Showing posts with label Church property. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church property. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Michigan Passes Institutional Desecration Ban

 Last week, the Michigan legislature gave final passage to HB 4476 (full text) (legislative history) which creates the crime of "institutional desecration." A person is guilty of the crime if the person:

maliciously and intentionally destroys, damages, defaces, or vandalizes, or makes a true threat to destroy, damage, deface, or vandalize ... because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, age, ethnicity, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals....

any religious building, educational institution, library, museum, community center, campground, cemetery, business or charitable institution.  The bill now goes to Governor Whitmer for her signature. Michigan Radio reports on the bill's passage.

Wednesday, November 08, 2023

NY Court Rules That Parent Body Is Entitled to Possession of Hare Krishna Temple

Kelley v. Gupta, (Sup.Ct. Nassau Cty. NY, Oct. 25, 2023), involves a dispute between two factions of the Hare Krishna movement over control of a temple in Freeport, New York. In this decision a New York state trial court concluded that The Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ("GBC") is the highest ecclesiastical authority in the Krishna movement, and upheld GBC's expulsion of defendant for engaging in religious practices that are contrary to the teachings of the religion. The court said in part:

GBC has established that ISKCON Global is a religion that operates under a hierarchical system, whereby local temples are subject to review and control by the GBC and its ascending order of authority.... The GBC has continued to pass laws and make rulings on various ISKCON Global issues including religious practices and the management of properties. Among these rulings were the Resolutions prohibiting ritvik theory as "a dangerous philosophical deviation," and the expulsion of those who practiced ritvikism, including the defendant and Mr. Garuda. Accordingly, complete deference must be afforded to the GBC's decision making authority in ecclesiastical matters, and any final decisions of the GBC in such matters are therefore binding on this Court....

The court concluded that trustees of ISKCON "are entitled to immediate possession of the Freeport Temple premises and property belonging to the Temple, including but not limited to deities...."

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Church Autonomy Bars Court Adjudicating Dispute Over Withdrawal from Parent Body

 In Deutsche Evangelisch Lutherische Zions Gemeinde v. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (Kings Cty NY Sup. Ct., Aug. 16, 2023), a New York state trial court dismissed a suit brought by a German Lutheran church in Brooklyn that claims it has broken away from its parent bodies, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod over the parent bodies' stance accepting same-sex marriage and ordination of gay clergy. The parent bodies claim that the church is still affiliated with them. Plaintiff asks the court to determine that its membership with the parent bodies has been terminated and that the parent bodies lack authority to take control of church property. It also alleges in defamation claims that false statements about its affiliation injure its reputation and dissuade new members from joining. In rejecting those claims, the court said in part:

... [T]he neutral principles of law approach cannot be applied to adjudicate plaintiff's property claims which directly call into question the authority that has been vested in the synod to impose synodical administration which would allow it to dissolve the church and take control over its property....

The MNYS's power to impose synodical administration is far broader, however, than its authority to take control over a local church's property.... Plaintiff's argument ... ignores the inherent religious elements.... [T]he decision to impose synodical administration over a church involves consideration by the Synod of such issues as church governance, religious doctrine and practice, scripture, and the spiritual well-being of the local church's remaining members. Thus, it concerns subject matter with which this court is forbidden from entangling itself pursuant to the First Amendment. Indeed, synodical administration is an inherently religious matter although it incidentally concerns a local church's property.....

In order to resolve the dispute of whether plaintiff terminated its membership with defendants, this court would necessarily intrude into areas of church polity, religious doctrine, practice, and scripture in order to force the Synod to accept the votes taken by plaintiff's congregation in 2008 and 2009 to terminate the relationship. Whether plaintiff remains a member church of the ELCA and the MNYS is more than just a mere associational question but a religious one.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

8th Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Ban on Damaging Religious Real Property

In United States v. Hari, (8th Cir., May 10, 2023), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality under the Commerce Clause of 18 USC §247.  The statute bars damaging religious real property because of the religious character of the property, and bars obstructing a person's enjoyment of free exercise of religion by force or threat of force against them or against religious real property, when the person's conduct affects interstate commerce. The court said in part:

Here, the statute specifically requires that the offense “affects interstate or foreign commerce.” This “ensures, through a case-by-case inquiry, that each defendant’s [offense] affected interstate commerce.”

The court also upheld defendant's conviction under 18 USC § 924(c)(1) for carrying or using a destructive device during and in relation to any crime of violence.  The conduct for which defendant was convicted was described by the court:

In August 2017, Emily Hari loaded a pickup truck with a 20 pound pipe bomb, two assault rifles, and a sledgehammer and drove with two confederates from Illinois to the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The trio smashed a window of the Imam’s office before the parishioners’ dawn prayer and threw gasoline, diesel fuel, and the pipe bomb inside. The bomb detonated. No one was injured; the building suffered fire and smoke damage. Hari and the others fled.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Suit By Florida Breakaway Methodist Churches Is Dismissed

In Grace United Methodist Church Inc. v. Board of Trustees of FL Annual Conf of UMC Inc., (FL Cir. Ct., April 18, 2023). a Florida state trial court dismissed a suit by 71 Methodist congregations throughout Florida which seek to break away from their parent body because of their objections to United Methodist Church allowing bishops and clergy to officiate at same-sex weddings and to be openly gay. The congregations want to reaffiliate with the more conservative Global Methodist Church. Current UMC rules impose substantial financial costs on congregations seeking to disaffiliate. The court concluded that, under Florida precedent, it must defer to decisions of church hierarchical bodies. It also concluded that actions to determine title to property must be brought in local courts covering the jurisdiction in which the property is located. The court added:

[C]onsidering the recent clarifications from the Supreme Court of the United States on matters of discrimination and unequal treatment based on religious status, along with the abrogation of Lemon v. Kurtzman ... it seems to the Court that merely deferring to the UMC on all matters and denying the Plaintiffs access to the courts to litigate neutral property and trust matters does not meet the strictest scrutiny. Nevertheless, the Court is bound to follow the law as established by the higher courts in the State of Florida.

UM News reports on the decision.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

185 Methodist Churches in Georgia Sue Parent Body Seeking Disaffiliation

 At the end of last month, 185 Methodist congregations in Georgia filed suit in a Georgia state trial court against their parent body and its officials.  The congregations are attempting to disaffiliate from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church pursuant to a provision (❡2553) added to the Church's Book of Discipline in 2019.  The provision, which applies to disaffiliations completed by the end of 2023, allows disaffiliating congregations to keep their real and personal property.  The complaint (full text) in Carrollton First United Methodist Church, Inc. v. Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., (GA Superior Ct., filed 3/30/2023), alleges in part that: 

Defendants have conspired to "run out the clock" on Plaintiffs ability to utilize ❡2553 by a combination of ultra vires actions, fraudulent misrepresentations, and promises which they have failed to keep so that, unless this court intervenes, Plaintiffs cannot and indeed will not be allowed to fulfill the legislated requirements of ❡2553 in time to meet the sunset date of 12/31/23.

The complaint also alleges that the parent body is no longer allowing disaffiliating churches a credit for their share of a $23 million pension plan reserve fund.

In introductory paragraphs, the complaint contends:

This case can be resolved in accordance with secular Georgia law ... without interfering with the separation of church and state.... Defendants cannot be heard to contest this point, as Defendants have availed themselves of the same principles recently in a substantially similar context in this very court....

UM News, reporting on the lawsuit, says in part:

The lawsuit ... involves more than a quarter of the North Georgia Conference’s nearly 700 congregations. 

It’s also the most congregations that have banded together in a single lawsuit since the denomination began undergoing a slow-motion separation after decades of intensifying debate over LGBTQ inclusion.

Wednesday, December 07, 2022

North Carolina Methodist Churches Sue to Disaffiliate from Parent Body

Suit was filed last month in a North Carolina state trial court by 38 United Methodist Churches in North Carolina which are seeking to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and retain their buildings and property.  The complaint (full text) in Mount Carmel United Methodist Church v. Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, (NC Super. Ct., filed 11/10/2022), alleges in part:

Plaintiff Churches wish to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church ("UMC") to pursue their deeply held religious beliefs. Defendants want to force Plaintiff Churches to stay affiliated with the UMC, and violate those beliefs by holding their church buildings and property hostage. Defendants claim Plaintiffs' Churches property is encumbered by an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the UMC and the only way for Plaintiff Churches to disaffiliate without surrendering the buildings and property that are central to their congregations is by the permission of the UMC and payment of a financial ransom.

Plaintiffs ask the court to declare that the UMC trust is terminated or is revocable and to quiet title to the Churches properties. Religion News Service reports on the lawsuit, saying in part:

Legal action — or the threat of legal action — represents a new strategy on behalf of churches that want to leave the 6.4 million-member United Methodist Church. The denomination is undergoing a wholesale splinter after decades of rancorous debate over the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ members.

The denomination allows churches to leave through the end of 2023. The exit plan allows them to take their properties with them after paying two years of apportionments and pension liabilities.

Saturday, September 03, 2022

Church's Attempt To Separate From Parent To Avoid Receivership Was Fraudulent

In Pentecostal Church of God v. City of Refuge Ministries Toledo Ohio, (OH Com. Pl., Aug. 15, 2022), an Ohio state trial court held that the transfer of a Toledo, Ohio church building by a quitclaim deed to City of Refuge, a separate non-profit entity, was fraudulent.  The court concluded that Toledo congregation was a satellite church of Detroit Pentecostal Church of God, and the members signing the deed had no authority to transfer the property. The transfer was made in order to attempt to separate the Toledo congregation from the receivership imposed on the Detroit congregation. The court said in part:

Here, the dispute is over a quit-claim deed that transferred property held by PCG to City of Refuge in 2018. Deciding if that deed was fraudulently transferred from PCG to City of Refuge will not invade upon protected ecclesiastical matters.....

[T]his Court finds that the deed executed in 2018, conveying the contested property from PCG to City of Refuge Ministries Toledo, Ohio as void, ab initio. Further, the title to said property is vested to PCG alone and the defendant, City of Refuge does not have any estate, right, title, or interest in the property.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Disaffiliated Congregation Not Entitled To Church Property

In Hebron Community Methodist Church v. Wisconsin Conference Board of Trustees of the United Methodist Church, Inc., (WD WI, July 25, 2022), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected a claim by a local congregation that it retained title to the church's real property after it disaffiliated from its parent organization.  The local congregation asked for a declaration that a Wisconsin statute specifically governing property of disaffiliated Methodist congregations is unconstitutional.  The statute provides:

Whenever any local Methodist church or society shall become defunct or be dissolved the rights, privileges and title to the property thereof, both real and personal, shall vest in the annual conference and be administered according to the rules and discipline of said church.

The court however held that it need not reach the constitutional question, because the local congregation "has not pleaded facts sufficient to show that any neutral principle of law would allow Hebron to retain its property after disaffiliation." Wisconsin law directs courts to look to the Church's governing documents. The congregation had adopted the Book of Discipline as its governing document.  The Book of Discipline provides in part:

All properties of United Methodist local churches and other United Methodist agencies and institutions are held, in trust, for the benefit of the entire denomination....

Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.

Wednesday, July 06, 2022

Break-Away Faction In Church of God Not Entitled To Property Ownership

In Blue v. Church of God Sanctified, Inc., (TN App., June 27, 2022), a Tennessee state appellate court held that in a property dispute between a break-away faction of a local Church of God and the National Body (as well as a faction loyal to the National Body, labeled the Mother Church), the National Body and its local adherents own church property.  The court said in part:

 We agree with the trial court’s determination that as a matter of ecclesiastical government, the procedure for separation of an affiliated member church from a hierarchical church organization is an issue over which civil courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction.... The trial court did not err in declining to exercise subject matter jurisdiction over Local Church’s initial request for a judgment declaring it to be a separate entity from the National Body....

The court went on to apply the "hybrid neutral principles" approach to affirm the trial court's conclusion that the local church property belongs to the National Body. It described the "hybrid neutral principles" approach:

 “[u]nder this approach, courts defer to and enforce trust language contained in the constitutions and governing documents of hierarchical religious organizations, even if this language of trust is not included in a civil legal document and does not satisfy the formalities that the civil law normally requires to create a trust.”

The court concluded:

 Although no ecclesiastical judgment is in the record, we conclude that the evidence presented at the summary judgment stage demonstrates that the National Body considered Mother Church to be the congregation entitled to possession and use of the Property.... Moreover, as the trial court found, Local Church had already sought disaffiliation from the National Body and had “appointed [its] own pastor, deacons, and trustees outside of the requirements of the [Manual].” We therefore defer to the National Body’s determination, acting through Bishop Hill, that Mother Church is the congregation entitled to possession and use of the Property and its associated personalty.

Wednesday, April 06, 2022

Kentucky Governor Signs Bill Protecting Houses Of Worship During Emergencies

Yesterday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed into law House Bill 43 (full text) that prohibits the governor, during a state of emergency, from seizing or condemning "houses of worship, except to the extent that such houses have become unsafe to a degree that would justify condemnation in the absence of a state of emergency." ADF issued a press release announcing the governor's action.

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine Bars Adjudication Of Some Claims In Dispute Between Church Factions

In In re Thomas, (TX App., Jan.14, 2022), Jan. 14, 2022), a Texas state appellate court ruled on the extent to which the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars various claims in a dispute between two factions in a Baptist church over who should be its pastor and which faction controls its large bank account. The court held that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars civil courts from ruling on the deacons' authority to terminate the church's pastor and on whether one group is obligated to relinquish control over the church's financial records and bank account. However, the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine did not necessarily bar adjudication of claims for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion of church funds and access to the church's books, records and bank statements.

Friday, May 28, 2021

Church's Suit Against Bank Dismissed On Ecclesiastical Abstention Grounds

In Eglise Baptiste Bethanie De Ft. Lauderdale, Inc. v. Bank of America, N.A., (FL App., May 26, 2021), a Florida state appellate court, in a 2-1 decision, affirmed the dismissal of a suit by a Baptist church against a bank for negligently transferring control of the church's bank accounts to the widow of the deceased pastor. The court said in part:

Here, although the Church’s negligence claims against the Banks involve a question of control over bank accounts, in order to resolve those claims the court would necessarily have to decide which faction within the Church controls the bank accounts. The only way for the court to make this determination is for it to consider the Church’s internal governance structure. “[Q]uestions of church governance are manifestly ecclesiastical.” Id. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in dismissing the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.

Judge Winter dissented, saying in part:

Appellants argued that the case could be decided on neutral legal principles, and to determine otherwise goes beyond the four corners of the complaint. At best, therefore, dismissal was premature. The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine applies to church property disputes in hierarchical religious organizations. A different rule applies to churches which are congregational organizations. Based upon the correct rule, dismissal was error.

Monday, March 22, 2021

Court Continues 30-Year Old Church Factional Dispute

In Trustees of the General Assembly of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc. v. Patterson, (ED PA, March 19, 2021), a Pennsylvania federal district court, in an 85-page opinion, granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the county sheriff from carrying out a Writ of Possession and Eviction Notice against plaintiff Church and Church Corporation which holds title to Church property. As explained by the court:

The instant action is one in a long line of other cases ... over the past three decades, in state court and federal court alike. The heart of each case is the same, though the procedural postures may differ. They all seek to resolve, once and for all, a question that has been posed since 1991, after the death of the late Bishop McDowell Shelton and the subsequent schism in the Church: Who gets to control the Church and Church Corporation and their assets?

The Writ of Possession at issue grew out of a 2006 Arbitration Award which was upheld in 2017. The court concluded, however, that the case giving rise to the arbitration award was between individual leaders of the two factions seeking control. Since the Church and the Church Corporation were not parties to that action, it was not binding on them. Thus a judgment is being enforced against them when they never had the opportunity to litigate the matter.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Church's Appeal of Bank's Interpleader Is Dismissed

United Community Bank v. Wakefield Missionary Baptist Church,  (NC App., March 16, 2021), involves a dispute over who is entitled to bank accounts of Wakefield Missionary Baptist Church on deposit at United Community Bank. The Bank filed an interpleader action. The church trustees sought dismissal on the ground that the dispute was an ecclesiastical matter requiring determination of who is a church member, and their roles and authority. As recounted by the appeals court:

The trial court granted the Bank’s motion for interpleader and discharge, ordering the Bank to relinquish all of the disputed funds to the Clerk of Superior Court to be held until further orders. The Bank complied.

The court dismissed the appeal as interlocutory, saying in part:

The interlocutory order granting interpleader does not impair the Trustee Defendants’ ... rights because the issue of who has control over the Church’s assets with the Bank is the very thing yet to be decided at the trial court.... The proceeding does not interfere with the Trustee Defendants’ substantial right to be free from ecclesiastical entanglement because the trial court can resolve the controversy based on neutral principles of law.

Friday, March 05, 2021

Synod May Take Over Property of Defunct Church

In Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America v. Trinity Lutheran Church of Kankakee, (IL App., March 2, 2021), an Illinois state appellate court held that the parent Synod was entitled to take over the property of a local church whose membership had diminished to the point that it was no longer holding worship services or exercising governance functions. Both the constitution of the Synod and of the congregation provided that the Synod should take over the congregation's property in such cases. However one of the remaining church members changed the locks and prevented the Synod from entering. The court said in part:

Pursuant to both constitutions, the Synod Council determined that Trinity Lutheran was no longer viable and, thus, ceased to exist. Such a decision was within the province of the Synod Council and is an ecclesiastical matter involving church doctrine, polity, and practice. Therefore, we will defer to such a finding.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari In Church Property Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in two related cases, All Saints Episcopal Church v. Diocese of Fort Worth (Docket No. 20-534) and The Episcopal Church v. Diocese of Fort Worth (Docket No. 20-536), certiorari denied 2/22/2021. (Order List.) In the cases, the Texas Supreme Court resolved a factional property dispute between a break-away congregation and The Episcopal Church. It held that using neutral principles, property of the diocese belongs to the withdrawing faction that affiliated with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. (See prior posting.)

Thursday, January 28, 2021

RLUIPA Bars City's Enforcement of Parking Lot Restrictions On Church

In Pass-A-Grille Beach Community Church, Inc. v. City of St. Pete Beach, Florida, (MD FL, Jan. 26, 2021), a Florida federal district court, relying on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, granted a preliminary injunction barring the city from enforcing restrictions on the way in which the church can use its own parking lot. The church, which is located across the street from the beach, allows the public to use its parking lot, free of charge, to access the beach. The city contends that its ordinances prohibit the church from allowing anyone who is not there on legitimate church business from parking in the lot. According to the court:

[The church] states that a vital aspect of its beliefs and ministry is outreach to the local community and the world, heeding a direct command from Christ himself. It desires to use “biblically-based hospitality” to help people enjoy a day at the beach with their families. The Church cites several Biblical verses in support of its beliefs on this point.

After concluding that the city has imposed a "substantial burden" on the church, the court analyzes the primary disagreement between the parties-- the sincerity of the church's religious beliefs regarding use of the parking lot. The court said in part:

When inquiring into a claimant's sincerity ... our task is ... limited to asking whether the claimant is (in essence) seeking to perpetrate a fraud on the court – whether he actually holds the beliefs he claims to hold.... 

The Church is certainly not attempting to perpetrate a fraud upon the Court when it states it desires to use its parking facilities to further its mission by attracting new people. Common sense shows that attracting new members is an important goal for almost all community organizations and mainstream religious groups. Likewise, giving away something for free (in this case parking) is a time-honored strategy used to generate attention create interest, and attract new customers.

At most, the City has demonstrated that the Church may have changed its mind over the years regarding the religious implications of its use of its parking lot.... Well respected religious leaders and institutions throughout the world change their minds on certain matters from time to time, and no one would suggest those changes evidence insincere religious beliefs.

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

DC Church Sues Proud Boys For Over Racist Vandalism

An historic Black church in Washington, DC filed suit yesterday against the Proud Boys, its chairman Enrique Tarrio, and members of the organization, seeking damages and declaratory relief for vandalizing of the church.  The complaint (full text) in Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church v. Proud Boys International, L.L.C., (DC Super. Ct., filed 1/4/2021), alleges in part:

1. On December 12, 2020, hundreds of members of the Proud Boys, an all-male group with ties to white nationalism and a pronounced history of violence, traveled to Washington D.C. for the purpose of committing further acts of violence intended to intimidate and silence individuals and organizations that support racial justice.

2. Arriving in droves from around the country, they created a violent riot in Washington, D.C., committed brutal assaults against protestors and passersby, destroyed property, and silenced peaceful speech by tearing down, igniting, and otherwise destroying signs and banners supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

3.... Metropolitan AME, like other nearby churches showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, was terrorized through coordinated acts of violence when Proud Boys members climbed over a fence surrounding the Church, came on to the Church’s property and destroyed a large Black Lives Matter sign the Church was proudly displaying.... 

The suit alleges conversion, trespass, violations of the D.C. Bias-Related Crime Act of 1989, and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act that prohibits damaging or destroying property of a house of worship. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights issued a press release announcing the lawsuit. Miami Herald reports on the suit.

Meanwhile (according to AP), yesterday Tarrio returned to D.C. in advance of the protests planned for Wednesday when Congress certifies Electoral College results. He was promptly taken into custody under an arrest warrant issued in connection with the December 12 incident. He also will likely face weapons charges since officers found two high-capacity firearm magazines in his custody when he was arrested.

[Thanks to Michael Lieberman for the lead.]

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

South Carolina Episcopal Parishes All Win Title To Their Property

In Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina v. The Episcopal Church, (SC Common Pleas, June 19, 2020), a South Carolina trial court was called upon to interpret a confusing decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court in a long-running property dispute that arose after a split in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina.  In a 2017 decision, the 5-member South Carolina Supreme Court in 5 separate opinions spanning 77 pages purported to resolve the factional property dispute. The trial court concluded that, under the state Supreme Court's decision, 36 parishes are the owners of their parish real estate and accompanying personal property. The court said in part:
This Court must distill the five separate opinions, identify the Court’s intent, and produce a logical directive. It must harmonize these opinions and find common ground among them. The issue is whether the 1979 Dennis Canon or any parish’s alleged accession to that Canon created a legally cognizable trust under South Carolina law....
At issue is ownership of real property, purchased and managed exclusively by the Plaintiff Parishes including land and buildings, considerable funds, and other personal property such as books, silver, and historical archives. The crux of the disagreement rests upon the Dennis Canon and its legal effect on whether this property was ever held in trust for TEC or TECSC....
This Court finds that the Plaintiffs merely promised allegiance to TEC and without more, this promise cannot deprive them of their ownership rights in their property. This Court finds no Parish expressly acceded to the 1979 Dennis Canon. The Dennis Canon was not mentioned by name in any of the evidence, and Defendants admitted that the Dennis Canon is not referenced in any of the deeds of parish property.... As a result, there is no trust created in favor of the Defendants, TEC and TECSC.
Christian Post reports on the decision.