James Huntsman, who lives in California and runs a film distribution company, sued the church in March 2021 in a federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley and other senior Latter-day Saint leaders had misrepresented how tithing donations were spent.
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Emphasizing religious liberty, church asks 9th Circuit to review Huntsman lawsuit decision
The church is seeking an en banc review or rehearing before the full 9th Circuit
LDS Church Office Building at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah
The 420 foot LDS Church Office Building is the second tallest structure in Salt Lake City and the visual pinnacle of Temple Square. The high-rise has been the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1973. At the base are statues of Joseph Smith and his wife Emma sculpted by Florence Peterson Hansen. In 1830, Joseph published the Book of Mormon and founded the Church of Christ. It was renamed The Church of the Latter-day Saints in 1834. Tragically, Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in 1844.
Sept 22, 2023, 12:49pm PDT
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has appealed a court decision to reinstate part of the case of a California businessman who seeks the return of tithing he paid to the church.
In a petition for a rehearing filed Wednesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the church argues that by allowing James Huntsman’s “novel tithing-fraud claim” to proceed, a three-judge panel “ignored clear Supreme Court First Amendment teaching and created a profound threat to religious liberty.”“Virtually any person who has fallen away from their faith may view their donations to the church during their faithful years as a waste, but that cannot mean each of them has a fraud claim that allows them to try to convince a secular jury that they were swindled. The threat to churches and to the civil courts from such suits is obvious,” church lawyers wrote.- By a 2-1 vote last month, the San Francisco-based court reversed a lower court’s decision to throw out Huntsman’s lawsuit over $5 million in tithing he said he paid the church over a quarter of a century.
- The church is seeking an en banc review or hearing before the full 9th Circuit.
A U.S. District Court judge granted the church’s motion for summary judgment in September 2021 and dismissed the lawsuit, which alleged the church defrauded its members by using tithing funds for purposes other than charitable purposes.
- Huntsman’s suit repeated others’ allegations that the church used $1.4 billion in tithing funds to help pay for City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City and $594 million in tithing funds to bolster Beneficial Financial Group during the 2008 financial crisis.
- Church leaders have maintained that tithing funds are used for religious purposes.
James Huntsman, who lives in California and runs a film distribution company, sued the church in March 2021 in a federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley and other senior Latter-day Saint leaders had misrepresented how tithing donations were spent.“In fact, tithing was not used on the City Creek project,” a church spokesman said when Huntsman filed the lawsuit.
- “As President Hinckley said in the April 2003 general conference of the church, the funds came from ‘commercial entities owned by the church’ and the ‘earnings of invested reserve funds.’
- A similar statement was made by President Hinckley in the October 2004 general conference.”
James Huntsman resigned his church membership in 2020, a church spokesman said in 2021. Huntsman is the son of the late businessman and church leader Jon Huntsman Sr. and brother of former Utah Gov. and U.S. presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. In the court filing, church lawyers say virtually every religion depends on contributions from its members and every religion has members who fall away from the faith.
“Under the panel’s decision, any disillusioned former adherent who finds his way to the 9th Circuit can sue for a refund and attempt to get civil authorities to label their former church a liar,” the lawyers wrote.
- “It is hard to imagine a greater threat to religious liberty or a better reason to grant en banc review.”
Church lawyers argue that if the court allows Huntsman’s claim to move forward, copycat suits by other former believers based on years-old statements will inevitably follow. “And,” they wrote, “the panel’s decision will have a palpable chilling effect on the church’s religious expression.”
A U.S. District Court judge granted the church’s motion for summary judgment in September 2021 and dismissed the lawsuit, which alleged the church defrauded its members by using tithing funds for purposes other than charitable purposes. Huntsman’s suit repeated others’ allegations that the church used $1.4 billion in tithing funds to help pay for City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City and $594 million in tithing funds to bolster Beneficial Financial Group during the 2008 financial crisis.
Church leaders have maintained that tithing funds are used for religious purposes.
James Huntsman, who lives in California and runs a film distribution company, sued the church in March 2021 in a federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley and other senior Latter-day Saint leaders had misrepresented how tithing donations were spent.
“In fact, tithing was not used on the City Creek project,” a church spokesman said when Huntsman filed the lawsuit. “As President Hinckley said in the April 2003 general conference of the church, the funds came from ‘commercial entities owned by the church’ and the ‘earnings of invested reserve funds.’ A similar statement was made by President Hinckley in the October 2004 general conference.”
James Huntsman resigned his church membership in 2020, a church spokesman said in 2021. Huntsman is the son of the late businessman and church leader Jon Huntsman Sr. and brother of former Utah Gov. and U.S. presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr.
In the court filing, church lawyers say virtually every religion depends on contributions from its members and every religion has members who fall away from the faith.
“Under the panel’s decision, any disillusioned former adherent who finds his way to the 9th Circuit can sue for a refund and attempt to get civil authorities to label their former church a liar,” the lawyers wrote. “It is hard to imagine a greater threat to religious liberty or a better reason to grant en banc review.”
Church lawyers argue that if the court allows Huntsman’s claim to move forward, copycat suits by other former believers based on years-old statements will inevitably follow. “And,” they wrote, “the panel’s decision will have a palpable chilling effect on the church’s religious expression.”
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Legal ReaderChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Pushes Back Against Reinstatement of Tithing Lawsuit
In its appeal, the Mormon church claims that letting any lawsuit against its tithing practices proceed could endanger other religious...
.1 day ago
BACKGROUND
LDS Church asks judge to dismiss Huntsman lawsuit alleging fraud
Posted at 10:07 AM, Aug 10, 2021
and last updated 9:07 AM, Aug 10, 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking a federal judge to dismiss a fraud lawsuit filed by a member of a high-profile Utah family.
In a new court filing obtained by FOX 13 on Tuesday, lawyers for the faith ask a Los Angeles federal judge to dismiss James Huntsman's lawsuit.
"James Huntsman seeks an extraordinary remedy—the refund of his voluntary, unrestricted contributions to his former church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," church attorney Rick Richmond wrote in the filing. "Huntsman quit making contributions and resigned from the Church because he had a crisis of faith and no longer believes in certain religious doctrines or practices. Huntsman attempts to avoid the obvious obstacles to seeking a refund by cloaking his claim in the garb of a fraud action."
Huntsman, the brother of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. and a member of the wealthy Utah family, sued the church alleging fraud.
But in their motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the Latter-day Saint church repeats its claim that no tithing dollars were used to fund City Creek. - Instead, the money came from its real-estate arm and other sources, including Ensign Peak and a source of money that was redacted in the court filing.
- The Latter-day Saint church has denied any wrongdoing with its financial investments.
- In Huntsman's lawsuit, the Church goes on to say he cannot specifically point to instances of fraud and the faith's spending is protected under the First Amendment.
Huntsman gave a deposition in the case, the filing revealed. The document also disclosed he resigned his membership from the Church in 2020 "because, as he described it, they 'stopped believing certain doctrines unique to Mormonism.'"
Huntsman's attorneys will have the ability to respond.
The Church has asked that at a hearing at the end of this month in Los Angeles, the judge dismiss the case.
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