
the powers c o n f e r r e d upon i t or t h a t the 
31 
1110868, 1110892 
laws 
o f the c h u r c h do not a u t h o r i z e the 
p a r t i c u l a r form of p r o c e e d i n g adopted; 
and 
i n a sense o f t e n used i n the c o u r t s , a l l 
of 
t h o s e 
may 
be 
s a i d 
t o 
be 
q u e s t i o n s 
of 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . ' 
"Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. 
(13 W a l l . ) 679, 733, 20 L. 
Ed. 666 
(1872). 
" S i n c e the o p i n i o n i n Watson, the Supreme C o u r t 
has 
c o n s i s t e n t l y 
r e f u s e d 
t o 
address 
c h u r c h 
c o n t r o v e r s y . 
In S e r b i a n E a s t e r n Orthodox D i o c e s e ,  
e t c . v. M i l i v o j e v i c h , 426 U.S. 
696, 96 S. C t . 2372, 
49 L. Ed. 2d 151 
(1976), the C o u r t c i t e d Watson f o r 
the 
p r o p o s i t i o n 
t h a t 
f e d e r a l 
c o u r t s 
l a c k 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
t o 
i n v e s t i g a t e 
whether 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
p u r s u a n t t o i n t e r n a l r e g u l a t i o n s of the c h u r c h were 
p r o c e d u r a l l y 
or 
s u b s t a n t i v e l y 
d e f e c t i v e . 
I d . a t 
711, 96 S. C t . a t 2381. 
The S e r b i a n C o u r t d e c l i n e d 
t o i n t e r f e r e w i t h the d e c i s i o n of the H o l y Synod of 
the 
S e r b i a n 
Orthodox 
Church 
(Mother 
Church) 
t o 
suspend 
and 
u l t i m a t e l y 
remove 
a 
b i s h o p 
o f 
the 
c h u r c h . 
The C o u r t h e l d : 
" ' C o n s i s t e n t l y 
w i t h 
the 
F i r s t 
and 
F o u r t e e n t h Amendments " c i v i l c o u r t s do not 
i n q u i r e whether the r e l e v a n t [ h i e r a r c h i c a l ] 
c h u r c h 
g o v e r n i n g 
body 
has 
power 
under 
r e l i g i o u s law [to d e c i d e such d i s p u t e s ] 
Such 
a 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n 
... 
f r e q u e n t l y 
n e c e s s i t a t e s 
the 
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n 
of 
ambiguous 
r e l i g i o u s 
law 
and 
usage. 
To 
p e r m i t c i v i l c o u r t s t o probe d e e p l y enough 
i n t o 
the 
a l l o c a t i o n 
of power 
w i t h i n 
a 
[ h i e r a r c h i c a l ] c h u r c h so as t o d e c i d e 
... 
r e l i g i o u s law [ g o v e r n i n g c h u r c h p o l i t y ] 
... 
would v i o l a t e the F i r s t Amendment i n much 
t h e same manner as 
c i v i l d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f 
r e l i g i o u s 
d o c t r i n e . ' 
" I d . a t 708-09, 96 S. C t . a t 2380 ( q u o t i n g MMd^ & Va. 
Churches v. Sharpsburg Church, 396 U.S. 
367, 369, 
90 
32 
1110868, 1110892 
S. 
C t . 
499, 
500, 
24 
L. Ed. 
2d 582 
(1970) 
(Brennan 
J . , 
c o n c u r r i n g ) ) . 
" I t i s f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t i n the absence of 
f r a u d , c o l l u s i o n , or a r b i t r a r i n e s s , the d e c i s i o n s of 
the 
p r o p e r 
c h u r c h 
t r i b u n a l s 
on 
m a t t e r s 
p u r e l y 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l , a l t h o u g h a f f e c t i n g c i v i l r i g h t s , 
are 
a c c e p t e d i n l i t i g a t i o n b e f o r e 
the s e c u l a r c o u r t s 
as 
c o n c l u s i v e . 
G o n z a l e z v. A r c h b i s h o p , 280 U.S. 
1, 
16, 
50 S. Ct. 5, 7-8, 
74 L. Ed. 131 
(1929). 
The 
g e n e r a l 
r u l e can thus be s t a t e d : 
C o u r t s s h o u l d be l o a t h t o 
a s s e r t 
j u r i s d i c t i o n over i n t e r n a l c h u r c h 
d i s p u t e s ; 
i t s 
e x c e p t i o n s 
are 
r a r e . 
S e r b i a n , 
426 
U.S. 
a t 
709-10, 96 S. C t . a t 2380-81; P r e s b y t e r i a n Church v.  
H u l l Church, 393 U.S. 
440, 
449, 
89 S. C t . 601, 
606, 
21 L. Ed. 
2d 658 
(1969). 
" T h i s 
c o u r t 
r e c o g n i z e s 
t h a t none of the above 
c i t e d d e c i s i o n s i n v o l v e d a d e f a m a t i o n a c t i o n b r o u g h t 
by a m i n i s t e r a g a i n s t 
the h i e r a r c h y of h i s c h u r c h . 
The 
i m p o r t a n c e we 
g l e a n 
from each o p i n i o n 
i s 
the 
C o u r t ' s extreme 
r e l u c t a n c e 
t o 
i n t e r f e r e w i t h 
the 
i n t e r n a l 
w o r k i n g s 
of 
the 
c h u r c h . 
We 
are 
a l s o 
c o g n i z a n t 
of 
the 
f a c t 
t h a t , 
i n 
t h i s 
case, 
the 
a l l e g e d d e f a m a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s 
do 
not 
e x p r e s s 
any 
r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s or b e l i e f s . 
However, the f a c t 
remains t h a t t h i s a c t i o n i s the r e s u l t of a c o n f l i c t 
c o n f i n e d 
w i t h i n 
the 
R e s u r r e c t i o n 
L u t h e r a n Church, 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the 
employment 
r e l a t i o n s h i p 
of 
i t s 
m i n i s t e r , 
and 
a d d r e s s e d 
i n 
a c c o r d a n c e 
w i t h 
the 
c h u r c h c o n s t i t u t i o n . As 
w i l l be d i s c u s s e d , 
we 
f i n d 
t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s d i c t a t e our l a c k of 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over the m a t t e r . 
"A 
m i n i s t e r ' s 
employment 
r e l a t i o n s h i p 
i s 
governed by 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l r u l e . 
Lewis v. 
Seventh  
Day A d v e n t i s t s Lake Region Conf., 978 
F.2d 
940, 
942 
(6th C i r . 1992). 
C i v i l 
c o u r t 
j u r i s d i c t i o n over a 
m i n i s t e r i a l 
employment 
d i s p u t e 
i s 
i m p e r m i s s i b l e 
because such i n t e r v e n t i o n would e x c e s s i v e l y 
i n h i b i t 
r e l i g i o u s 
l i b e r t y . 
I d . 
Only 
on 
r a r e 
o c c a s i o n s 
where 
t h e r e 
e x i s t s 
a 
c o m p e l l i n g 
g o v e r n m e n t a l 
33 
1110868, 1110892 
i n t e r e s t i n 
t h e 
r e g u l a t i o n o f p u b l i c h e a l t h , s a f e t y , 
and g e n e r a l w e l f a r e have t h e c o u r t s i n t e r f e r e d i n 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
m a t t e r s . 
Simpson v. W e l l s Lamont  
C o r p o r a t i o n , 494 F.2d 490, 493 (5th C i r . 1974). 
"Not o n l y i s 
t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between a c h u r c h 
and 
i t s p a s t o r 
an 
i n t e g r a l 
p a r t 
o f 
c h u r c h 
government, 
b u t 
a l l m a t t e r s 
t o u c h i n g 
t h i s 
r e l a t i o n s h i p a r e 
o f e c c l e s i a s t i c a l c o n c e r n . 
I d . a t 
493-94. 
I t 
makes 
no 
d i f f e r e n c e 
t h a t 
t h e 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l d i s p u t e f a i l s t o t o u c h on c h u r c h o r 
r e l i g i o u s d o c t r i n e . 
I d . 'Whose v o i c e speaks f o r 
the c h u r c h i s 
p e r 
se a r e l i g i o u s m a t t e r . 
We cannot 
imagine an a r e a o f i n q u i r y l e s s s u i t e d t o 
a t e m p o r a l 
c o u r t f o r d e c i s i o n ; 
e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e g i f t s and 
g r a c e s o f 
a m i n i s t e r must be l e f t t o e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
i n s t i t u t i o n s . ' 
M i n k e r v. B a l t i m o r e Annual 
Conf., 
894 F.2d 1354, 1357 (D.C. C i r . 1990). 
There i s 
no 
e x c e p t i o n 
t o t h e b a r a g a i n s t 
i n t e r f e r i n g 
w i t h 
m a t t e r s o f c h u r c h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . I d . 
"At l e a s t two c o u r t s have a d d r e s s e d the q u e s t i o n 
of whether t o e x e r c i s e f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n over a 
d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m and b o t h have d e c l i n e d t o do 
so. 
In F a r l e y v. W i s c o n s i n E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n Synod, 
821 F. Supp. 1286 (D. Minn. 1993), t h e 
p a s t o r o f 
a 
L u t h e r a n 
c h u r c h 
i n 
B a k e r s f i e l d , 
C a l i f o r n i a [ , ] 
b r o u g h t a d e f a m a t i o n 
a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e W i s c o n s i n 
E v a n g e l i c a l 
L u t h e r a n 
Synod 
('WELS') 
a f t e r 
WELS 
a l l e g e d l y p u b l i s h e d b o t h o r a l and 
w r i t t e n defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s about him d u r i n g i t s attempt t o remove 
him as p a s t o r . 
The c o u r t 
r e j e c t e d 
p l a i n t i f f ' s 
arguments ' t h a t r e s o l u t i o n o f h i s d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m 
would i m p l i c a t e no concern e x p r e s s e d i n 
t h e F i r s t 
Amendment 
because 
an 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
t h e d i s p u t e 
r e q u i r e s no e x a m i n a t i o n o f c h u r c h 
p r o c e d u r e s o r 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
d e c i s i o n s . ' 
I d . 
a t 1290. 
I n s t e a d 
the 
c o u r t 
d e t e r m i n e d 
t h a t 
r e s o l u t i o n 
o f t h e 
d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m 
would 
r e q u i r e 
t h e c o u r t t o 
i m p e r m i s s i b l y r e v i e w m a t t e r s o f r e l i g i o u s 
c o n c e r n . 
I d . 
A l o n g 
l i s t o f a u t h o r i t i e s 
d e n y i n g 
c o u r t s 
s u b j e c t 
m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over 
i n t e r n a l 
c h u r c h 
34 
1110868, 1110892 
d i s p u t e s mandated d i s m i s s a l o f the a c t i o n . 
I d . 
a t 
1288-90. 
"More 
i m p o r t a n t l y , the 
S i x t h 
C i r c u i t 
a l s o 
d i s m i s s e d a d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m f o r l a c k o f s u b j e c t 
m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n i n H u t c h i s o n v. Thomas, 789 F. 
2d 392 ( 6 t h 
C i r . 1986) 
. 
I n H u t c h i s o n , an o r d a i n e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
m i n i s t e r 
c h a l l e n g e d 
h i s 
e n f o r c e d 
r e t i r e m e n t under c h u r c h 
d i s c i p l i n a r y 
r u l e s . 
The 
named d e f e n d a n t s were the B i s h o p o f t h e M e t h o d i s t 
Church and t h r e e o f h i s s u b o r d i n a t e s , t h e J u d i c i a l 
C o u n c i l o f t h e Church, t h e E a s t Ohio Conference o f 
the Church, and t h e B o a r d o f O r d a i n e d 
M i n i s t r y o f 
the C o n f e r e n c e . 
Among the causes o f a c t i o n a s s e r t e d 
were c l a i m s f o r d e f a m a t i o n , 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n 
of e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s , and b r e a c h o f c o n t r a c t . 
"The 
p l a i n t i f f 
i n H u t c h i s o n 
c o m p l a i n e d 
o f 
s e v e r a l h e a r i n g s which were conducted c o n c e r n i n g 
h i s 
a b i l i t y t o r e l a t e p r o p e r l y t o h i s c o n g r e g a t i o n . He 
a l l e g e d 
t h a t 
t h r o u g h o u t 
t h e 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
t h e 
d e f e n d a n t s 
m i s r e p r e s e n t e d h i s c h u r c h 
r e l a t i o n s h i p s 
and defamed him by d e c l a r i n g him ' u n a p p o i n t a b l e ' due 
t o r e c u r r i n g problems w i t h l o c a l c o n g r e g a t i o n s . 
The 
S i x t h 
C i r c u i t 
u n e q u i v o c a l l y h e l d t h a t t h e c o u r t s 
c o u l d 
n o t 
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y 
i n t e r v e n e i n such 
a 
d i s p u t e : 
"'The Supreme C o u r t o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s 
has 
s t e a d f a s t l y 
u p h e l d 
t h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment's 
command 
t h a t 
s e c u l a r 
a u t h o r i t i e s 
may n o t i n t e r f e r e 
w i t h t h e 
i n t e r n a l 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
w o r k i n g s 
and 
d i s c i p l i n e s o f r e l i g i o u s b o d i e s , 
a l t h o u g h 
t h e r e may be o c c a s i o n s when 
c i v i l 
c o u r t s 
can r e s o l v e d i s p u t e s over t h e d i s p o s i t i o n 
and use o f c h u r c h p r o p e r t y . ' 
" I d . a t 393. 
"The H u t c h i s o n c o u r t found t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f ' s 
c l a i m s 
r e l a t e d t o h i s employment and s t a t u s as a 
35 
1110868, 1110892 
m i n i s t e r o f t h e c h u r c h . I d . a t 396. 
The 
a c t i o n 
t h e r e f o r e 
concerned 
i n t e r n a l 
c h u r c h 
d i s c i p l i n e , 
f a i t h , and o r g a n i z a t i o n , a l l 
o f which were governed 
by 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
r u l e , 
custom, o r law. I d . The 
c o u r t q u o t e d w i t h a p p r o v a l t h e F i f t h C i r c u i t o p i n i o n 
i n Simpson [v. 
W e l l s Lamont Corp., 494 F.2d 490 
( 5 t h 
C i r . 1 9 7 4 ) ] : 
" ' T h i s 
case 
i n v o l v e s 
t h e 
fundamental 
q u e s t i o n o f 
who w i l l p r e a c h from t h e p u l p i t 
of t h e c h u r c h , and who 
w i l l 
occupy t h e 
c h u r c h parsonage. 
The bare s t a t e m e n t o f 
the 
q u e s t i o n s h o u l d make o b v i o u s t h e l a c k 
of 
j u r i s d i c t i o n o f a 
c i v i l 
c o u r t . 
The 
answer t o t h a t q u e s t i o n must come from t h e 
c h u r c h . ' 
" I d . a t 394 ( q u o t i n g Simpson, 494 F.2d a t 492). 
" P a s t o r Yaggie p r i n c i p a l l y r e l i e s on M a r s h a l l v.  
Munro, 
A l a s k a , 
845 P.2d 424 
(1993), 
f o r t h e 
p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t h i s 
d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m s can p r o c e e d . 
In M a r s h a l l , t h e Supreme C o u r t o f A l a s k a r e v e r s e d a 
l o w e r 
c o u r t ' s 
d i s m i s s a l 
o f Reverend 
M a r s h a l l ' s 
d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m 
a g a i n s t a member o f t h e c h u r c h 
h i e r a r c h y . 
The c o u r t n o t e d t h a t '[m]ost cases a r e 
c o n s i s t e n t i n c o n c l u d i n g t h a t employment d i s p u t e s 
w i t h i n 
churches a r e c o r e 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
concerns 
o u t s i d e t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o f c i v i l 
c o u r t s . ' 
Id.. a t 
427. 
However, i t 
then found t h a t t h e d i s p u t e 
d i d 
not c o n c e r n p l a i n t i f f ' s 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s 
as a p a s t o r 
and a s s e r t i n g j u r i s d i c t i o n over t h e 
d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m 
was p r o p e r . 
"We choose n o t 
t o f o l l o w t h e 
M a r s h a l l r a t i o n a l e . 
F i r s t , i t appears t o be i n t e r n a l l y 
i n c o n s i s t e n t . 
Second, 
we 
cannot 
a l l o w 
i t t o 
outweigh 
t h e 
s u b s t a n t i a l 
f e d e r a l 
a u t h o r i t y 
h o l d i n g 
t o t h e 
c o n t r a r y . 
P a s t o r Yaggie c i t e s us no f e d e r a l cases 
i n s u p p o r t o f h i s p o s i t i o n , and we have f a i l e d t o 
f i n d any on our 
own. 
T h i s c o u r t d e c l i n e s t o 
d i s m i s s 
the 
l e n g t h y 
l i s t o f f e d e r a l p r e c e d e n t , 
i n c l u d i n g 
36 
1110868, 1110892 
t h i s 
c i r c u i t ' s 
H u t c h i s o n 
d e c i s i o n , 
i n f a v o r o f 
p l a i n t i f f ' s s t a t e c o u r t c i t a t i o n s . 
"The m a t t e r s i n t h i s case c o n c e r n t h e i n t i m a t e 
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a p a s t o r and h i s c o n g r e g a t i o n . 
In an attempt t o r e s o l v e an i n n e r c h u r c h 
c o n f l i c t , 
L u t h e r a n 
l e a d e r s h i p 
i n v e s t i g a t e d 
c o n g r e g a t i o n a l 
a t t i t u d e s toward P a s t o r Y a g g i e . 
The i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
was 
done i n accordance 
w i t h t h e 
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 
p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e c h u r c h . 
The a l l e g e d 
defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s 
were 
made 
i n 
c o n n e c t i o n 
w i t h t h e 
m e d i a t i o n p r o c e s s and s t r i c t l y w i t h i n t h e c o n f i n e s 
of t h e c h u r c h . 
"There can 
be no doubt t h a t t h e 
m a t t e r s i n t h i s 
case 
concerned t h e m i n i s t e r ' s 
c u r r e n t and f u t u r e 
employment r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e c h u r c h . 
As such, 
t h e y a r e m a t t e r s o f e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
c o n c e r n , 
over 
which 
t h i s 
c o u r t has no 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . 
Wisdom 
mandates 
t h a t 
we 
r e f r a i n 
from 
d i c t a t i n g 
t o a 
c o n g r e g a t i o n 
t h a t i f t h e y a r e unhappy w i t h 
t h e i r 
r e l i g i o u s 
l e a d e r t h e y 
cannot 
f r e e l y 
speak 
t h e i r 
mind. 
I n a m e d i a t i o n p r o c e s s between m i n i s t e r and 
c o n g r e g a t i o n , a l l 
p a r t i e s s h o u l d be a b l e t o e x p r e s s 
t h e i r i n n e r m o s t 
f e e l i n g s w i t h o u t f e a r o f r e p r i s a l 
from t h e c o u r t s . 
" I f we were t o a c c e p t 
j u r i s d i c t i o n over 
such 
m a t t e r s , i t would 
r e q u i r e us t o d e l v e 
i n t o t h e 
c h u r c h c o n s t i t u t i o n and i t s 
p r o c e d u r e s f o r s e t t l i n g 
i n t e r n a l d i s p u t e s . I f t r u t h were a d e f e n s e t o 
t h e 
d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m , we presumably 
c o u l d f a c e 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e m i n i s t e r ' s 
e f f e c t i v e n e s s . 
Not o n l y i s t h i s p r e c i s e l y what t h e F i r s t Amendment 
p r o h i b i t s , 
b u t Supreme 
C o u r t and S i x t h 
C i r c u i t 
a u t h o r i t y 
p r o h i b i t 
us 
from 
e x e r c i s i n g 
such 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
were we 
so 
i n c l i n e d . 
A c c o r d i n g l y , 
d e f e n d a n t ' s motion t o d i s m i s s f o r l a c k o f s u b j e c t 
m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n w i l l be GRANTED." 
860 F. Supp. a t 1197-1200 
( c a p i t a l i z a t i o n i n o r i g i n a l ) . 
37 
1110868, 1110892 
In 
T r i c e v. B u r r e s s , 
137 P.3d 1253 (Okla. C i v . App. 
2007), T r i c e , a member o f Wesley U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church o f 
Shawnee ("Wesley"), had been employed as a y o u t h d i r e c t o r a t 
Wesley. 
B u r r e s s was t h e s e n i o r m i n i s t e r a t Wesley. 
T r i c e 
a l l e g e d t h a t , on August 21, 2002, he was t e r m i n a t e d as 
t h e 
y o u t h d i r e c t o r " ' f o r r e a s o n s w h i c h a r e n o t c l e a r t o him'"; 
t h a t , 
" ' [ s ] u b s e q u e n t t o t h a t 
t i m e , 
B u r r e s s , 
a c t i n g i n h i s 
c a p a c i t y as S e n i o r 
M i n i s t e r o f Wesley, t o l d p e r s o n s i n 
t h e 
Church and i n 
t h e community t h a t 
[ T r i c e ] was t e r m i n a t e d 
from 
h i s j o b 
because he was q u e s t i o n i n g 
h i s s e x u a l i t y ' " ; and t h a t 
B u r r e s s ' s 
s t a t e m e n t s c o n s t i t u t e d s l a n d e r . 
137 P. 3d a t 1255. 
In t h e i r answer, B u r r e s s and 
Wesley d e n i e d t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t s 
had been made and a l t e r n a t i v e l y a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t s 
were 
e i t h e r 
t r u e 
o r made on a 
c o n d i t i o n a l l y p r i v i l e g e d 
o c c a s i o n . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , B u r r e s s and 
Wesley f i l e d a motion f o r 
a summary judgment and a t t a c h e d m a t e r i a l s t o show t h a t T r i c e 
had 
c o n t i n u e d 
h i s membership a t Wesley a f t e r h i s t e r m i n a t i o n 
as youth d i r e c t o r and t h a t B u r r e s s had p u b l i s h e d t h e s t a t e m e n t 
about T r i c e q u e s t i o n i n g h i s s e x u a l i t y o n l y t o 
one young member 
of Wesley. 
38 
1110868, 1110892 
" I n s u p p o r t o f i t s m o t i o n , C h u r c h [
3 ] 
a s s e r t e d , 
i n t e r a l i a , t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t by B u r r e s s c o n c e r n e d 
the i n t e r n a l d i s c i p l i n e o f an e x i s t i n g member, and 
t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t was p u b l i s h e d by B u r r e s s t o o n l y 
one member o f t h e Church, 
a l l o t h e r 
p u b l i c a t i o n s 
h a v i n g been by 
[ T r i c e ] . 
So, s a i d Church, i t 
was 
s 
h 
i 
e 
l 
d 
e 
d 
f 
r 
o 
m 
l 
i 
a 
b 
i 
l 
i 
t 
y 
b 
y 
t 
h 
e 
f r e e - e x e r c i s e - o f - r e l i g i o n 
c l a u s e 
o f 
t h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s C o n s t i t u t i o n . 
See, 
Hadnot v. Shaw, 1992 OK 21, 5 26, 826 P.2d 978, 987 
[ ( O k l a . 
1 9 9 2 ) ] ; 
Guinn 
v. 
Church 
o f 
C h r i s t 
o f  
C o l l i n s v i l l e , 1989 OK 8, 5 21, 775 P.2d 766, 774 
[ ( O k l a . 
1 9 5 9 ) ] . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , 
Church argued, t h e 
a l l e g e d s t a t e m e n t by B u r r e s s t o o t h e r member(s) o f 
the 
c o n g r e g a t i o n r e g a r d i n g 
[ T r i c e ' s ] 
t e r m i n a t i o n 
c o n s t i t u t e d p r i v i l e g e d communication(s) on m a t t e r s 
of common i n t e r e s t . See, 50 Am. J u r . 
2d, L i b e l and  
S l a n d e r , § 340.
3 See a l s o , 
Restatement 
o f Laws,  
Second, T o r t s 2d, § 596 (1977), comment ( e ) .
4 
"5 7 
[ T r i c e ] responded, o b j e c t i n g t o Church's 
m o t i o n f o r 
summary judgment. 
[ T r i c e ] c o n t e s t e d 
t h e 
a l l e g a t i o n 
o f a 
s i n g l e 
p u b l i c a t i o n 
by B u r r e s s , 
p o i n t i n g t o t h e d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y o f Ms. Heer 
w h i c h a r g u a b l y showed t h e p r e s e n c e o f one o r two 
o t h e r young members o f t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n a t t h e time 
B u r r e s s 
made 
t h e a l l e g e d 
defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t . 
[ T r i c e ] 
a l s o 
adduced 
n o t e s 
from t h e m e e t i n g o f 
Wesley's g o v e r n i n g b o a r d a r g u a b l y d e m o n s t r a t i n g 
h i s 
t e r m i n a t i o n 
f o r b r e a c h o f p o l i c y 
and p r o c e d u r e 
g o v e r n i n g 
t h e 
conduct 
and 
f i n a n c i n g 
o f 
y o u t h 
o u t i n g s , and f u r t h e r argued t h a t B u r r e s s ' s t a t e m e n t 
d i d 
not c o n s e q u e n t l y c o n c e r n t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f 
d i s c i p l i n e 
f o r v i o l a t i o n 
o f any 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
d o c t r i n e o f t h e 
M e t h o d i s t Church. 
So, s a i d 
[ T r i c e ] , 
B u r r e s s ' s s t a t e m e n t s t o o d o u t s i d e 
F i r s t Amendment 
p r o t e c t i o n s . Guinn, 1989 OK 8, 5 34, 775 P.2d a t 
779, f n . 
48. 
3The Oklahoma C o u r t o f C i v i l A p p e a l s r e f e r r e d t o B u r r e s s 
and Wesley c o l l e c t i v e l y as "Church." 
39 
1110868, 1110892 
II 
"
3 ' I t seems a p p a r e n t t h a t the common i n t e r e s t of 
members of 
r e l i g i o u s 
a s s o c i a t i o n s 
i s such 
as 
t o 
a f f o r d 
the 
p r o t e c t i o n 
of 
q u a l i f i e d 
p r i v i l e g e 
t o 
communications between them i n f u r t h e r a n c e of 
t h e i r 
common purpose 
or 
i n t e r e s t . 
Thus, 
communications 
between 
members 
of 
a 
r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the conduct of o t h e r members or 
o f f i c e r s 
i n 
t h e i r 
c a p a c i t y 
as 
such 
are 
q u a l i f i e d l y 
p r i v i l e g e d . 
I t has been s a i d t h a t a p r i e s t and h i s 
c h u r c h have a mutual i n t e r e s t i n p r e s e r v i n g 
r e s p e c t 
f o r , 
and 
o b e d i e n c e 
t o , 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
e d i c t s 
of 
t h e i r 
g o v e r n i n g 
a u t h o r i t y , 
w i t h 
a 
q u a l i f i e d 
p r i v i l e g e t o r e f u t e and negate the e f f o r t s of anyone 
p u b l i c l y c h a l l e n g i n g i t s o r d e r s and t e a c h i n g s , 
s h o r t 
of 
e x p r e s s l y 
or 
i m p l i e d l y 
c h a r g i n g 
p e r s o n a l 
i m m o r a l i t y or c r i m i n a l i t y 
' 
(Footnotes o m i t t e d . ) 
"
4'The common i n t e r e s t of members of 
r e l i g i o u s , 
f r a t e r n a l , 
c h a r i t a b l e 
or 
o t h e r 
n o n - p r o f i t 
a s s o c i a t i o n s , 
w h e t h e r 
i n c o r p o r a t e d 
o r 
u n i n c o r p o r a t e d , 
i s 
r e c o g n i z e d 
as 
s u f f i c i e n t 
t o 
s u p p o r t 
a 
p r i v i l e g e 
f o r 
communications 
among 
t h e m s e l v e s 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s 
of 
the 
o f f i c e r s and members and t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the 
a c t i v i t i e s of the s o c i e t y . T h i s i s t r u e whether the 
d e f a m a t o r y m a t t e r r e l a t e s 
t o a l l e g e d m i s c o n d u c t of 
some o t h e r member t h a t makes him 
u n d e s i r a b l e 
f o r 
c o n t i n u e d 
membership, 
or 
the 
conduct 
of 
a 
p r o s p e c t i v e member. 
So t o o , the r u l e i s a p p l i c a b l e 
t o communications between members and 
o f f i c e r s 
of 
the o r g a n i z a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g 
the l e g i t i m a t e conduct 
of the a c t i v i t i e s f o r w h i c h i t was 
o r g a n i z e d 
'" 
137 P. 3d a t 1256-57 (some f o o t n o t e s o m i t t e d ) . 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , 
the 
t r i a l 
c o u r t g r a n t e d 
B u r r e s s 
and Wesley's motion f o r a 
summary judgment, 
and 
T r i c e a p p e a l e d . 
In 
a d d r e s s i n g 
the 
i s s u e , the Oklahoma C o u r t of C i v i l A p p e a l s s t a t e d : 
40 
1110868, 1110892 
"5 12 
The f r e e - e x e r c i s e - o f - r e l i g i o n c l a u s e o f 
the 
F i r s t 
Amendment 
t o 
t h e 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
C o n s t i t u t i o n g u a r a n t e e s a c h u r c h t h e r i g h t , w i t h o u t 
f e a r o f j u d i c i a l 
i n t e r f e r e n c e , t o impose on 
i t s 
members 
d i s c i p l i n e 
f o r b r e a c h o f 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
d o c t r i n e so l o n g as t h e member remains a member o f 
the 
c h u r c h . 
Guinn 
[v. Church 
o f 
C h r i s t 
o f 
C o l l i n s v i l l e ] , 1989 OK 8, 5 21, 775 P.2d [774,] 774 
[ ( O k l a . 
1 9 8 9 ) ] . 
C o n s e q u e n t l y , 
' [ t ] h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment w i l l p r o t e c t and s h i e l d t h e r e l i g i o u s body 
from [ t o r t ] l i a b i l i t y f o r 
t h e a c t i v i t i e s c a r r i e d on 
p u r s u a n t t o t h e e x e r c i s e o f c h u r c h d i s c i p l i n e , ' and 
' [ w ] i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
d i s c i p l i n e , 
churches e n j o y an a b s o l u t e 
p r i v i l e g e from s c r u t i n y 
by t h e s e c u l a r a u t h o r i t y . ' 
Hadnot [v. Shaw], 1992 
OK 21, 5 26, 826 P.2d [978,] 987 
[ ( O k l a . 
1 9 9 2 ) ] ; 
Guinn, 1989 OK 8, 5 21, 775 P.2d a t 774. Only where 
the i m p o s i t i o n o f e c c l e s i a s t i c a l d i s c i p l i n e poses an 
immediate 
t h r e a t t o 'the p u b l i c 
s a f e t y , peace o r 
o r d e r ' 
i s t h e mantle o f a b s o l u t e 
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 
p r i v i l e g e shed. 
Guinn, 1989 OK 8, 55 14, 18, 775 
P.2d a t 770-771, 773. 
"5 13 T r i c e 
argued, however, 
t h a t t h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment 
o f f e r e d 
no 
p r o t e c t i o n 
t o 
d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s 
u n r e l a t e d 
t o c h u r c h 
d i s c i p l i n e . 
I n 
s u p p o r t , 
[ T r i c e ] p o i n t e d t o b o t h Guinn and Hadnot 
r e c o g n i z i n g 
t h a t , ' " [ u ] n d e r t h e banner o f t h e F i r s t 
Amendment p r o v i s i o n s on r e l i g i o n , a clergyman may 
not 
w i t h 
i m p u n i t y defame a p e r s o n , i n t e n t i o n a l l y 
i n f l i c t 
s e r i o u s e m o t i o n a l harm on a p a r i s h i o n e r , o r 
commit o t h e r t o r t s , " ' and t h a t , ' [ a ] t t h e p o i n t when 
the church-member r e l a t i o n s h i p i s 
s e v e r e d t h r o u g h an 
a f f i r m a t i v e a c t 
e i t h e r o f a p a r i s h i o n e r ' s w i t h d r a w a l 
or o f excommunication by t h e e c c l e s i a s t i c a l body, 
the 
a b s o l u t e 
p r i v i l e g e from t o r t 
l i a b i l i t y no 
l o n g e r 
a t t a c h e s . ' 
Guinn, 1989 OK 8, 5 34, 775 P.2d 
a t 779, f n . 
48; Hadnot, 1992 OK 21, 5 32, 826 P.2d 
a t 
989. 
So, 
s a i d 
[ T r i c e ] , because 
B u r r e s s ' s 
s t a t e m e n t came s i x months 
a f t e r t h e 
t e r m i n a t i o n 
d e c i s i o n and d i d not a c c u r a t e l y convey t h e g o v e r n i n g 
b o a r d ' s p r o f e s s e d 
r e a s o n s f o r 
h i s t e r m i n a t i o n , t h e 
41 
1110868, 1110892 
F i r s t Amendment b a r r e c o g n i z e d i n Guinn and Hadnot 
d i d n o t a p p l y . 
"5 14 We 
d i s a g r e e . 
The s t a t e m e n t o f w h i c h 
[ T r i c e ] c o m p l a i n e d r e l a t e d t o t h e o s t e n s i b l e r e a s o n 
f o r h i s t e r m i n a t i o n , conveyed from t h e p a s t o r t o a 
member o f t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e conduct o f 
a n o t h e r member. A t l e a s t one c o u r t has s p e c i f i c a l l y 
h e l d t h a t s t a t e m e n t s by and between c h u r c h members 
' r e l a t [ i n g ] t o t h e Church's r e a s o n s and m o t i v e s f o r 
t e r m i n a t i n g [ p a r i s h i o n e r s ' ] membership' ' r e q u i r e an 
i m p e r m i s s i b l e 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
Church 
d i s c i p l i n a r y 
m a t t e r s , ' and t h a t t h e F i r s t Amendment p r e c l u d e s a 
member's d e f a m a t i o n ' c l a i m [which] c l e a r l y 
i n v o l v e s 
an i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t w i t h i n t h e Church.' 
Schoenhals 
 
v. Mains, 504 N.W.2d 233, 236 (Minn. App. 1993). 
We 
are 
p e r s u a d e d 
t h a t 
e x a m i n a t i o n 
o f 
B u r r e s s ' s 
s t a t e m e n t i n t h e p r e s e n t case l i k e w i s e r e q u i r e s an 
i m p e r m i s s i b l e 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
Church 
d i s c i p l i n a r y 
m a t t e r s , b a r r e d by t h e F i r s t Amendment. 
"5 15 Even i f 
not a b s o l u t e l y b a r r e d by t h e F i r s t 
Amendment, Church i s 
s h i e l d e d from t o r t l i a b i l i t y by 
a c o n d i t i o n a l o r q u a l i f i e d p r i v i l e g e . 
I n a d d i t i o n 
to 
t h e a b s o l u t e immunity 
a f f o r d e d by t h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment, a c h u r c h o r o t h e r r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n 
o r d i n a r i l y b e a r s no t o r t l i a b i l i t y f o r 
s t a t e m e n t s by 
or between c h u r c h o f f i c e r s o r members c o n c e r n i n g 
t h e 
conduct 
o f 
o t h e r 
o f f i c e r s 
o r members, 
because 
'communications 
between 
members 
o f a 
r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e conduct o f o t h e r members 
or 
o f f i c e r s 
i n 
t h e i r 
c a p a c i t y 
as 
such 
a r e 
q u a l i f i e d l y 
p r i v i l e g e d ' 
as 
m a t t e r s 
a f f e c t i n g 
a 
common i n t e r e s t o r p u r p o s e . 
50 Am. J u r . 
2d, L i b e l  
and S l a n d e r , § 340; Restatement o f T o r t s 2d, § 596, 
comment 
( e ) . 
T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y so where 'the 
p u b l i c a t i o n i s 
made i n response t o a r e q u e s t r a t h e r 
than v o l u n t e e r e d 
by t h e p u b l i s h e r . ' 
Restatement o f  
T o r t s 
2d, § 5 9 5 ( 2 ) ( a ) . 
So, where t h e 
a l l e g e d 
defamatory s t a t e m e n t s a r e exchanged by o r between 
members o f t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n d u r i n g o r as r e s u l t o f 
e i t h e r a c h u r c h ' s 
d e c i s i o n t o employ, 
r e t a i n o r 
42 
1110868, 1110892 
t e r m i n a t e a clergyman o r l a y employee, o r 
a c h u r c h ' s 
r e v i e w o f t h e performance o f a clergyman o r 
l a y 
employee, 
t h e c o n d i t i o n a l 
p r i v i l e g e s h i e l d s t h e 
c h u r c h from 
l i a b i l i t y f o r 
d e f a m a t i o n . 
See, 
e.g., 
S t a t e ex r e l . Gaydos v. B l a e u e r , 81 S.W.3d 186 (Mo. 
App. 
2 
0 
0 
2 ) ; 
S i n g l e t o n 
v. 
C h r i s t 
t h e 
S e r v a n t  
E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n Church, 541 N.W.2d 606 (Minn. 
App. 
1 9 9 6 )
1 0 ; J o i n e r v. Weeks, 383 So. 2d 101 
(La. 
App. 1 9 8 0 )
1 1 ; R a n k i n v. P h i l l i p p e , 206 Pa. Super. 27, 
211 A.2d 56 ( 1 9 6 5 )
1 2 ; S l o c i n s k i v. Radwan, 83 N.H. 
501, 144 A. 787 ( 1 9 2 9 ) .
1 3 
II 
"
1 0'The a l l e g e d l y defamatory s t a t e m e n t s i n t h i s 
case, 
a l l 
o f which 
t h e 
r e c o r d 
r e f l e c t s 
were 
communicated 
a t t a s k 
f o r c e 
meetings 
o r 
Church 
c o u n c i l meetings and d e a l t w i t h S i n g l e t o n ' s 
a c t i o n s 
as a p a s t o r , 
f a l l 
w i t h i n t h e Church's 
c o n d i t i o n a l 
p r i v i l e g e . ' 
"
1 1'To d e c i d e 
t h i s 
case we must b a l a n c e t h e 
r i g h t o f an i n d i v i d u a l t o p r o t e c t h i s good name and 
r e p u t a t i o n 
a g a i n s t 
t h e 
r i g h t 
o f a 
r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n t o conduct i t s a f f a i r s 
f r e e o f 
c i v i l 
c o u r t s c r u t i n y o r i n t r u s i o n . The b a l a n c e we s t r i k e 
f a v o r s t h e 
r e l i g i o u s o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n c e we 
r e c o g n i z e 
t h a t a q u a l i f i e d p r i v i l e g e e x i s t s w h i c h p r o t e c t s t h e 
a c t i o n s o f t h e 
Board and t h e s t a t e m e n t s made by 
t h e 
B o a r d 
members 
d u r i n g 
t h e December 
10, 1976, 
m e e t i n g . ' 
"
1 2 ' [ I ] n t h e i n s t a n t case a l l 
o f t h e 
members o f 
the 
C h e s t e r c h u r c h had a common i n t e r e s t i n 
t h e 
c o n t r o v e r s i e s t h a t o c c a s i o n e d t h e 
appointment o f t h e 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
commission and i t s r e p o r t . As t h e 
c o u r t below s a i d : 
"Thus, t h e c o n d i t i o n a l p r i v i l e g e 
extends t o t h e members o f t h e T h i r d 
P r e s b y t e r i a n 
Church, a l l 
o f 
whom had a v e r y r e a l i n t e r e s t i n t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n 
o f problems 
w h i c h 
had 
i n v o l v e d t h e 
h a n d l i n g o f 
t h e 
c h u r c h ' s a f f a i r s . 
P u b l i c a t i o n c o u l d 
o n l y have been e x c e s s i v e 
i f 
i t 
had been made t o 
43 
1110868, 1110892 
p e r s o n s who d i d 
n o t have a common i n t e r e s t , and no 
such p u b l i c a t i o n was made. 
[ I ] t 
i s 
t h e d u t y o f 
t h e 
c o u r t , n o t t h e j u r y , t o r u l e on t h e q u e s t i o n o f 
c o n d i t i o n a l 
p r i v i l e g e , 
and, by 
d e f i n i t i o n , 
t h e 
c o n d i t i o n a l p r i v i l e g e i n t h i s case e x t e n d e d t o those 
i n t h e T h i r d P r e s b y t e r i a n Church. 
P u b l i c a t i o n t o 
t h e s e members c o u l d n o t have been an abuse o f t h a t 
p r i v i l e g e . " 
The c o u r t p r o p e r l y d e t e r m i n e d , 
as a 
m a t t e r 
o f 
law, 
t h a t 
t h e 
communication 
was 
c o n d i t i o n a l l y 
p r i v i l e g e d . ' 
"
1 3'The 
i d e a t h a t t h e conduct o f a 
m i n i s t e r 
s h o u l d be mentioned 
u n f a v o r a b l y 
o n l y a t 
c h u r c h 
m e e t i n g s , o r b e f o r e t r i b u n a l s h a v i n g a u t h o r i t y i n 
the p r e m i s e s , s u g g e s t s an u n d e s i r a b l e d e p a r t u r e from 
the u s u a l c o u r s e o f e v e n t s 
I n d i v i d u a l 
c h u r c h 
members a r e n o t accustomed t o b r i n g t h e v a r i o u s 
i t e m s o f g o s s i p which may be i n c i r c u l a t i o n 
about 
t h e 
m i n i s t e r 
t o t h e a t t e n t i o n 
o f t h e g o v e r n i n g 
boards o f t h e c h u r c h , nor i s i t d e s i r a b l e t h a t t h e y 
s h o u l d do so 
[ I ] n s t a n c e s i n which charges a r e 
p r e s e n t e d 
and h e a r d 
by t h e 
c o n s t i t u t e d 
c h u r c h 
a u t h o r i t i e s e v i d e n c e t h e c u l m i n a t i o n 
o f 
c o n s i d e r a b l e 
p e r i o d s o f p r i v a t e d i s c u s s i o n amongst t h e 
members o f 
the c o n g r e g a t i o n s i n v o l v e d . 
Any r u l e d e s i g n e d t o 
p e n a l i z e t h e f o r m a t i o n o f p u b l i c s e n t i m e n t i n such 
cases 
by 
a r r e s t i n g 
t h e p r e l i m i n a r y 
s i f t i n g 
o f 
r e p o r t s t h r o u g h p r i v a t e 
d i s c u s s i o n , 
f r e e from t h e 
t a i n t o f m a l i c e and f o r 
a p r o p e r purpose, i s 
w i t h o u t 
j u s t i f i c a t i o n 
and would be foredoomed t o p r a c t i c a l 
f a i l u r e as an a t t e m p t t o decree t h a t men and women 
s h a l l n o t a c t l i k e human b e i n g s . ' " 
137 P. 3d a t 1258-59 ( f o o t n o t e s o m i t t e d ) . 
In S e e f r i e d v. Hummel, 148 P. 3d 184 ( C o l o . App. 2005), 
the p l a i n t i f f s , R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d , James S e e f r i e d , and C o l o r a d o 
D i g i t a l Systems, LLC ("CDS"), sued Hans Hummel, Kim Hummel, 
John B u d i s h , and F o r t 
C o l l i n s 
B i b l e Church 
("the c h u r c h " ) . 
44 
1110868, 1110892 
They a l s o sued Matt Homolka, Bob Herd, D i c k Berg, Dan 
S t o w e l l , 
and D a v i d B i s c h o f f , b o t h i n d i v i d u a l l y and 
as members of 
the 
b o a r d of d i r e c t o r s of the 
c h u r c h . 
R i c h a r d 
was 
the 
s e n i o r 
p a s t o r a t the c h u r c h , James was 
the a s s o c i a t e p a s t o r , and 
CDS 
was 
a c o r p o r a t i o n owned by James. 
A d d i t i o n a l l y , James 
had 
h i r e d Hans and 
Kim Hummel and 
B u d i s h t o work a t CDS. 
The 
f i r s t amended c o m p l a i n t 
a l l e g e d t h a t Hans and Kim Hummel and 
B u d i s h had "'engaged i n c e r t a i n a c t i v i t i e s , which r e s u l t e d i n 
t h e i r 
c e s s a t i o n 
as 
employees 
[ w i t h CDS].' 
That 
d i s p u t e 
s u b s e q u e n t l y became 'an i s s u e w i t h the 
[ c h u r c h ] . ' " 
148 
P.3d 
a t 187. 
A f t e r s e v e r a l c h u r c h m e e t i n g s , the c h u r c h 
t e r m i n a t e d 
R i c h a r d ' s 
employment, but 
i t was 
u n c l e a r whether James 
had 
a l r e a d y 
r e s i g n e d 
as 
a s s o c i a t e 
p a s t o r 
a t 
t h a t 
t i m e . 
The 
c o m p l a i n t 
a l l e g e d t h a t R i c h a r d had been d i s c h a r g e d 
as 
p a s t o r 
"based on t h i s 
' s e c u l a r non-church i s s u e . ' " 
I d . 
The 
c o m p l a i n t 
s e t 
f o r t h 
t h r e e 
c l a i m s 
f o r 
r e l i e f . 
However, the C o l o r a d o C o u r t of A p p e a l s s t a t e d : 
" I t i s p l a i n t i f f s ' second c l a i m t h a t i s a t i s s u e 
h e r e . 
In t h i s c l a i m , p l a i n t i f f s a l l e g e t h a t R i c h a r d 
S e e f r i e d had been employed w i t h the c h u r c h 
s u b j e c t 
t o an 
'express i n d e f i n i t e c o n t r a c t ' t h a t 
c o n t a i n e d 
' r e c i p r o c a l d u t i e s of good f a i t h and 
f a i r d e a l i n g . ' 
They 
f u r t h e r 
a l l e g e 
t h a t , 
i n 
v i o l a t i o n 
of 
the 
c h u r c h ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n and i t s c o n t r a c t of employment 
w i t h 
R i c h a r d 
S e e f r i e d , 
the 
c h u r c h 
and 
the 
b o a r d 
45 
1110868, 1110892 
a r r a n g e d 
a 
' p u b l i c m e e t i n g ' 
w i t h i t s 
members t o 
d i s c u s s 
a p p a r e n t 
d i s c o m f o r t 
w i t h 
him as 
t h e i r 
p a s t o r . 
P l a i n t i f f s 
c l a i m 
t h a t , i n v i o l a t i o n o f 
i n t e r n a l 
c h u r c h 
p r o c e d u r e and i t s c o n t r a c t 
w i t h 
R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d , a l l 
d e f e n d a n t s p a r t i c i p a t e d 
i n t h e 
m e e t i n g , 
s i g n e d 
p e t i t i o n s , 
o r 
made 
f a l s e , 
s l a n d e r o u s , 
o r 
l i b e l o u s 
s t a t e m e n t s 
a g a i n s t 
p l a i n t i f f s , and t h a t R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d was u n l a w f u l l y 
t e r m i n a t e d as a r e s u l t o f t h i s m e e t i n g . 
P l a i n t i f f s 
c l a i m 
t h a t as a consequence, 
a l l d e f e n d a n t s a r e 
l i a b l e 
f o r 
' s l a n d e r , 
l i b e l , 
t h e 
i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n t e r f e r e n c e 
w i t h 
b u s i n e s s 
r e l a t i o n s h i p s , and 
o u t r a g e o u s c o n d u c t ' f o r 
t h e s t a t e m e n t s made 
d u r i n g 
t h i s m e e t i n g . " 
148 P.3d a t 187. S u b s e q u e n t l y , t h e d e f e n d a n t s f i l e d a motion 
to 
d i s m i s s t h e c l a i m s a g a i n s t them on t h e grounds t h a t t h e 
t r i a l c o u r t d i d 
n o t have s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n and t h a t 
the p l a i n t i f f s had f a i l e d t o s t a t e a c l a i m upon w h i c h 
r e l i e f 
can be g r a n t e d . 
The t r i a l 
c o u r t g r a n t e d t h e m o t i o n i n p a r t 
and d i s m i s s e d t h e p l a i n t i f f s ' d e f a m a t i o n and r e l a t e d c l a i m s 
t h a t were based on t h e s t a t e m e n t s p u b l i s h e d a t t h e c h u r c h 
m e e t i n g f o r 
l a c k o f s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . 
On a p p e a l , 
the p l a i n t i f f s contended t h a t t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t e r r e d when 
i t 
r e f u s e d t o e x e r c i s e 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over 
those 
c l a i m s . 
I n 
a d d r e s s i n g 
t h i s i s s u e , t h e C o l o r a d o C o u r t o f A p p e a l s s t a t e d : 
"As r e l e v a n t here, t h e c o u r t d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s w h i c h gave 
r i s e t o p l a i n t i f f s ' 
c l a i m s 
were i s s u e d w i t h i n t h e ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y 
p r o t e c t e d 
c o n t e x t ' o f t h e F i r s t Amendment o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s 
C o n s t i t u t i o n because t h e y o c c u r r e d d u r i n g a 
c h u r c h 
46 
1110868, 1110892 
meeting 
t h a t 
concerned 
t h e 
' i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
d i s c i p l i n e 
and 
d i s c h a r g e 
o f R i c h a r d and James 
S e e f r i e d . ' 
The c o u r t , 
c o n s e q u e n t l y , 
d e c l i n e d t o 
e x e r c i s e 
s u b j e c t m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over 
t h e s e 
c l a i m s . 
P l a i n t i f f s c o n t e n d t h a t t h i s was e r r o r as 
a m a t t e r o f law. We agree w i t h t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t . 
" I n c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s , t h e F i r s t Amendment 
p r e c l u d e s a c o u r t from e x e r c i s i n g j u r i s d i c t i o n over 
c l a i m s 
c o n c e r n i n g 
a 
r e l i g i o u s 
i n s t i t u t i o n ' s 
a c t i v i t i e s 
on m a t t e r s 
o f 
r e l i g i o u s 
d o c t r i n e o r 
a u t h o r i t y . 
See, e.g., S e r b i a n E. Orthodox D i o c e s e  
v. M i l i v o j e v i c h , 426 U.S. 696, 96 S. C t . 2372, 49 L. 
Ed. 
2d 151 
(1976) 
( c o u r t 
l a c k s 
j u r i s d i c t i o n t o 
i n v e s t i g a t e whether i n t e r n a l r e g u l a t o r y p r o c e e d i n g s 
of t h e c h u r c h were p r o c e d u r a l l y o r s u b s t a n t i v e l y 
d e f e c t i v e ) ; K e d r o f f v. S t . N i c h o l a s C a t h e d r a l , 344 
U.S. 94, 116, 73 S. C t . 143, 154, 97 L. Ed. 120 
(1952) 
( ' r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n s 
[have] 
an 
independence from s e c u l a r c o n t r o l o r m a n i p u l a t i o n , 
i n s h o r t , power t o d e c i d e f o r 
t h e m s e l v e s , f r e e from 
s t a t e i n t e r f e r e n c e , m a t t e r s o f c h u r c h government as 
w e l l as t h o s e o f f a i t h and d o c t r i n e ' ) . 
The C o l o r a d o 
Supreme C o u r t has r e c o g n i z e d t h a t 
c o u r t s have no 
a u t h o r i t y t o d e t e r m i n e c l a i m s which d i r e c t l y c o n c e r n 
a c h u r c h ' s c h o i c e o f m i n i s t e r . 
Van Osdol v. Vogt, 
908 
P.2d 
1122 
( C o l o . 
1996) 
( c o u r t 
l a c k e d 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over 
c l a i m s 
b r o u g h t 
by 
a 
former 
m i n i s t e r 
a g a i n s t a 
c h u r c h 
a r i s i n g 
out o f t h e 
c h u r c h ' s d e c i s i o n n o t t o employ t h e m i n i s t e r ) . 
"  
"... [T]he Van Osdol 
c o u r t h e l d t h a t once a 
c o u r t 
i s 
c a l l e d 
on 
t o 
e v a l u a t e 
a 
r e l i g i o u s 
o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s 
d i s c i p l i n e 
o f i t s c l e r g y , 
as was 
r a i s e d by t h e m i n i s t e r ' s 
c l a i m s , 
b o t h 
t h e Free 
E x e r c i s e C l a u s e and t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t C l a u s e o f 
t h e 
F i r s t Amendment p r o h i b i t f u r t h e r 
i n q u i r y . 
"However, Van Osdol 
a l s o 
r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e 
F i r s t Amendment i s 
n o t an a b s o l u t e b a r 
t o a l l 
c l a i m s 
47 
1110868, 1110892 
a g a i n s t 
a 
r e l i g i o u s 
i n s t i t u t i o n 
and 
t h a t 
a 
m i n i s t e r ' s c l a i m a g a i n s t a c h u r c h may be a c t i o n a b l e 
i f 
i t can 
'be 
a d d r e s s e d 
w i t h o u t 
r e s o r t 
t o 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l p o l i c y . ' 
Van Osdol v. Vogt, s u p r a , 
908 P.2d a t 1128 n. 8, 1129, 1134 ('We do n o t 
by 
t h i s o p i n i o n h o l d t h a t churches a r e i n s u l a t e d from 
the law. We do n o t a d d r e s s 
v a r i o u s 
c l a i m s 
t h a t 
c o u l d be b r o u g h t by a m i n i s t e r a g a i n s t h i s 
o r 
h e r 
c h u r c h . ' ) ; 
see a l s o 
M i n k e r 
v. B a l t i m o r e 
Annual 
 
C o n f e r e n c e , s u p r a , 894 F.2d 
a t 1360-61 
( p l a i n t i f f ' s 
c o n t r a c t 
c l a i m 
a g a i n s t 
c h u r c h n o t 
a u t o m a t i c a l l y 
b a r r e d by t h e F i r s t Amendment where 
c l a i m 
c o u l d 
p o t e n t i a l l y be a d d r e s s e d w i t h o u t a n a l y s i s o f c h u r c h 
d o c t r i n e ) ; Moses v. D i o c e s e o f C o l o . , 863 P.2d 
310, 
320-21 (Colo. 1993) ( c l a i m o f n e g l i g e n t h i r i n g o f 
a 
m i n i s t e r i s a c t i o n a b l e because i t 
does n o t r e q u i r e 
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o r w e i g h i n g o f r e l i g i o u s 
b e l i e f ) . 
" C o l o r a d o a p p e l l a t e 
c o u r t s have n o t a d d r e s s e d 
whether 
d e f a m a t i o n , 
t o r t i o u s 
i n t e r f e r e n c e , 
outrageous 
conduct, o r s i m i l a r 
t y p e s o f 
c l a i m s , 
b r o u g h t by a m i n i s t e r a g a i n s t h i s 
o r h e r c h u r c h o r 
c h u r c h 
members, 
a r e 
p r o t e c t e d 
by 
t h e 
F i r s t 
Amendment. 
However, 
d e c i s i o n s 
from 
o t h e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n s 
t h a t have a d d r e s s e d 
s i m i l a r 
i s s u e s 
p r o v i d e 
s i g n i f i c a n t 
g u i d a n c e . 
Based 
on 
t h e s e 
a u t h o r i t i e s , and 
i n l i g h t o f t h e p o l i c i e s e x p r e s s e d 
i n 
Van 
O s d o l , 
we 
c o n c l u d e 
t h a t , 
under t h e 
c i r c u m s t a n c e s h e r e , t h e t r i a l c o u r t p r o p e r l y 
r e f u s e d 
t o e x e r c i s e 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . 
" I n Heard v. Johnson, 810 
A.2d 
871 (D.C. 2002), 
the D i s t r i c t o f Columbia C o u r t o f A p p e a l s 
a d d r e s s e d 
a 
p a s t o r ' s 
d e f a m a t i o n 
c l a i m 
b r o u g h t 
a g a i n s t t h e 
t r u s t e e s o f a c h u r c h . I n a t h o u g h t f u l 
o p i n i o n , t h e 
c o u r t 
f i r s t 
o b s e r v e d : 
"'Under most c i r c u m s t a n c e s , d e f a m a t i o n i s 
one o f t h o s e common law c l a i m s t h a t i s n o t 
c o m p e l l i n g 
enough 
t o 
overcome 
F i r s t 
Amendment p r o t e c t i o n s u r r o u n d i n g a c h u r c h ' s 
c h o i c e 
o f 
p a s t o r a l 
l e a d e r . 
When 
a 
48 
1110868, 1110892 
d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m a r i s e s e n t i r e l y out of a 
c h u r c h ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h i t s 
p a s t o r , the 
c l a i m i s a l m o s t always deemed t o be beyond 
the 
r e a c h 
of 
c i v i l 
c o u r t s 
because 
r e s o l u t i o n of t h e c l a i m would 
r e q u i r e 
an 
i m p e r m i s s i b l e 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
the 
c h u r c h ' s 
bases f o r i t s a c t i o n . ' 
"Heard v. Johnson, s u p r a , 810 A.2d a t 883. 
" A f t e r t h o r o u g h l y r e v i e w i n g the r e l e v a n t 
case 
law, the c o u r t d e t e r m i n e d t h a t , i n most d e f a m a t i o n 
c a s e s , 
'the a l l e g e d d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s d i d not 
o v e r t l y e x p r e s s any r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s or b e l i e f s , 
b u t 
a l l the 
a c t i o n s 
r e s u l t e d 
from 
c o n f l i c t s 
" c o n f i n e d w i t h i n " the churches i n v o l v e d . ' 
Heard v.  
Johnson, 
s u p r a , 810 A.2d 
a t 884. 
C o n c l u d i n g t h a t 
the 
a l l e g e d defamatory s t a t e m e n t s would r e q u i r e an 
e x a m i n a t i o n o f the c h u r c h ' s reasons f o r d i s m i s s a l of 
the 
p l a i n t i f f 
as 
p a s t o r , t h e 
c o u r t d e c l i n e d 
t o 
e x e r c i s e 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over the 
c l a i m . 
The 
c o u r t 
n o t e d 
t h a t , 
' i t was 
i m p o s s i b l e t o 
c o n s i d e r the 
p l a i n t i f f s ' a l l e g a t i o n s of d e f a m a t i o n " i n i s o l a t i o n , 
s e p a r a t e and a p a r t from the c h u r c h [ s ] d e c i s i o n t o 
t e r m i n a t e [the p l a i n t i f f ' s ] employment."' 
Heard v.  
Johnson, s u p r a , 810 A.2d a t 884 ( q u o t i n g Jae-Woo Cha  
v. 
Korean 
P r e s b y t e r i a n 
Church, 
262 
Va. 
604, 
553 
S.E.2d 511, 516 ( 2 0 0 1 ) ) . 
the 
"Indeed, a l m o s t e v e r y c o u r t t h a t has a d d r e s s e d 
i s s u e has d e t e r m i n e d t h a t such c l a i m s c o u l d not 
be examined i n i s o l a t i o n . 
See F a r l e y v. W i s c o n s i n  
E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n Synod, 821 F. Supp. 1286, 
1290 
(D. Minn. 
1993) 
( ' R e s o l u t i o n of 
[the p l a i n t i f f ' s ] 
c l a i m 
would 
r e q u i r e 
t h e 
c o u r t 
t o 
r e v i e w 
[the 
c h u r c h ' s ] 
bases 
f o r 
t e r m i n a t i n g 
him, 
an 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
c o n c e r n , and 
the 
v e r a c i t y 
of 
[the 
c h u r c h ' s ] s t a t e m e n t s . ' ) ; Yaggie v. I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y  
Synod E v a n g e l i c a l L u t h e r a n Church, 860 F. Supp. 1194 
(W.D. 
Ky. 
1994) 
( c o u r t 
l a c k s 
j u r i s d i c t i o n 
over a 
m i n i s t e r ' s d e f a m a t i o n a c t i o n a g a i n s t h i s synod based 
on s t a t e m e n t s made d u r i n g r e s o l u t i o n o f a d i s p u t e 
49 
1110868, 1110892 
between the 
m i n i s t e r and 
h i s c o n g r e g a t i o n 
because 
such an a n a l y s i s would have r e q u i r e d the 
c o u r t 
t o 
i n q u i r e 
i n t o the 
i n n e r 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l w o r k i n g s 
of 
the c h u r c h ) , 
a f f ' d , 64 F.3d 
664 
... 
(6th C i r . 1995); 
Goodman v. Temple S h i r Ami, 
I n c . , 
712 
So. 
2d 
775, 
777 
( F l a . D i s t . 
C t . 
App. 
1998) 
('The 
a l l e g e d l y 
d e f a m a t o r y r e p o r t and t o r t i o u s i n t e r f e r e n c e o c c u r r e d 
as p a r t of t h i s r e l i g i o u s d i s p u t e and would r e q u i r e 
the 
t r i a l 
c o u r t t o weigh t h e i r e f f e c t on the b o a r d 
members as 
compared t o 
the 
e f f e c t s of 
the 
o t h e r 
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s 
w h i c h 
c l e a r l y 
are 
r e l i g i o u s 
d i s a g r e e m e n t s . 
I n q u i r i n g i n t o the adequacy of 
the 
r e l i g i o u s 
r e a s o n i n g 
b e h i n d 
the 
d i s m i s s a l 
of 
a 
s p i r i t u a l 
l e a d e r i s not 
a p r o p e r t a s k f o r a 
c i v i l 
c o u r t . ' ) ; Downs v. Roman C a t h o l i c A r c h b i s h o p , 
111 
Md. 
App. 
616, 
68 3 A.2d 
808, 
812 
(1996) ('When the 
conduct c o m p l a i n e d of o c c u r s 
i n the c o n t e x t 
o f , 
or 
i s 
germane 
t o , 
a 
d i s p u t e 
over 
the 
p l a i n t i f f ' s 
f i t n e s s 
or 
s u i t a b i l i t y 
t o e n t e r 
i n t o or remain 
a 
p a r t of the c l e r g y , however, i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o 
see 
how 
the 
f o r b i d d e n 
i n q u i r y 
c o u l d 
be 
a v o i d e d . 
Q u e s t i o n s of t r u t h , f a l s i t y , m a l i c e , and the v a r i o u s 
p r i v i l e g e s t h a t e x i s t o f t e n t a k e on a d i f f e r e n t hue 
when examined i n the l i g h t of r e l i g i o u s p r e c e p t s 
and 
p r o c e d u r e s 
t h a t 
g e n e r a l l y 
permeate 
c o n t r o v e r s i e s 
over 
who 
i s f i t t o 
r e p r e s e n t 
and 
speak 
f o r 
the 
c h u r c h . ' ) ; 
H i l e s v. 
E p i s c o p a l 
D i o c e s e , 
437 
Mass. 
505, 
773 N.E.2d 929, 
936 
(2002) 
('matters 
a r i s i n g 
out of the c h u r c h - m i n i s t e r 
r e l a t i o n s h i p , i n c l u d i n g 
c h u r c h 
d i s c i p l i n e , 
come 
w i t h i n 
the 
c a t e g o r y 
of 
r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f , and t h u s are e n t i t l e d t o 
a b s o l u t e 
p r o t e c t i o n ' ) ; 
Jae-Woo Cha 
v. 
Korean 
P r e s b y t e r i a n 
 
Church, s u p r a , 
553 S.E.2d a t 516 
(the 
p l a i n t i f f ' s 
a l l e g a t i o n s of d e f a m a t i o n 'cannot be 
c o n s i d e r e d 
i n 
i s o l a t i o n , 
s e p a r a t e 
and 
a p a r t 
from 
the 
c h u r c h ' s 
d e c i s i o n t o t e r m i n a t e 
h i s employment'). 
"Both 
Ogle 
v. 
Hocker, 
... 
(E.D. 
M i c h . 
No. 
02-73200, Mar. 
11, 2005) [ ( n o t r e p o r t e d i n F. Supp. 
2d)] 
, and 
M a r s h a l l 
v. Munro, 
845 
P.2d 
424, 
428 
( A l a s k a 1993), i n w h i c h the 
c o u r t s c o n c l u d e d 
t h a t 
the 
F i r s t Amendment d i d not bar a d e f a m a t i o n c l a i m 
50 
1110868, 1110892 
i n t h e m i n i s t e r i a l 
d i s c h a r g e 
c o n t e x t 
because t h e 
c l a i m c o u l d be s e p a r a t e d from t h e a c t u a l m i n i s t e r i a l 
t e r m i n a t i o n , a r e d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e . U n l i k e here, t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s i n 
Ogle t h a t gave r i s e t o 
t h e p l a i n t i f f ' s 
c l a i m s were p u b l i s h e d 
o u t s i d e o f t h e m i n i s t e r i a l 
employment 
and 
i n t e r n a l 
d i s c i p l i n e 
p r o c e s s . 
S i m i l a r l y , 
a l t h o u g h 
t h e 
a l l e g e d l y 
d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s i n M a r s h a l l appeared t o p l a y a r o l e i n 
the c h u r c h ' s d e c i s i o n n o t 
t o h i r e t h e p l a i n t i f f , t h e 
c o u r t ' s 
o p i n i o n 
a p p a r e n t l y 
depended 
on i t s 
c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n 
o f t h e o f f e n d i n g 
s t a t e m e n t s as 
s e p a r a t e and a p a r t from t h e m i n i s t e r i a l employment 
p r o c e s s . 
"Here, 
however, 
i t i s u n d i s p u t e d 
t h a t t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s a t i s s u e were made i n t h e c o n t e x t o f a 
m e e t i n g convened by t h e c h u r c h and i t s b o a r d f o r 
c h u r c h members t o d i s c u s s whether R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d 
s h o u l d be t e r m i n a t e d as p a s t o r . 
Indeed, 
a c c o r d i n g 
t o 
p l a i n t i f f s , R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d 'was u n l a w f u l l y and 
i l l e g a l l y 
t e r m i n a t e d 
from 
h i s 
c o n t r a c t 
w i t h 
d e f e n d a n t Church as a r e s u l t o f t h i s m e e t i n g . ' 
" I t 
does not m a t t e r 
whether, as 
p l a i n t i f f s 
a l l e g e , t h e o f f e n d i n g 
s t a t e m e n t s were 
s e c u l a r i n 
n a t u r e o r t h a t James S e e f r i e d was n o t an a s s o c i a t e 
p a s t o r a t t h e time t h e s t a t e m e n t s were made. 
The 
s t a t e m e n t s g i v i n g r i s e t o p l a i n t i f f s ' d e f a m a t i o n and 
o t h e r 
c l a i m s 
r e l a t e d 
d i r e c t l y t o a c h u r c h 
p r o c e s s 
t h a t r e s u l t e d i n R i c h a r d S e e f r i e d ' s t e r m i n a t i o n as 
p a s t o r . 
A c c o r d i n g l y , e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e m e n t s 
i n i s o l a t i o n o f t h i s p r o c e s s , w i t h r e s p e c t t o 
any 
o f 
p l a i n t i f f s ' 
c l a i m s h e r e , i s 
n o t p o s s i b l e . 
"Whether a s t a t e m e n t has 
a d e f a m a t o r y meaning 
i s 
p r e d i c a t e d on c o n t e x t . 
See, e.g., Tonnessen v.  
Denver 
P u b l ' g 
Co., 5 P.3d 959, 963 
( C o l o . App. 
2000). 
Thus, t h e c o u r t here would be r e q u i r e d t o 
a s s e s s i n i t s e n t i r e t y a c h u r c h m e e t i n g convened by 
the c h u r c h t o d i s c u s s d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h , and 
t h e 
p o s s i b l e 
d i s c h a r g e o f , i t s p a s t o r . 
See Heard v.  
Johnson, s u p r a , 810 A.2d a t 886 ('a c o u r t may n o t 
51 
1110868, 1110892 
[ c o n s i d e r 
the 
e n t i r e manual of g r i e v a n c e s 
a g a i n s t 
the p a s t o r ] because ... 
i t i s i m p o s s i b l e 
t o a n a l y z e 
the e n t i r e manual w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e 
t o the 
c l e r i c a l 
employment d i s p u t e ' ) . 
" S i m i l a r l y , 
i f d e f e n d a n t s 
were 
t o 
r a i s e 
a 
q u a l i f i e d , or ' c o n d i t i o n a l , ' p r i v i l e g e d e f e n s e , 
the 
c o u r t 
would 
be 
f o r c e d 
t o 
d e t e r m i n e 
whether 
d e f e n d a n t s were a c t i n g i n good f a i t h or w i t h 
m a l i c e . 
See C o o p e r s m i t h v. W i l l i a m s , 171 C o l o . 511, 
516, 
468 
P.2d 
739, 
741 
(1970). 
R e s o l u t i o n 
of 
t h i s 
i s s u e 
would 
r e q u i r e 
assessment, 
a t 
a minimum, 
of 
the 
m o t i v e s 
of 
the 
c h u r c h members 
who 
u t t e r e d 
the 
a l l e g e d l y 
d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s . 
Such 
a 
d e t e r m i n a t i o n 
c o u l d not o c c u r w i t h o u t a 
s u b j e c t i v e 
" L i k e w i s e , 
p l a i n t i f f s ' 
c l a i m [ ] 
of 
o u t r a g e o u s 
conduct ... cannot be c o n s i d e r e d 
s e p a r a t e and 
a p a r t 
from 
the 
c h u r c h ' s 
t e r m i n a t i o n 
p r o c e e d i n g s . 
The 
o u t r a g e o u s conduct c l a i m would r e q u i r e the c o u r t 
t o 
d e t e r m i n e whether d e f e n d a n t s were a c t i n g r e c k l e s s l y 
or 
w i t h 
the 
i n t e n t 
t o 
cause 
p l a i n t i f f s 
s e v e r e 
e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s . 
See, 
e.g., 
C u l p e p p e r v. 
P e a r l  
S t r e e t B l d g . , 
I n c . , 877 
P.2d 
877, 
882 
(Colo. 1994). 
... 
Such 
[an] 
i n q u i r [ y ] 
here 
would 
n e c e s s a r i l y 
i n s e r t a c i v i l c o u r t i n t o the b a s i s f o r the c h u r c h ' s 
c h o i c e of i t s r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s . 
" F u r t h e r m o r e , we have s e r i o u s concerns t h a t 
t o  
a l l o w as a c t i o n a b l e c h u r c h members' comments about  
t h e i r c h u r c h l e a d e r s made a t c h u r c h meetings would  
i n h i b i t the f r e e and open d i s c o u r s e 
e s s e n t i a l t o a  
r e l i g i o u s 
i n s t i t u t i o n ' s s e l e c t i o n of i t s m i n i s t e r .  
Such 
a 
r e s u l t 
c o u l d 
c h i l l 
e x p r e s s i o n s 
of 
 
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n 
from 
c h u r c h members 
and 
t h e r e b y 
 
i n t r u d e upon the autonomy of r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s  
t o 
f r e e l y e v a l u a t e 
t h e i r 
c h o i c e 
and 
r e t e n t i o n 
of 
 
r e l i g i o u s 
l e a d e r s . 
See 
Y a g g i e v. 
I n d i a n a - K e n t u c k y 
 
Synod E v a n g e l i c a l 
L u t h e r a n Church, 
s u p r a , 
860 
F. 
Supp. a t 1199 
('Wisdom mandates t h a t we r e f r a i n from 
d i c t a t i n g t o a c o n g r e g a t i o n t h a t i f t h e y are unhappy 
52 
1110868, 1110892 
w i t h t h e i r r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r t h e y cannot f r e e l y speak 
t h e i r mind. 
In a m e d i a t i o n p r o c e s s between m i n i s t e r 
and 
c o n g r e g a t i o n , a l l p a r t i e s 
s h o u l d be 
a b l e t o 
e x p r e s s 
t h e i r 
i n n e r m o s t 
f e e l i n g s 
w i t h o u t 
f e a r 
of 
r e p r i s a l 
from 
the 
c o u r t s . ' ) ; 
Heard 
v. 
Johnson, 
s u p r a , 810 A.2d a t 887 
( ' A c c u s a t i o n s of m i s c o n d u c t , 
d i s c u s s i o n s of 
[a p a s t o r ' s ] m i s c o n d u c t 
w i t h i n 
the 
c h u r c h , and the e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s and e x a g g e r a t e d 
language t h a t accompany such a c t i v i t i e s seem t o us 
t o be u n a v o i d a b l e p a r t s of the d i f f i c u l t p r o c e s s by 
which 
d i s s a t i s f i e d 
churches 
end 
employment 
r e l a t i o n s h i p s 
w i t h 
t h e i r 
p a s t o r s . ' ) ; 
H i l e s 
v. 
 
E p i s c o p a l D i o c e s e , s u p r a , 773 N.E.2d a t 937 
('The 
F i r s t Amendment's p r o t e c t i o n of i n t e r n a l 
r e l i g i o u s 
d i s c i p l i n a r y 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
[of a p a s t o r ] would 
be 
m e a n i n g l e s s i f a p a r i s h i o n e r ' s a c c u s a t i o n t h a t 
was 
used t o i n i t i a t e t h o s e p r o c e e d i n g s c o u l d be 
t e s t e d 
i n a c i v i l 
c o u r t . ' ) . " 
148 P.3d a t 188-91 (emphasis 
added). 
In Anderson v. Watchtower B i b l e & T r a c t S o c i e t y of 
New 
York, I n c . , (No. M2004-01066-COA-R9-CV, Jan. 19, 2007) (Tenn. 
C t . App. 2007) (not r e p o r t e d i n S.W.3d), the Tennessee C o u r t 
of A p p e a l s 
s t a t e d : 
"Conduct 
t h a t 
i s 
i n e x t r i c a b l y 
t i e d 
t o 
the 
 
d i s c i p l i n a r y p r o c e s s of a r e l i g i o u s o r g a n i z a t i o n i s  
s u b j e c t t o the F i r s t Amendment's p r o t e c t i o n j u s t as  
the d i s c i p l i n a r y d e c i s i o n i t s e l f . 
C a l l a h a n v. 
F i r s t  
C o n g r e g a t i o n a l Church of H a v e r h i l l , 
[441 Mass. 699, 
714-15,] 808 N.E.2d [301,] 313-14 [ ( 2 0 0 4 ) ] . 
... 
"The Andersons' c l a i m s of i n t e n t i o n a l 
i n f l i c t i o n 
of e m o t i o n a l d i s t r e s s and i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h b u s i n e s s 
r e l a t i o n s h i p s 
a r i s e 
d i r e c t l y from o r are a 
d i r e c t 
r e s u l t o f the shunning. 
The b a r t o r e v i e w o f t h e  
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
d e c i s i o n 
t o 
t e r m i n a t e a 
p e r s o n ' s 
 
membership i n a c h u r c h extends t o a d d i t i o n a l c l a i m s 
53 
1110868, 1110892 
t h a t d e r i v e from t h a t d e c i s i o n or are i n e x t r i c a b l y 
 
l i n k e d 
t o i t . Burgess 
[v. Rock 
Creek 
B a p t i s t 
 
C h u r c h ] , 
734 
F. 
Supp. 
[30,] 34 
[D.D.C. 
1990)] 
( h o l d i n g 
t h a t 
p l a i n t i f f ' s 
c l a i m s 
o f 
o u t r a g e o u s 
conduct based on c h u r c h ' s a c t i o n s i n p r e v e n t i n g t h e 
p l a i n t i f f from e x e r c i s i n g r i g h t s o f members when she 
was no l o n g e r a member were i n e x t r i c a b l y l i n k e d t o 
the 
c l a i m s 
t h a t 
h e r membership 
was 
w r o n g f u l l y 
t e r m i n a t e d and thus not j u s t i c i a b l e ) . 
" R e g a r d l e s s o f t h e l a b e l g i v e n the c l a i m by t h e 
p l a i n t i f f s , 
the q u e s t i o n 
i s whether a c o u r t must 
d e l v e 
i n t o 
e c c l e s i a s t i c a l 
q u e s t i o n s 
i n o r d e r 
t o 
r e s o l v e 
i t . 
N a t a l 
[v. 
C h r i s t i a n 
M i s s i o n a r y 
A l l i a n c e ] , 878 F.2d [1575,] 1577 [ ( 1 s t C i r . 1 9 8 9 ) ] . 
I f 
t h e harm 
a l l e g e d i s t h e d i r e c t r e s u l t of a 
r e l i g i o u s p r a c t i c e or d e c i s i o n t h a t 
c o u r t s 
cannot 
examine, t h e r e i s no remedy a v a i l a b l e i n t h e c o u r t s 
f o r such harm. ... 
" 
(Emphasis added.) 
In 
t h i s 
case, 
Higgs was t h e p a s t o r 
of COR 
u n t i l 
he 
r e t i r e d . 
He c o n t i n u e d t o remain a c t i v e as a v o l u n t e e r 
w i t h 
COR i n h i s s t a t u s as a " p a s t o r 
e m e r i t u s . " 
A d d i t i o n a l l y , 
H i g g s ' s son, K e v i n H i g g s , was t h e s e n i o r m i n i s t e r o f COR 
u n t i l 
he was t r a n s f e r r e d t o B r o w n s v i l l e 
a f t e r t h e r e s o l u t i o n was 
i s s u e d . 
As Higgs a l l e g e d i n h i s p e t i t i o n , B o l e ' s March 18, 
2011, 
l e t t e r t o Reverend S c h u l t z 
formed the b a s i s f o r t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e H i g g s e s . 
F u r t h e r , i t 
appears t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t s made a f t e r t h e r e s o l u t i o n r e l a t e d 
t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n r e g a r d i n g K e v i n ' s t r a n s f e r t o B r o w n s v i l l e 
54 
1110868, 1110892 
U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church and t o t h e f a c t t h a t Higgs would no 
l o n g e r be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h COR. 
I t a l s o 
appears 
t h a t t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s were made i n response t o concerns 
e x p r e s s e d by 
o t h e r 
c h u r c h members 
r e g a r d i n g t h e a c t i o n s 
t a k e n by t h e 
Conference toward t h e H i g g s e s . 
I n i t i a l l y , we note 
t h a t , i n h i s b r i e f t o t h i s 
C o u r t , 
Higgs contends t h a t h i s a c t i o n d e a l t o n l y w i t h s t a t e m e n t s made 
a f t e r t h e 
Conference had i s s u e d i t s r e s o l u t i o n . 
A l s o , i n i t s 
o r d e r d e n y i n g t h e motion t o d i s m i s s , t h e t r i a l c o u r t s t a t e d : 
" S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e 
documents and s t a t e m e n t s were g e n e r a t e d and 
made by [Bole] a f t e r a Church i n v e s t i g a t i o n was c o n c l u d e d and 
were made by [Bole] about [Higgs] s e p a r a t e and a p a r t from any 
Church i n v e s t i g a t i o n . " 
However, when r e a d i n g t h e c o m p l a i n t , 
the e x c e r p t s o f H i g g s ' s d e p o s i t i o n , and H i g g s ' s t h i r d amended 
response t o B o l e ' s i n t e r r o g a t o r i e s , i t 
i s c l e a r t h a t H i g g s ' s 
c l a i m s were n o t l i m i t e d t o s t a t e m e n t s made and e - m a i l s s e n t 
a f t e r t h e 
c o n c l u s i o n 
o f 
t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n . 
I n 
h i s c o m p l a i n t , 
Higgs 
a l l e g e d : 
"6. 
I n 
e a r l y 
2011, 
[Higgs] 
was 
f a l s e l y 
a c c u s e d 
by 
[Bole] o f 
m i s a p p r o p r i a t i n g 
f u n d s , 
i n t e r 
 
a l i a , b e l o n g i n g t o t h e Church o f 
the 
R e c o n c i l e r . 
Defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s were made i n 
r e g a r d 
t o 
55 
1110868, 1110892 
"7. 
"8. 
"9. 
"10. 
t h i s 
and 
o t h e r 
a c c u s a t i o n s 
t h r o u g h b o t h v e r b a l and w r i t t e n 
communications. 
As a 
r e s u l t o f t h e d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s 
made 
by 
[ B o l e ] , 
c o m p l a i n t s 
a g a i n s t [ H i g g s ] were 
f i l e d 
a g a i n s t 
[Higgs] w i t h t h e 
N o r t h Alabama C o n f e r e n c e o f 
t h e 
U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church and an 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n ensued. 
W h i l e t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n was b e i n g 
conducted, [Higgs] was f o r c e d t o 
t a k e 
v a c a t i o n 
f r o m h i s d u t i e s 
w i t h t h e Church and t o cease a l l 
a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e Church. 
The 
C o n f e r e n c e 
u l t i m a t e l y 
f o u n d 
t h a t [Higgs] was n o t 
a t f a u l t . 
As a 
r e s u l t o f t h e defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s 
made 
by 
[ B o l e ] , 
[Higgs] was asked t o r e f r a i n f r o m 
a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e Church." 
H i g g s f u r t h e r 
a l l e g e d : 
"As a 
r e s u l t o f [ B o l e ' s ] 
s a i d 
a c t i o n s , 
[Higgs] 
s u f f e r e d 
embarrassment, 
g r e a t 
worry, 
shame, 
h u m i l i a t i o n , 
l o s s o f s l e e p , 
a n x i e t y , 
n e r v o u s n e s s , 
s i c k n e s s , 
p h y s i c a l 
and m e n t a l 
s u f f e r i n g , 
p a i n , 
a n g u i s h , and f r i g h t , t h e l o s s o f h i s c h u r c h f a m i l y ,  
and t h e l o s s o f h i s p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e Church." 
(Emphasis added.) A d d i t i o n a l l y , B o l e ' s i n t e r r o g a t o r i e s asked 
Higgs t o i d e n t i f y and d e s c r i b e "each and e v e r y i n s t a n c e t h a t 
' [ H i g g s ] was f a l s e l y a c c u s e d by [Bole] o f m i s a p p r o p r i a t i n g 
funds, i n t e r a l i a , b e l o n g i n g t o 
t h e 
Church o f 
t h e R e c o n c i l e r ' 
56 
1110868, 1110892 
and each and e v e r y i n s t a n c e t h a t 'Defamatory s t a t e m e n t s were 
made i n r e g a r d t o t h i s and o t h e r a c c u s a t i o n s t h r o u g h 
b o t h 
v e r b a l and w r i t t e n 
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , ' 
which a r e a l l e g e d i n 
P a r a g r a p h 6 o f your C o m p l a i n t . " I n r e s p o n s e , Higgs 
i d e n t i f i e d 
two e - m a i l s d a t e d May 31, 2011; 
a c o n v e r s a t i o n between B o l e 
and M a r t i S l a y t h a t t o o k p l a c e on May 31, 2011; and B o l e ' s 
March 18, 2011, l e t t e r t o Reverend S c h u l t z . 
Moreover, H i g g s ' s t e s t i m o n y d u r i n g t h e 
d e p o s i t i o n made i t 
c l e a r 
t h a t h i s c l a i m s were based on more than 
j u s t t h e 
s t a t e m e n t s 
made 
a f t e r 
t h e 
Conference 
had 
i s s u e d t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n . 
D u r i n g 
H i g g s ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n , 
t h e 
f o l l o w i n g 
o c c u r r e d : 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] A l l r i g h t . 
Now, you s t a t e 
g e n e r a l l y i n 
your c o m p l a i n t , i n 
t h e n e x t p a r a g r a p h , 
p a r a g r a p h 
10, as a 
r e s u l t 
o f t h e 
defamatory 
s t a t e m e n t s made by d e f e n d a n t s , p l a i n t i f f was asked 
t o r e f r a i n from a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e c h u r c h . 
I t a k e 
i t you a r e r e f e r r i n g t o t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f c o m p l a i n t 
and t h e e - m a i l a t t a c h e d t o E x h i b i t Two from Ron 
S c h u l t z t h a t s e t s out 
t h e r e s o l u t i o n and t h e a c t i o n 
t o be t a k e n when you r e f e r t o b e i n g asked t o r e f r a i n 
from a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e c h u r c h . 
"[HIGGS:] I'm r e f e r r i n g t o t h i s l e t t e r I g o t 
on 
March 3 1 s t . 
"  
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
W e l l , 
E x h i b i t 
One, I 
thought we u n d e r s t o o d , was your 
b e i n g 
asked t o 
57 
1110868, 1110892 
remove y o u r s e l f . 
But t h a t was temporary, w h i l e t h e 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n was b e i n g conducted. 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
A l l r i g h t . 
When i n 
p a r a g r a p h 
10 you say t h a t as a 
r e s u l t o f t h e 
defamatory s t a t e m e n t s made by d e f e n d a n t s , p l a i n t i f f 
was 
asked t o 
r e f r a i n 
from 
a c t i v i t i e s 
w i t h t h e 
c h u r c h , a r e you r e f e r r i n g 
o n l y t o t h a t 
temporary 
removal, o r a r e you r e f e r r i n g 
t o t h e temporary 
removal and then t h e l a t e r a c t i o n t h a t was t a k e n as 
s e t out 
i n 
E x h i b i t Four, t h e r e s o l u t i o n , and E x h i b i t 
Two, t h e e m a i l from Rev. S c h u l t z ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
The E x h i b i t Two e - m a i l says Lawton 
w i l l 
no 
l o n g e r be 
c o n n e c t e d t o Church 
o f t h e 
R e c o n c i l e r i n 
any c a p a c i t y . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
Okay. So i t 
i s b o t h o f 
t h o s e 
a c t i o n s 
t a k e n by t h e c h u r c h 
t h a t you a r e 
r e f e r r i n g t o when you say 
you were asked t o r e f r a i n 
from a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e c h u r c h ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
As w e l l as t h e s t a t e m e n t here g i v e n 
t o me i n 
t h e m e e t i n g . 
"[DEFENSE 
COUNSEL:] 
The 
o r a l 
o r 
v e r b a l 
e x p l a n a t i o n , i s t h a t r i g h t ... 
? 
"  
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
We a r e t a l k i n g about two 
documents and then a v e r b a l 
e x p l a n a t i o n 
o f t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n and t h e a c t i o n , b u t i t 
i s a l l 
t h e same 
r e s o l u t i o n and a c t i o n we a r e t a l k i n g about, 
i s n ' t 
i t ? 
I t 
i s t h a t p l u s t h e temporary r e m o v a l ? 
Those 
are what you a r e t a l k i n g about when you say 
you were 
asked t o r e f r a i n from a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e c h u r c h . 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. 
58 
1110868, 1110892 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
Okay. 
I'm j u s t t r y i n g t o 
be c l e a r . 
You go on i n your n e x t -- your count one 
i n 
t h e c o m p l a i n t , 
a f t e r 
r e f e r r i n g 
t o t h e 
p r i o r 
t h i n g s s t a t e d i n your c o m p l a i n t , i n p a r a g r a p h 12, 
t h a t as a r e s u l t o f d e f e n d a n t s ' defamatory 
a c t i o n , 
p l a i n t i f f s u f f e r e d i n j u r y t o h i s r e p u t a t i o n i n 
t h e 
eyes 
o f h i s community and t h e p u b l i c 
and was 
s u b j e c t e d t o r i d i c u l e . 
Now, t h e i n j u r y t o your 
r e p u t a t i o n t h a t you a r e t a l k i n g about, can you t e l l 
me any p a r t i c u l a r p e r s o n s t h a t you know o f who now 
h o l d you i n l e s s r e g a r d ? 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Who? 
"[HIGGS:] 
W h i l e h a v i n g l u n c h a f t e r t h i s event 
I was approached by a f r i e n d and a s s o c i a t e i n o t h e r 
m i n i s t r i e s i n t h e c i t y and s a i d , 'What w i l l you be 
d o i n g now, Lawton, t h a t t h e y won't l e t 
you p r e a c h ? ' 
II 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
Was h e r q u e s t i o n one o f 
c o n c e r n ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
I c o u l d n ' t r e a d h e r a t t i t u d e 
about 
the q u e s t i o n e x c e p t t h a t i t 
j u s t d e m o n s t r a t e d t o me 
t h a t she, 
as a member o f t h e p u b l i c , as a r e s u l t o f 
a l l o f t h e s e a c t i o n s , assumed I ' d been d e n i e d t h e 
p r i v i l e g e o f p r e a c h i n g . 
II 
"[HIGGS:] 
I was j u s t r e p o r t i n g t o you what she 
s a i d 
and what 
I 
h e a r d 
t h a t 
r e f l e c t e d 
p u b l i c 
d e f a m a t i o n o f my c h a r a c t e r as a U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t 
p r e a c h e r . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] D i d 
she say a n y t h i n g e l s e ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
( W i t n e s s shakes head n e g a t i v e l y . ) 
59 
1110868, 1110892 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Was t h e r e anybody e l s e , any 
o t h e r p e r s o n t h a t you c a n t e l l me t h a t -- W e l l , 
l e t 
me go back t o h e r . Do you t h i n k she h o l d s you 
i n 
l e s s r e g a r d , t h a t l a d y ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
Do I t h i n k she h o l d s me i n l e s s 
r e g a r d ? 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Yes. 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Any o t h e r p e r s o n ? 
II 
"[HIGGS:] 
I'm d e l a y i n g because I'm t r y i n g t o 
t h i n k o f t h e 
name, b u t I'm n o t sure I can. B u t some 
t h i n g s e x p r e s s e d by more than one p e r s o n , 
'Lawton, 
we s t i l l l o v e you. We don't c a r e what you d i d . ' 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Who s a i d t h a t ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
T h a t ' s what I'm t r y i n g t o remember, 
the name o f a s p e c i f i c 
p e r s o n . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
T h i s was a n o t h e r 
l a d y ? 
"[HIGGS:] I'm n o t s u r e . 
I t 
has been e x p r e s s e d 
i n a v a r i e t y o f s e t t i n g s by p e o p l e . 
II 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] I s t h e r e a n y t h i n g e l s e t h a t 
you 
can p o i n t me t o t h a t 
i n d i c a t e s t h e r e i s an 
i n j u r y t o your r e p u t a t i o n ? 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] What i s i t ? 
60 
1110868, 1110892 
"[HIGGS:] 
I am asked by many p e o p l e how a r e 
t h i n g s g o i n g a t t h e R e c o n c i l e r . 
I t e l l them I'm no 
l o n g e r a t t h e R e c o n c i l e r . 
T h e i r response i s , 'Why 
are you n o t a t t h e R e c o n c i l e r ? ' 
I have t o say t h a t 
a l l e g a t i o n s 
were 
p l a c e d 
a g a i n s t 
me, 
and I was 
removed f r o m a c t i v i t i e s 
t h e r e by t h e b i s h o p . 
"[HIGGS:] Many p e o p l e know about i t . There was 
an a r t i c l e i n 
t h e paper. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
What d i d 
i t say? 
"[HIGGS:] 
The h e a d l i n e was 'Work a t R e c o n c i l e r 
w i l l C o n t i n u e , ' and i t 
t a l k e d about t h e r e 
w i l l no 
l o n g e r be a Higgs a t t h e R e c o n c i l e r . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] What e l s e d i d 
i t 
say about 
the 
c i r c u m s t a n c e s ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
I m p l i c a t e d t h a t t h e r e were -- There 
was so much i n f o r m a t i o n on a l l 
o f t h i s and t h e 
a r t i c l e i n 
t h e paper t h a t I'm n o t a b l e t o make sure 
I'm a c c u r a t e 
about what was s a i d . 
I t s a i d 
t h a t 
K e v i n would be moved t o B r o w n s v i l l e U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t 
Church, 
t h a t I would no l o n g e r be i n v o l v e d 
w i t h 
Church o f t h e R e c o n c i l e r 
b u t t h a t we had been 
c l e a r e d o f 
any c o m p l a i n t s or a l l e g a t i o n s , t h a t t h e r e 
were problems 
t h a t 
t h e y 
t h o u g h t i t n e c e s s a r y t o 
remove K e v i n and I f r o m t h e c h u r c h . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] What newspaper was t h a t ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
I t 
was i n 
The Birmingham News. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] Where d i d 
t h e r e p o r t e r g e t 
h i s 
i n f o r m a t i o n ? 
Do you know? 
61 
1110868, 1110892 
"[HIGGS:] 
From 
t h e 
b i s h o p 
and 
t h e 
s u p e r i n t e n d e n t , 
p r i m a r i l y 
t h e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t , 
I 
t h i n k . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
Do you know t h a t because 
t h e y were q u o t e d i n t h e paper? 
"[HIGGS:] Yes. They were q u o t e d i n 
t h e paper." 
( H i g g s ' s d e p o s i t i o n , a t pp. 90-101.) 
When asked i f 
he was aware o f and knew about a n y t h i n g 
t h a t 
i n d i c a t e d any l e s s r e g a r d f o r 
him i n t h e eyes o f t h e 
community and t h e p u b l i c , Higgs s t a t e d : 
" W e l l , everybody t h a t r e a d t h e s e e - m a i l s t h a t [Bole] 
produced and I guess everybody t h a t f o r w a r d e d them 
on would shape a whole l o t 
l e s s o p i n i o n o f me than 
t h e y had b e f o r e t h e s e e - m a i l s were s e n t . 
And o f 
c o u r s e , a l l t h e names and e - m a i l a d d r e s s e s a r e on 
t h o s e 
e - m a i l s . 
A l s o 
I -- 
T h i s 
r e s o l u t i o n 
o f 
c o m p l a i n t has a l o t 
o f d e r o g a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s 
about 
me. 
"One 
o f t h e 
reasons 
K e v i n 
r e q u e s t e d 
t h i s 
r e s o l u t i o n o f c o m p l a i n t was t h a t a l l 
o f t h e p e o p l e 
t h a t he was a p p o i n t e d t o s e r v e a t t h e B r o w n s v i l l e 
U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t Church d i d n ' t t h i n k v e r y much o f 
him or me because o f t h e a r t i c l e i n t h e paper o f 
s e r i o u s problems f o r him." 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , 
a t 
pp. 103-04.) Higgs f u r t h e r 
t e s t i f i e d : 
" K e v i n r e q u e s t e d t h a t r e s o l u t i o n o f c o m p l a i n t t h a t 
Ron S c h u l t z would s t a n d up and say t h e r e was n o t h i n g 
a g a i n s t us a t a n n u a l 
c o n f e r e n c e . 
T h i s i s t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n o f c o m p l a i n t he r e c e i v e d , which i s 
q u i t e 
d i f f e r e n t than t h a t s t a t e m e n t . 
And t h e c h a i r o f 
t h e 
p a s t o r - p a r i s h 
committee 
a t 
B r o w n s v i l l e 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church 
a l s o 
r e q u e s t e d 
a copy 
o f t h e 
62 
1110868, 1110892 
r e s o l u t i o n o f c o m p l a i n t . 
She was s e n t a copy o f 
t h i s . 
And t h i s e - m a i l c l e a r l y would make h e r t h i n k 
l e s s o f 
me t h a n b e f o r e a l l o f t h i s . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t 
pp. 104-05.) When asked which e - m a i l 
he was r e f e r r i n g t o , he responded: 
" T h i s 
r e s o l u t i o n , 
t h i s 
a t t a c h m e n t . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t p. 105.) 
Higgs 
a l s o 
t e s t i f i e d t h a t , a t Reverend S c h u l t z ' s 
r e q u e s t , t h e c h a i r o f 
the 
p a s t o r - p a r i s h 
r e l a t i o n s 
committee 
a t 
B r o w n s v i l l e 
d i s t r i b u t e d 
t h e r e s o l u t i o n t o t h e e n t i r e 
membership a t 
B r o w n s v i l l e 
and 
t h a t 
t h a t 
would 
cause 
t h e member o f 
B r o w n s v i l l e 
Church and o t h e r s " t o t h i n k 
l e s s o f him t h a t 
b e f o r e a l l o f t h i s i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d . " 
(Higgs's 
d e p o s i t i o n , 
a t p. 
106.) 
When asked about t h e 
r i d i c u l e he a l l e g e d i n 
t h e c o m p l a i n t 
he had been s u b j e c t e d t o , Higgs 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t a homeless 
p e r s o n who had 
been an a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t i n 
COR's day program 
s a i d something t o him "around t h e a t t i t u d e t h a t u n l e s s you 
have done something wrong, you wouldn't have had 
t o l e a v e t h e 
c h u r c h . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t 
p. 109.) When asked about 
any 
o t h e r 
i n c i d e n t s 
i n w h i c h he had been 
s u b j e c t e d 
t o 
r i d i c u l e , Higgs 
s t a t e d : 
" B e i n g 
removed 
from 
t h e c h u r c h 
and 
from any 
r e l a t i o n s h i p s o r c o n v e r s a t i o n s , 
I would g e t phone 
63 
1110868, 1110892 
messages sometimes, c a l l s , p e o p l e t r y i n g t o t a l k t o 
me, 
e x p r e s s i n g , 
you 
know, 
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n 
or 
r i d i c u l e , 
'Why 
a r e n ' t 
you 
c a l l i n g 
me 
b a c k ? 
Why 
a r e n ' t you d o i n g 
t h i s ? ' " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t p. 
110.) 
When asked about how 
t h a t 
was 
r i d i c u l e , Higgs responded, "'You 
don't c a r e about me 
any 
more?' 
You 
-- t h a t k i n d of r i d i c u l e . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , 
a t 
p. 
110.) 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , 
d u r i n g 
the 
d e p o s i t i o n , 
the 
f o l l o w i n g 
o c c u r r e d : 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
In your c o m p l a i n t you 
say 
t h a t 
as 
a 
r e s u l t 
of 
the 
d e f a m a t o r y 
s t a t e m e n t s , 
c o m p l a i n t s were 
f i l e d and 
an i n v e s t i g a t i o n ensued, 
t h a t you 
i n the c o u r s e of t h a t were f o r c e d t o t a k e 
v a c a t i o n 
and cease a l l a c t i v i t i e s w i t h the 
c h u r c h , 
and 
as 
a r e s u l t of the d e f a m a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s , 
you 
were 
asked 
t o 
r e f r a i n 
from 
a c t i v i t i e s 
w i t h 
the 
c h u r c h . 
Then you have d e s c r i b e d 
f o r me, 
you know, 
some t h i n g s r e l a t e d t o what you 
f e e l r e f l e c t s a l e s s 
r e g a r d 
f o r you 
i n the community and 
r i d i c u l e . 
"And 
you 
s t a t e t h a t as a r e s u l t of d e f e n d a n t s ' 
a c t i o n s you s u f f e r e d embarrassment and o t h e r m e n t a l 
a n g u i s h . 
E v e r y t h i n g you t o l d me seems t o be r e l a t e d 
t o 
the 
removal 
from 
the 
c h u r c h , 
you 
know, 
the 
s u f f e r i n g you have d e s c r i b e d , 
the words t h a t 
o t h e r 
p e o p l e 
have 
s t a t e d 
t o 
you, 
the 
a r t i c l e 
i n 
the 
p a p e r , 
the 
t h i n g s 
t h a t 
are 
s a i d 
i n e - m a i l s , 
the 
c h u r c h 
p a r t i c i p a n t 
a t 
the 
bus 
s t o p , 
the 
phone 
messages. 
E v e r y t h i n g seems t o be 
a consequence of 
the 
a c t i o n the 
c h u r c h took t e m p o r a r i l y 
d u r i n g 
the 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
and, 
u l t i m a t e l y , as 
you 
a l l e g e i t , 
a s k i n g you t o r e f r a i n from a c t i v i t i e s a t the c h u r c h . 
I s 
t h a t 
a c c u r a t e ? 
I s 
t h a t 
the 
s o u r c e 
of 
the 
damage[] 
t h a t 
you 
have 
d e s c r i b e d 
here 
i n 
your 
c o m p l a i n t ? 
64 
1110868, 1110892 
II 
"[DEFENSE 
COUNSEL:] 
You 
can 
answer t h e 
q u e s t i o n , Mr. H i g g s . A r e a l l 
o f t h e t h i n g s t h a t you 
d e s c r i b e d as an i n j u r y t o your r e p u t a t i o n and t h e 
m e n t a l 
s u f f e r i n g you have had and t h e 
r i d i c u l e , 
e v e r y t h i n g I've h e a r d you d e s c r i b e 
r e l a t e s t o your 
removal from t h e c h u r c h . 
I s t h a t a c c u r a t e ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
No. 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
A l l 
r i g h t . 
T e l l me what 
doesn't r e l a t e t o your removal from t h e c h u r c h . 
"[HIGGS:] 
The e - m a i l s s e n t out -¬
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
How do t h e y n o t r e l a t e t o 
your removal? 
"[HIGGS:] 
-- a r e 
way beyond j u s t removal from 
the 
c h u r c h . 
There 
a r e t h i n g s 
way beyond 
j u s t 
removal from t h e c h u r c h . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t pp. 112-14.) 
S u b s e q u e n t l y , d e f e n s e 
c o u n s e l asked Higgs about t h e i n v a s i o n - o f - p r i v a c y c l a i m s , and 
Higgs 
t e s t i f i e d 
t h a t t h e i n v a s i o n - o f - p r i v a c y 
c l a i m s 
were 
based, 
i n p a r t , 
on 
t h e 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
RDI's 
f i n a n c e s . 
S p e c i f i c a l l y , he s t a t e d 
"[HIGGS:] 
I do n o t have a 
copy 
o f t h e 
a l l e g a t i o n s 
t h a t were -- t h a t I r e a d , b u t t o t h e 
b e s t o f my r e c o l l e c t i o n t h e r e were a l l e g a t i o n s from 
Mr. B o l e t h a t i s r e f e r e n c e d i n t h i s 
r e s o l u t i o n o f 
c o m p l a i n t where i t 
s a y s , 'There was e v i d e n c e 
t h a t 
Rev. 
H i g g s , S r . , o v e r s t e p p e d h i s a u t h o r i t y and 
d i r e c t e d R e c o n c i l e r 
funds t o be used t o pay d e b t s 
i n c u r r e d by a 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) e s t a b l i s h e d by Rev. H i g g s , 
S r . , t o a d d r e s s h o u s i n g needs o f t h e community.' So 
65 
1110868, 1110892 
the 
r e s e a r c h 
i n t o 
and t h e 
attempt 
t o 
f i n d 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
and made 
p r e s u m p t i o n s 
about 
t h a t 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
b a s e d on t h e r e c o r d s 
o f 
R e c o n c i l e r 
Development, I n c o r p o r a t e d , 
i s what I'm r e f e r r i n g t o . 
"[DEFENSE COUNSEL:] 
Who i s c o n d u c t i n g 
t h a t 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n ? 
"[HIGGS:] 
I n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e c o m p l a i n t 
t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n was r e p o r t e d i n 
t h e c o m p l a i n t . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t pp. 151-55.) 
When asked about how 
i n f o r m a t i o n and documents r e g a r d i n g RDI i n v a d e d h i s r i g h t t o 
p r i v a c y , he r e p l i e d : 
" A l l e g a t i o n s were r a i s e d t h a t were damaging t o 
me by 
someone's u n a u t h o r i z e d 
a c q u i s i t i o n o f m a t e r i a l s and 
r e c o r d s 
r e l a t e d 
t o 
R e c o n c i l e r 
Development, 
I n c o r p o r a t e d . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t 
p. 157.) W i t h r e g a r d t o h i s i n v a s i o n -
o f - p r i v a c y 
c l a i m , 
Higgs 
a l s o 
d i s c u s s e d h i s r e p u t a t i o n and 
s t a n d i n g i n 
t h e 
community. 
Asked i f t h a t was n o t 
a p a t e n t l y 
p u b l i c t h i n g and 
how was i t p r i v a t e , Higgs responded: 
"I'm a p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l . I n t h e i n f o r m a t i o n 
t h a t 
was 
g a i n e d 
about me, 
presumptuous 
t h i n g s 
were 
assumed about i t and s p r e a d a b r o a d t h a t damaged my 
r e p u t a t i o n and s t a n d i n g i n 
t h e community." 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t 
p. 159.) Higgs a l s o r e f e r r e d t o h i s 
c h o i c e o f c h u r c h home w i t h r e g a r d t o 
t h e i n v a s i o n - o f - p r i v a c y 
c l a i m . 
When q u e s t i o n e d about t h i s 
c l a i m , Higgs u l t i m a t e l y 
s t a t e d : 
"And because o f t h e s e a c t i o n s , I had t o e x p e r i e n c e 
66 
1110868, 1110892 
i n t e r f e r e n c e 
w i t h 
and 
d i s r u p t i o n 
of a v e r y 
p r i v a t e 
and 
p e r s o n a l c h o i c e , w o r s h i p . " 
(Higgs's d e p o s i t i o n , a t p. 161) 
(emphasis 
added). 
I t i s c l e a r t h a t H i g g s ' s c l a i m s were not l i m i t e d 
s o l e l y 
t o s t a t e m e n t s made a f t e r t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n had been completed 
and a f t e r t h e Conference had i s s u e d i t s r e s o l u t i o n . 
R a t h e r , 
H i g g s ' s c l a i m s are a l s o based on t h e March 18, 2011, 
l e t t e r 
B o l e s e n t t o S c h u l t z and t h e r e s u l t s o f t h a t 
l e t t e r -- t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t h e C o n f e r e n c e ' s r e s o l u t i o n , and 
h i s and K e v i n ' s removal from COR. 
I t a l s o appears t h a t Higgs 
was 
a t t e m p t i n g t o use 
t h i s 
l i t i g a t i o n 
t o d e l v e 
i n t o 
and 
l i t i g a t e i s s u e s a r i s i n g from t h e C o n f e r e n c e ' s 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
the C o n f e r e n c e ' s r e s o l u t i o n , and h i s and K e v i n ' s removal from 
COR. 
In f a c t , i n h i s d i s c l o s u r e o f e x p e r t w i t n e s s e s p u r s u a n t 
t o R u l e 26, A l a . 
R. C i v . 
P., Higgs d e s i g n a t e d Wray P e a r c e as 
h i s e x p e r t and s t a t e d : 
"Mr. P e a r c e i s e x p e c t e d t o t e s t i f y w i t h r e g a r d t o 
the 
funds 
t h a t 
[Bole] 
has 
a l l e g e d 
were 
m i s a p p r o p r i a t e d by [ H i g g s ] . 
These a l l e g a t i o n s were 
the 
b a s i s 
f o r 
[ B o l e ' s ] 
defamatory 
and 
h a r m f u l 
s t a t e m e n t s about 
[ H i g g s ] . 
The funds i n c l u d e 
g i f t s 
t o the Church of t h e R e c o n c i l e r and t o R e c o n c i l e r 
Development, 
I n c . 
Mr. 
P e a r c e 
i s e x p e c t e d 
t o 
d e l i n e a t e 
t h e funds 
t h a t 
were 
p l e d g e d 
t o 
t h e s e 
e n t i t i e s from t h e funds t h a t were a c t u a l l y g i v e n t o 
t h e s e e n t i t i e s . 
W i t h r e g a r d t o the funds t h a t were 
67 
1110868, 1110892 
a c t u a l l y 
g i v e n t o t h e s e 
e n t i t i e s , Mr. P e a r c e i s 
e x p e c t e d t o t e s t i f y as t o w h i c h a c c o u n t s t h e s e funds 
were d e p o s i t e d and how t h e y were d e s i g n a t e d . " 
F u r t h e r , H i g g s ' s t e s t i m o n y a l s o make i t 
c l e a r t h a t much o f 
t h e 
harm he c l a i m s f l o w e d from t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s p u b l i c a t i o n o f 
t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n and from h i s removal 
from COR. 
F i n a l l y , 
Higgs 
appears t o r e l y on t h e s t a t e m e n t s i n 
t h e r e s o l u t i o n t h a t t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e d i d 
n o t f i n d " e v i d e n c e i n d i c a t i n g a need t o pursue 
f o r m a l 
c h a r g e s 
a g a i n s t t h e s e 
m i n i s t e r s " 
t o s u p p o r t h i s 
a l l e g a t i o n t h a t B o l e ' s s t a t e m e n t s were n o t t r u e . 
However, i n 
h i s a f f i d a v i t , Reverend S c h u l t z s t a t e d : 
"The 
r e s o l u t i o n 
o f 
c o m p l a i n t 
i n t h e 
m a t t e r 
c o n c e r n i n g 
P l a i n t i f f 
Higgs and t h e r e p o r t o f t h e 
r e s u l t s 
I s e n t by e - m a i l do not s e t f o r t h 
a l l 
d e t a i l s o f t h e C o n f e r e n c e ' s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , 
f i n d i n g s 
and 
r e a s o n i n g . 
These 
were 
conducted 
i n a 
c o n f i d e n t i a l manner as much as was p o s s i b l e . 
A l l 
o f 
the C o n f e r e n c e ' s p r o c e e d i n g s , d e c i s i o n s and a c t i o n s 
w i t h r e g a r d t o P l a i n t i f f Higgs were i n k e e p i n g and 
accordance w i t h t h e 
Book o f D i s c i p l i n e o f t h e 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church 
(2008), 
w h i c h 
s e t s 
f o r t h t h e 
d o c t r i n e , 
p r i n c i p l e s 
and t h e o p e r a t i o n a l 
r u l e s , 
r e g u l a t i o n s , 
p o l i c i e s and p r o c e d u r e o f t h e U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t d e n o m i n a t i o n . " 
T h e r e f o r e , a d e t e r m i n a t i o n i n t o whether B o l e ' s s t a t e m e n t s were 
f a l s e 
would 
r e q u i r e 
an 
i n q u i r y 
i n t o 
d e t a i l s 
o f "the 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , f i n d i n g s and r e a s o n i n g . " 
68 
1110868, 1110892 
I t i s 
c l e a r t h a t H i g g s ' s c l a i m s were i n t e r t w i n e d w i t h t h e 
u n d e r l y i n g 
i n v e s t i g a t i o n 
by 
t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e , 
w i t h 
t h e 
r e s o l u t i o n , and w i t h t h e C o n f e r e n c e ' s u l t i m a t e 
d e c i s i o n t o 
remove Higgs and K e v i n from COR. 
Any attempt t o a d j u d i c a t e 
H i g g s ' s c l a i m would r e q u i r e an i m p e r m i s s i b l e i n q u i r y i n t o t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e ' s i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f 
t h e 
c o m p l a i n t s a g a i n s t Higgs and 
K e v i n , i n t o t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n c o n d u c t e d by 
t h e 
C o n f e r e n c e , i n t o t h e f a c t u a l 
f i n d i n g s 
t h a t formed t h e b a s i s 
f o r t h e r e s o l u t i o n , and i n t o t h e C o n f e r e n c e ' s 
d e c i s i o n t o 
remove Higgs and K e v i n from COR. 
See Y a g g i e , s u p r a ; 
T r i c e , 
s u p r a ; S e e f r i e d , 
s u p r a ; and Anderson, s u p r a . 
A d d i t i o n a l l y , 
a l l o w i n g 
t h e 
c l a i m s 
r e g a r d i n g 
B o l e ' s 
May 
31, 2011, 
c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h S l a y and t h e two e - m a i l s B o l e s e n t on May 
31, 
2011, t o p r o c e e d 
c o u l d 
have a 
c h i l l i n g 
e f f e c t 
on 
communication among members o f 
a c o n g r e g a t i o n r e g a r d i n g c h u r c h 
l e a d e r s h i p .
4 
See S e e f r i e d , 
148 P.3d a t 191. 
F o r t h e s e 
4 I n h i s 
response t o B o l e ' s motion t o d i s m i s s f o r 
l a c k o f 
j u r i s d i c t i o n , 
Higgs 
i n c l u d e d 
t h e b a r e 
a l l e g a t i o n 
t h a t t h e 
r e c i p i e n t 
l i s t f o r t h e 
two e - m a i l s B o l e s s e n t on May 31, 
2011, 
i n c l u d e d 
i n d i v i d u a l s who were n o t members of COR. 
However, 
the e x c e r p t s o f H i g g s ' s d e p o s i t i o n 
t h a t were a t t a c h e d t o 
t h e 
p e t i t i o n do n o t i n c l u d e any t e s t i m o n y i n d i c a t i n g t h a t some o f 
the 
r e c i p i e n t s of t h o s e e - m a i l s were n o t members o f COR. I n 
h i s 
t h i r d amended answer t o B o l e ' s 
i n t e r r o g a t o r i e s , 
Higgs 
l i s t e d t h e names o f s e v e r a l 
i n d i v i d u a l s whom he 
b e l i e v e d 
69 
1110868, 1110892 
r e a s o n s , 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
d i d n o t have 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n over H i g g s ' s c l a i m s a g a i n s t B o l e by v i r t u e of 
t h e 
F i r s t 
and 
F o u r t e e n t h 
Amendments 
t o t h e 
U n i t e d 
S t a t e s 
C o n s t i t u t i o n . 
A c c o r d i n g l y , B o l e has shown t h a t he has a c l e a r 
r i g h t t o 
have H i g g s ' s c l a i m s a g a i n s t him d i s m i s s e d f o r l a c k o f 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n and 
t o 
have t h e 
subpoena i s s u e d t o 
S c h u l t z quashed i n i t s e n t i r e t y . 
B. Reverend S c h u l t z ' s Mandamus P e t i t i o n 
case no. 1110892 
I n case no. 111089, Reverend S c h u l t z sought a 
r u l i n g 
" t h a t t h e r e c o r d s subpoenaed by [ H i g g s ] i n t h i s case a r e 
n o t 
due t o be p r o d u c e d . " 
I t appears t h a t Reverend S c h u l t z i s 
a t t e m p t i n g t o c h a l l e n g e t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t ' s o r d e r d e n y i n g i n 
p a r t h i s 
m o t i o n t o quash H i g g s ' s subpoena. 
We h e l d i n P a r t A o f t h e " D i s c u s s i o n " s e c t i o n o f t h i s 
o p i n i o n t h a t B o l e i s e n t i t l e d t o have H i g g s ' s c l a i m s 
a g a i n s t 
r e c e i v e d t h e e - m a i l s i n q u e s t i o n . 
Higgs r e f e r r e d t o those 
i n d i v i d u a l s as members or a f f i l i a t e members o f 
COR, l e a d e r s a t 
COR, v o l u n t e e r s a t COR, s u p p o r t e r s of COR, i n t e r n s a t COR, 
v o l u n t e e r s 
w i t h COR's day program, and/or p e r s o n s who had 
"worked t o p r o v i d e f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t and f u n d r a i s i n g s e r v i c e s 
f o r COR." 
Higgs d i d 
n o t s p e c i f i c a l l y s t a t e whether some of 
those i n d i v i d u a l s 
were a c t u a l l y members or a s s o c i a t e members 
of COR. 
However, i t 
i s c l e a r t h a t , a t t h e v e r y l e a s t , 
those 
i n d i v i d u a l s were i n v o l v e d w i t h COR and/or t h e 
U n i t e d 
M e t h o d i s t 
Church. 
70 
1110868, 1110892 
him 
d i s m i s s e d 
f o r l a c k o f 
s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . 
Because t h e t r i a l c o u r t l a c k e d s u b j e c t - m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n i n 
t h i s 
case, t h e subpoena t o Reverend S c h u l t z was v o i d , and 
Reverend S c h u l t z ' s p e t i t i o n f o r 
a w r i t o f mandamus i s 
moot. 
C o n c l u s i o n 
For t h e a b o v e - s t a t e d 
r e a s o n s , we g r a n t B o l e ' s 
p e t i t i o n 
and 
d i r e c t t h e J e f f e r s o n C i r c u i t 
C o u r t t o v a c a t e i t s o r d e r 
d e n y i n g 
B o l e ' s 
motion t o d i s m i s s and t o e n t e r an 
o r d e r 
g r a n t i n g t h e m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s f o r l a c k o f s u b j e c t - m a t t e r 
j u r i s d i c t i o n . We d i s m i s s Reverend S c h u l t z ' s p e t i t i o n as moot. 
1110868 -- PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED. 
1110892 -- PETITION DISMISSED. 
Malone, 
C.J., and W o o d a l l , 
S t u a r t , 
B o l i n , 
P a r k e r , 
Murdock, Shaw, and Main, J J . , concur. 
71