FRENCH BROAD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ET AL. v. HOLSTON ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, ET AL. - Articles

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FRENCH BROAD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ET AL. v. HOLSTON ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 31, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Brett D. Stokes, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Bethel United Methodist Church, Bethel Church at Kodak, James Emmert, Jo Ann Ingle, John W. Maples, and Lee Wertheim.

Attorneys 2: Heather G. Anderson, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Holston Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., Debra Wallace Padget, Ann P. Robbins, The Board of Trustees of HAC of UMC, and Stephen C. Walling.

Judge(s): BENNETT

This appeal involves a dispute between a local church and a denominational organization regarding the ownership of church property. We have concluded that the trial court did not err in denying the local church’s motion to recuse and, further, that the trial court properly dismissed all of the local church’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s decision.

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