Second Baptist Church v. Mount Zion Baptist Church

OPINION

By the Court,

Batjer, J.:

This case involves a dispute between two factions of the Second Baptist Church of Reno, Nevada, over the control of the church assets and the use of the church name.

In 1965 the church building and real property located at 337 East Eighth Street, Reno, Nevada, was purchased for the sum of $26,000 by the State of Nevada for a highway right-of-way. Faced with the problem of having to find a new place to worship, the congregation, acting through its trustees, started negotiations with the Mount Zion Baptist Church for merger and acquisition of their church property.…