A Houston County circuit judge ruled on Wednesday in favor of Harvest Church in Dothan in a lawsuit against the United Methodist Church (UMC).
Harvest Church has been suing the UMC for years over a property dispute after the church announced its disaffiliation from the denomination.
Arguments in the case centered on whether Harvest Church, alone or with the UMC, owns its church property.
“Though we were expecting this, we are all very excited here! I think the Judge and our lawyers did an excellent job! It is a shame that so many Methodist churches have been forced to pay large sums of money to leave the UMC, when it was the UMC that is violating the Bible, and their own rules (discipline),” Harvest Church Pastor Ralph Sigler told 1819 News on Wednesday.
The ruling on Wednesday ends a years-long legal battle between Harvest Church and the UMC. Houston County Circuit Judge Christopher Richardson said in an order that Harvest was the “absolute, full, exclusive” owner of its property, not UMC.
“Based upon the above and foregoing, the Court finds that Harvest has sufficiently established its ownership of the relevant real estate referenced in its Complaint and/or titled in its name, as well as the personal property held in its name,” Richardson said. “The Court accordingly GRANTS the requested declaratory relief sought by Harvest, and it hereby declares and recognizes that Harvest alone is the absolute, full, exclusive, fee simple owner of all real or personal property that is owned by Harvest, held for Harvest, or titled in its name. Further, neither the United Methodist Church, nor the (Alabama West Florida Conference of the UMC) or (General Counsel on Finance and Administration of the UMC), hold any right or interest in any of the real or personal property so owned by Harvest; nor do those entities have any trust, equitable, or beneficial interest in any of the real or personal property so owned by Harvest.”
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