A recent published decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals, Trinity Health-Michigan v. City of Kentwood (August 21, 2026), is worth the attention of any
In disputes between regional conferences and local mega-churches, neutral principles give local congregations strong leverage if their deeds and corporate bylaws favor local control. However, if the local church previously executed clear contracts, express trust agreements, or charter language binding itself irrevocably to the regional conference, Texas courts will enforce those secular constraints.
The enforceability of the UMC Trust Clause depends entirely on state geography. In deference or hybrid states, the national denomination holds a clear advantage, as internal church canons are treated as decisive contracts. In strict neutral-principles states like Texas, secular corporate registration and recorded property deeds control the outcome, giving autonomous local church boards a strong statutory path to retain local assets.
Can a church member sue their church if tithes and offerings are allocated differently than promised in a sermon or on a website? Can a donor demand a refund based on a pastor’s pulpit pledge? A ruling from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas offers answers to these questions. In Katherine Leach et al. v. Gateway Church, Robert Morris, and Steve Dulin (Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-885, decided June 23, 2026), District Judge Amos L. Mazzant dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought by church members seeking refunds of their tithes. Grounding its decision in the constitutional First Amendment and recent Fifth Circuit precedent, the court reaffirmed a foundational doctrine of American law: civil courts cannot step inside the sanctuary to police how churches allocate donated tithes or evaluate statements made from the pulpit.
The First Amendment Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine does not bar civil courts from resolving real property claims involving religious entities where the dispute can be decided using neutral principles of law without determining underlying theological or doctrinal questions. A defrocked bishop residing in a church-owned parsonage without a lease or rent payments is a licensee, not a tenant under Maryland property law, whose possessory rights terminate immediately upon revocation by the property owner.
If you are forming a new nonprofit, one of the first decisions you will face after incorporating is how to apply to the IRS for
On July 15, 2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals delivered a forceful reminder of this constitutional boundary in Rev. Dr. Marcus L. Lovelace v. Mt. Zion Baptist Church, et al. (Docket No. 371028). The court affirmed the wholesale summary dismissal of a former senior pastor’s breach of contract, tortious interference, and defamation claims. This commentary deconstructs the court’s application of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine and evaluates the profound operational realities the ruling imposes on religious entities and employment law practitioners in Michigan.
The Tassinari decision will undoubtedly serve as a crucial benchmark for future litigation concerning faith-based non-profits and federal funding. By focusing squarely on the nature of the space and program rather than the defendant’s global corporate identity, the court established a functional, context-dependent test for church autonomy. If a religious organization maintains a program where the primary, non-severable objective is evangelism, and where participants are explicitly required to engage in religious life as a condition of entry, that program will likely receive the highest level of First Amendment protection—even if the parent organization receives federal support elsewhere.
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision, Goldsmith v Faith Hope & Love Outreach Center Inc, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals,
Today, a federal jury in Oakland, California delivered its verdict in one of the most closely watched corporate governance disputes in recent memory. Elon Musk’s
Nonprofit mergers used to be rare enough that most executive directors could go an entire career without facing one. That is no longer true. Sustained
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