Ind. Ct. App.: Former pastor entitled to settlement amount, attorney fees; no First Amendment bar to court resolution. In Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Inc. v. Kevin P. Grimes, Sr., No. 18A-PL-2346 (Ind. Ct. App. Aug. 26, 2019), the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s enforcement of a settlement agreement arising from a salary dispute between a Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, one of its districts, one of its congregations and the congregation’s former pastor.
The former pastor demanded payment of salary he deferred in light of the congregation’s financial difficulties. In holding for the pastor, the Court of Appeals rejected the congregation’s argument that the First Amendment prohibited court intervention. The Indiana Lawyer covers the opinion here.