wfn.org | Judge dismisses lawsuit against Nebraska bishop, conference

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Nov. 19, 1998        Contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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NOTE: U.S. District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront's name is spelled correctly.

By United Methodist News Service

A federal judge in Nebraska has dismissed a lawsuit that was brought
against United Methodist Church officials by a disgruntled candidate for
ordination.

Kenneth McQueen, who had been a local pastor in the conference, had
charged Bishop Joel Martinez and other Nebraska Annual Conference
officials with breach of contract, defamation of character and
infliction of emotional distress after being denied ordination as an
elder and losing  credentials as a deacon. 

However, U.S. District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront in Lincoln, Neb., found
that the court had no jurisdiction to review the church's decision
regarding McQueen's ordination request. The judge also did not find
grounds for the charges of defamation and emotional distress. The judge
signed the order Nov. 12 dismissing the lawsuit.
 
"I agree with the judge's basic stance that ordination decisions are
matters for the churches and the churches' processes and are not for
courts to determine," Martinez told United Methodist News Service on
Nov. 19.

In describing the court's jurisdiction, Cheuvront made specific
reference to the denomination's Book of Discipline.

"It is clear that the plaintiff's claim challenges the internal church
discipline as well as internal church matters," the judge wrote. "The
actions for breach of contract, by necessity, involve judicial inquiry
into the terms of the United Methodist Book of Discipline and the
interpretation thereof. This court has no jurisdiction to review actions
taken pursuant to that document."

Cheuvront wrote that the court also found that McQueen's petition didn't
state a cause of action for defamation. The judge disagreed with
McQueen's contention that certain statements made by some of the
defendants were libelous.

The allegations in McQueen's petition "fall far short of stating a cause
of action for the intentional infliction of emotional distress," the
judge found.

The lawsuit had been filed June 1 in Lancaster County District Court.
McQueen sought $900,000 in damages plus legal fees.

McQueen had named in his lawsuit the annual conference, Martinez, three
district superintendents, a former district superintendent and members
of the conference board of ordained ministry.

McQueen originally was ordained a deacon in South Dakota and transferred
to the Nebraska conference in 1993. He was appointed as a local pastor
to the Adams and Hopewell United Methodist churches. His applications
for ordination as elder in 1995, 1996 and 1997 were rejected by the
conference's board of ordained ministry, according to the court record.

In the complaint, McQueen said his status as an ordained deacon in the
United Methodist Church was rescinded by the cabinet and board of
ordained ministry at the 1996 Nebraska Annual Conference gathering, even
though he had fulfilled all requirements for ordination as elder. He was
assigned to the Genoa United Methodist Church, but he was not
reappointed for the current year.

A local pastor is a lay person approved by a district committee on
ordained ministry and licensed by the bishop to perform the duties of a
pastor while assigned to a pastoral charge. The authority of a local
pastor must be reviewed annually. The approval for a license is given
after several requirements have been met.. Local pastors answer to the
conference clergy, who meet annually to evaluate their performance.

McQueen currently is a layperson and does not have clergy standing in
Nebraska, Martinez said.

McQueen has 21 days after the filing of the order to appeal the judge's
ruling.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
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