Anglican Churches Call for Property Lawsuit Dismissal in US

Breakaway Anglican churches sued by the Diocese of Virginia filed their official response on Monday over disputes on property rights.

Ten of the 11 churches involved in the lawsuit asked the court to dismiss the Diocese's suits for failure to state any claims on which relief could be granted.

"The individual defendants sued by the Diocese serve as officers, directors or trustees without compensation and thus are immune altogether from suit by Virginia statute or cannot be properly sued as a matter of Virginia corporation law," stated the churches in the Anglican District of Virginia in their response.

The churches, which broke from the Episcopal Church in overwhelming votes in December, argued that Virginia law does not recognise denominational trusts in their property and thus the Diocese cannot base claim to church property on an assertion of trust-based rights. Based on that claim, since the Diocese does not own the church properties, its claims of conversion, trespass, alienation or accounting "must fail," the response stated.

Suits were filed in January against 11 congregations that left the denomination over differences in theological views. They formed a conservative Anglican body - Convocation of Anglicans in North America - remaining in communion with the global Anglican churches.