Leftist 9th Circuit Court en banc panel rules unanimously in favor of the Restored Church of Christ.

[Vort]

I haven't seen this discussed. Good news not only for those who love the Church, but for those who love religious freedom and don't want the courts circumscribing what people believe.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/01/31/huntsman-tithing-lawsuit-dismissed-9th-circuit-panel/

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/01/31/other-religions-cheer-latter-day-saint-court-victory-huntsman-tithing-case/

[Just_A_Guy]

It’s a great result.

FWIW, though, my my understanding is that Trump actually got quite a few appointments on the 9th Circuit during his first term and it has drifted towards the center in the past decade.

[Carborendum]

On 2/1/2025 at 6:26 PM, Just_A_Guy said:

... my understanding is that Trump actually got quite a few appointments on the 9th Circuit during his first term and it has drifted towards the center in the past decade.

It was a unanimous decision as it was (as far as finding for the Church).  Three different opinions were all vehemently against the plaintiff.

6 judges said:

Quote

The church had long explained that the sources of the reserve funds include tithing funds. Huntsman has not presented evidence that the church did anything other than what it said it would do.

4 judges said:

Quote

This lawsuit is extraordinary and patently inappropriate, a not-so thinly concealed effort to challenge the church’s belief system under the guise of litigation...The majority is correct that there was no fraudulent misrepresentation even on the terms of plaintiff’s own allegations. But it would have done well for the en banc court to recognize the obvious: There is no way in which the plaintiff here could prevail without running headlong into basic First Amendment prohibitions on courts resolving ecclesiastical disputes.

The final judge

Quote

Resolving (Huntsman’s) claims requires swimming in a current of religious affairs... What is a ‘tithe?’ Who can speak for the church on the meaning of ‘tithes?’ What are church members’ obligations to offer ‘tithes?’ These are questions that only ecclesiastical authorities — not federal courts — can decide.

If all 11 judges bashed the plaintiff with a variety of legal reasons, it is pretty obvious that this was a non-starter.

Edited February 3 by Carborendum

[Carborendum]

Interesting quote from the Tribulation

Quote

The 9th Circuit ruling found that church leaders’ references to the use of “earnings on invested reserve funds” as opposed to actual tithing were “not so ambiguous that the church could have expected or intended its relevant audience — here, Huntsman — to misunderstand what it meant.”

Huntsman comes from a prominent Latter-day Saint family, the court said, and has extensive business experience “so was presumably familiar with investment concepts.”

Basically,

• He read the statement ahead of time.
• He was a successful enough businessman that he should have known what it meant. 
• And the Church abided by that statement. 
• But he still chose to cry foul knowing full well that the Church did exactly as promised.

If the Church were vindictive, they'd be well within their rights to cry out "malicious prosecution."

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

Interesting quote from the Tribulation

Yeah, when every single 9th circuit judge, and the SLTribune point out how dumb your lawsuit against a church is, it's time to pay attention. 

As a side note, I'm always glad to see the traditional rivalry between the church-owned Deseret News and the godless heathen Salt Lake Tribune is still going strong.  

Personal story: My dad was a printer in the 1970's that worked in the building in which both newspapers were printed.  Giant machines almost 2 stories tall.  Dad was a typesetter and proofreader for both newspapers.  The two newspapers shared plenty of similar content, shared a lot of writers, had similar layouts.  The differences were sometimes funny.  I remember he once came home from work with a page from each newspaper.  The Tribune ran a story about a sports team, with a two-sentence mention of the consumption of liquor.  On the same page the DesNews instead ran a story about old ladies knitting blankets.  

Dad was a proud card carrying heathen, given to loud laughter and mocking sacred things.  I eventually entered my surly rebellious teenager phase and started reading DesNews just to spite him.  He would have absolutely been on Team Huntsman here, and the 9th circuit smackdown would have provoked plenty of swears.