The church responds to lawsuit
September 15, 2011 
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North American Division & Pacific Union Conference response to filed complaint by the LSU-3. You can read McCuneWright’s response here.
The demurrer is being criticized at Spectrum because it argues that the forced resignations of the “LaSierra Four” are essentially about governance of a religious institution and hence not amenable to state adjudication. There’s some case law to the effect that under the First Amendment, states do not have the right to adjudicate internal church matters, including the hiring and firing of teachers at religious schools.
I don’t know whether the demurrer will succeed in getting the case thrown out, but I think the hand-wringing over it is overblown. Once a lawsuit is filed, both sides are trying to win by any available legal strategy. I think what really outrages the Spectrum crowd is that the church has the temerity to defend itself at all.
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