The Court of Appeals of Minnesota has reversed a trial court decision and permitted participants in pension plans of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to proceed with a suit against the plan board for breach of fiduciary duty.
A citizen domiciled in Haiti cannot sue a defendant domiciled in Maine and claim federal court jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship because of an “arcane” exception to the general rule allowing a citizen of one state to sue a citizen of another state in federal court. But it was enough to cause a federal District Court in Maine to throw out two defamation verdicts totaling $14.5 million when the defendant raised the issue after losing a “long, arduous” trial. (
The Supreme Court of North Dakota has refused to create an exception to the general rule that an unincorporated association may not hold title to real estate under state law. It has denied a request by a nonprofit association to make an exception to recognize a deed the association claimed it received from the former owner. (The Next Step v. Redmon, Supreme Ct., ND, No. 20150333, 5/26/16.)
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
