Nation Ford Baptist Church, Inc. v. Davis

Summary

The North Carolina Supreme Court held that the trial court properly exercised subject‑matter jurisdiction over Pastor Davis’s declaratory‑judgment claim because it can be decided by neutral, secular principles of corporate and contract law, but it lacked jurisdiction over claims that required the court to interpret ecclesiastical matters such as the pastor’s spiritual leadership, fiduciary duties, tortious interference, and alleged fund misappropriation. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the denial of the Church’s motion to dismiss the secular claims and reversed the dismissal of the ecclesiastical claims, remanding for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.