“A federal judge in South Carolina has been told to hear a case stemming from the Episcopal Church split in eastern South Carolina,” the AP reports. The judge “had postponed the case while a lawsuit over control of church property was decided in state courts. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week there was no reason to delay the case.”
That case went to trial in July 2014 in Circuit Court in St. George before Judge Diane S. Goodstein. In February, the judge ruled in favor of the breakaway group. Tuesday’s filing is an appeal of that decision. Also on Tuesday, TECSC attorneys filed a “Motion to Certify” with the state Supreme Court, asking the high court to bypass the appeals court and hear the appeal, given the importance of the case and “the desire to streamline the litigation.”
The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth was formed by The Episcopal Church in 1982-84, after the new diocesan leaders promised unanimously to accept and use the Episcopal property only for The Episcopal Church’s mission and ministry.
A press release from the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the diocese loyal to The Episcopal Church, announcing its expected motion for reconsideration Motion asks court