Labor & Employment – Bylaws of the Church – Incomplete Discovery

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There is no issue of fact as to whether the vote to terminate the pastor of Saint Luke occurred in accordance with the bylaws of the church.

We affirmed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Saint Luke Baptist Church.

Pastor Rayshawn Terry appealed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Saint Luke Baptist Church as to its claims for declaratory and permanent injunctive relief and Terry’s counterclaims for slander or slander per se, breach of contract or breach of contract with fraudulent intent, conversion, and non-payment of wages. Terry argued the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment because discovery was incomplete, and he presented evidence of a genuine issue of material fact.

The circuit court found Saint Luke was entitled to declaratory judgment because its removal of Terry as pastor followed the church’s bylaws and that Saint Luke was entitled to a permanent injunction against Terry to prevent future harm to the church. The circuit court found Saint Luke was entitled to summary judgment as to all of Terry’s counterclaims, but it did not address Terry’s argument regarding incomplete discovery.

Among other things, Terry argued on appeal the circuit court erred in granting Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment because discovery was incomplete and there was “every indication [Saint Luke was] in possession of other information and documents relevant” to the case. He contended summary judgment was premature when he conducted one deposition, Terry asserted Saint Luke failed to produce the covenant contract and relevant financial information that he requested. We disagreed. Terry provided no explanation as to why the time between the filing of the case and Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment was insufficient for the parties to engage in full discovery. Further, Terry failed to establish that additional discovery would have led to evidence that would have created a genuine issue of material fact.

Terry argued the circuit court erred in granting Saint Luke summary judgment as to its declaratory judgment action because there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Saint Luke’s termination of his employment as pastor complied with its bylaws. We disagreed. The circuit court did not err in granting Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment on this issue because there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the vote to terminate Terry as pastor of Saint Luke occurred in accordance with the bylaws of the church. Additionally, Terry presented no evidence that allowing members to attend by car and sound the car horn to vote invalidated the vote because the bylaws contain no required method for voting. Terry failed to present evidence that the method of calling the meeting regarding his termination did not comply with Saint Luke’s bylaws. Accordingly, we affirmed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment to Saint Luke on its claim for declaratory judgment.

Terry argued the circuit court erred in granting Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment as to his breach of contract or breach of contract with fraudulent intent claim. He contended he had a covenant contract with Saint Luke and that Saint Luke suppressed or destroyed evidence of the contract. Terry asserted evidence was presented to dispute Saint Luke’s claim that his employment was at-will. He also argued the statute of frauds is an insufficient reason to grant summary judgment even if his contract was an oral contract without an expiration date because it was a contract for permanent employment. We disagreed. The circuit court did not err in granting Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment on Terry’s breach of contract or breach of contract with fraudulent intent claim.

Finally, Terry argued the circuit court erred in granting Saint Luke’s motion for summary judgment as to his claim for non-payment of wages. Terry also argues his sworn testimony contradicted the figures in the wage report submitted by Saint Luke with its motion for summary judgment. We disagreed. The circuit court did not err in granting Saint Luke’s summary judgment on Terry’s claim of non-payment of wages because there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Terry received wages from Saint Luke.

Affirmed.

Saint Luke Baptist Church v. Terry (Lawyers’ Weekly No. 012-041-24, 12 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Fairfield County Circuit Court (Brian M. Gibbons, J.) John Martin Foster, of Rock Hill, for Appellant. Kenneth Allen Davis, Charles J. Boykin, and Imani Nicole Newborn, all of Boykin & Davis, LLC, of Columbia, for Respondent. South Carolina Court of Appeals Unpublished