African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church v. Union Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church

JOHNSON, Judge.

The central question presented by this appeal concerns the nature of the issues decided by the 15 February 1982 judgment entered upon defendants’ Rule 41(b) motion to dismiss the complaint. A summary of the facts and events leading up to entry of the court’s judgment is necessary for an understanding of the issues presented by this appeal.

I

Plaintiff, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (hereafter A.M.E. Zion Church), is an unincorporated religious association with an office in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Church Extension of the A.M.E. Zion Church is a North Carolina…