Briefs filed in state court

The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) today filed briefs with Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson, seeking implementation of the South Carolina Supreme Supreme Court's ruling on church property matters, a full accounting, and dismissal of a related lawsuit filed by a breakaway group.

Each brief, or “Memorandum of Law,” supports a different aspect of the matters before the court: the Petition for Execution, the Petition for an Accounting, and the Motion to Dismiss a complaint filed under the Betterments Act.

Plaintiffs in the case also filed documents with the court today, including a supplement, a memo and another memo.
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Attorneys were notified earlier this month that Judge Dickson plans to hear all motions and petitions before him during the weeks of October 22 and 29. Specific dates have not yet been assigned.

The state Supreme Court decided in August 2017 to return diocesan and parish property to The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and later remitted the case to the 1st Judicial Circuit to be implemented. The Episcopal Church and TECSC, as well as the breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012 and initiated the lawsuit, have filed documents with the court describing how they would like Judge Dickson to proceed.

The court asked for briefings by counsel for the parties to be filed by September 24, with responses to be filed by October 5 and replies to the responses by October 12.