Church Law & Tax Report
March/April 2006
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Articles
Retirement Plans
An Indiana court ruled that a provision in a church's bylaws requiring the church to make retirement payments to two former pastors took precedence over conflicting provisions.
Recent Developments
Issues that affect ministers and churches, with Richard R. Hammar
Arbitration
An Illinois court upheld the validity of a church arbitration policy despite the alleged "bias" of the arbitrators.
Child Abuse Reporting
A New York court ruled that the subject of a child abuse report had no legal right to obtain the name of the person who reported the abuse.
Church Membership
A California court ruled that it was not barred by the First Amendment guaranty of religious freedom from resolving a lawsuit brought by dismissed members challenging the legal validity of their dismissals.
Church Property - Part 1
A church corporation that was reinstated after having been dissolved for failure to submit an annual corporate report to the secretary of state should be treated as a corporation.
Church Property
Church Property - Part 2
A Texas court ruled that a church had to be evicted from its property because its use of the property for religious purposes violated a "restrictive covenant" in a prior deed.
Clergy—Removal
A California court ruled that a church's music minister who was dismissed after it was learned that he was homosexual could sue the church and church leaders.
Confidential and Privileged Communications
A man's confession to a minister that he had committed a murder was admissible at trial because it was not protected by the clergy-penitent privilege.
Freedom of Religion
A federal district court in Indiana ruled that the practice of opening each session of the state legislature with prayer violated the First Amendment's nonestablishment of religion clause.
Freedom of Religion - Part 2
A federal appeals court ruled that inscribing the national motto "In God We Trust" on a government building did not constitute an unconstitutional "establishment" of religion.
Church Property; Personal Injuries on Church Property or During Church Activities
Personal Injuries on Church Property and During Church Activities - Part 1
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that a small business owner was not liable on the basis of negligent supervision for an employee’s sexual molestation of a 12-year-old girl.
Sexual Misconduct by Clergy, Lay Employees, and Volunteers
The Maine Supreme Court ruled that a Catholic diocese could be sued on the basis of negligent supervision and breach of a fiduciary duty for a priest's molestation of an adolescent male.
Zoning
A church's rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act were not violated by a city's denial of its application for a conditional use permit to construct a new sanctuary.
Church Property; Personal Injuries on Church Property or During Church Activities
Personal Injuries on Church Property and During Church Activities - Part 2
A North Carolina court ruled that the parents of a 12-year-old boy were not liable for injuries the youth director sustained.
