Legal news update

Friday was the deadline for a motion for rehearing to be filed in the South Carolina Supreme Court involving the court’s decision on August 2 in the litigation initiated by a breakaway group over church property and assets.
 
On Friday, the breakaway group first filed a motion for an extension, seeking an additional 15 days in which to file a motion for rehearing. That motion was denied. It was the second request for an extension; earlier, the court had granted a 15-day extension from the initial 15-day filing window.
 
Just before the 5:00 p.m. deadline, the breakaway group filed a motion for rehearing, as well as a motion for recusal directed at Justice Kaye Hearn. One of the affected parishes, Good Shepherd, also filed a motion for rehearing earlier in the afternoon.
 
At this time, no decision has been made by the Supreme Court on these motions.
 
The motion for an extension filed Friday made reference to a separate federal lawsuit currently before the U.S. District Court in Charleston. In that case, vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, Judge Richard Gergel issued an order on August 30 that, with the consent of all parties, the case be assigned to senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. for mediation.
 
Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, said Monday that The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church have agreed with the other parties in the state court case to mediate both the state and federal cases, in an effort to resolve all the disputes and bring an end to the litigation that has divided the diocese.
 
Mr. Tisdale said that mediation is a voluntary process in which the mediator works with the parties to see if a settlement can be reached. It is not binding on any of the parties and if it does not result in a settlement, the litigation continues as before​.