The lawsuit against John-David Schofield, deposed bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, seeking recovery of diocesan real estate and financial assets, has been amended to add Merrill Lynch and the “Anglican Diocese Holding Corporation” as defendants.
“The main reason for the amendment is that we have obtained information that John-David Schofield has actually been transferring both real property and investment accounts (the latter held by Merrill Lynch) to non-Episcopal entities, including specifically a new corporation known as the Anglican Diocese Holding Company,” said Heather Anderson, an attorney with the Goodwin Procter law firm based in Washington, D.C.
The San Joaquin diocese, along with TEC, sued Schofield and several Episcopal legal entities that he asserts the right to control on April 24 “to establish who is the true incumbent of Corporation Sole, which owns most of the real estate of the diocese and accounts such as the investment fund and trust fund” containing more than $4 million in cash, diocesan chancellor Michael Glass told a gathering in San Joaquin on May 31.
He said Merrill Lynch was named as a defendant because it “is the institution which holds the accounts for the diocese. We are working with Merrill Lynch, even though they are a defendant,” he said.
Read it all here.
On the subject of attendance at the Lambeth Conference, The Living Church reports John-David Schofield has been invited to the conference.
“Bishop Schofield received and accepted his invitation to Lambeth shortly after the invitations were first issued,” Canon Gandenberger said. “Shortly thereafter he received the study material common to all the bishops.”
Canon Gandenberger said he had no knowledge of any further correspondence from either Archbishop Williams’ office or the Lambeth planning committee.
The Lead previously reported on the invitation sent to Bishop Jerry Lamb, the current provisional bishop of San Joaquin.