Lead Stories

The First Amendment prohibits courts from taking jurisdiction of church disputes involving ecclesiastical issues, but permits them to exercise jurisdiction where the questions can be resolved under neutral principles of law.  The Supreme Court of Alabama has recently been asked to apply these concepts in a dispute involving a church in Clarke County.

An appellate court in Missouri has affirmed a trial court decision holding that the Missouri Baptist Foundation can’t unilaterally amend its governing documents to eliminate the right of the Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention to approve such changes.  The Court of Appeals has held that changes in the documents without the Convention’s prior review and approval are void.  (The Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention v.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology, a 130-year-old public university emphasizing science and technology, has won the right to disaffiliate from its alumni association and to deny the association the ability to use its name and logos in ways that might mislead the public.  The Appellate Division of the Superior Court has affirmed a trial court decision from 2014 upholding the disaffiliation.  (Alumni Association of New Jersey Institute of Technol

A federal District Court in California has permanently enjoined the Attorney General of California from requiring a charitable organization to file a copy of its Form 990 Schedule B disclosure of significant donors with its charitable solicitation registration application for the state.  It is the latest and sharpest decision in a series of efforts to reduce the use of Schedule B to provide information to regulators about the donors to charitable organizations.  (Americans for Prosperity Foundation

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a homeowners’ association judgment for more than $30,000 against a former president for breach of fiduciary duty while in office is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.  (Whitaker v. Moroney Farms Homeowners’ Association, Fifth Cir., No. 15-40926, 3/18/16.)

Sally Leonard, a member of the paddling committee of the New Hampshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, claimed that after she said that fellow committee member Thomas Todd should not be allowed to participate in a paddling committee event because of “his history of aggressive behavior toward females,” her computer was hacked and her car window was broken.  She also claimed that she was afraid for her well-being.