Church of God of Madison v. Noel

I find myself at odds with the majority and its use of Syllabus Points 1 and 2 of Board of Church Extension v. Eads, 159 W.Va. 943, 230 S.E.2d 911 (1976), to dispose of this case. These syllabus points do not give any guidelines, and when read with the majority opinion, suggest that once a court finds a church to be hierarchical in structure, it must defer to the decision of the church’s highest tribunal. The most recent decision on church property disputes by the United States Supreme Court clearly holds, however, that such deference is not required by the Constitution.

Under Jones v. Wolf,…