Diocese, other defendants file motion
for partial summary judgment in Tarrant County case

On Thursday, Dec. 23, the defendants in the lawsuit pending in the 141st District Court filed their Motion for Partial Summary Judgment with supporting affidavits. (The defendants include the Diocese and Corporation, members of the Board of Trustees and Standing Committee, and 48 parishes and mission churches of the Diocese.)

“The ultimate legal question for the Court,” the introduction states, “is whether the control of two Texas entities – a Texas nonprofit corporation (the Corporation) and a Texas unincorporated association (the Diocese) – should be decided by (1) neutral application of Texas law to their unambiguous governing documents, or (2) divergent opinions about the structure, history, beliefs, and practice of a religious denomination over hundreds of years. Both the Constitution and Texas law require this Court to choose the former.”

The case is set for a hearing at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, before the Hon. John Chupp.

The following are PDF documents.