Wooten v. Crayton

In this case involving a dispute between two factions of a congregational church, we consider the plaintiffs’ ap*188peal from the dismissal, on jurisdictional grounds, of their complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief. The plaintiffs are ten long-standing members of Lincoln Congregational Church (LCC), an independent congregational parish located in Brockton. The defendants are the pastor and nine church members who presently serve as officers and trustees of LCC.3 The plaintiffs claim that the defendants acted in violation of LCC’s by-laws when they scheduled votes by the membership to…