BALDONADO v. THE WAY OF SALVATION CHURCH

No 27169 (April 10, 2008)

Opinion [pdf]

OPINION OF THE COURT BY FOLEY, J.

In this consolidated appeal from the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, Plaintiffs-Appellants Herminia Baldonado, . . . (collectively Appellants) appeal from

(1)  the Final Judgment as to All Claims Between All Parties filed on February 7, 2005 (No. 27169), in which the circuit court granted the January 26, 2004 Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment (Motion to Dismiss) filed by Defendant-Appellee The Way of Salvation Church (the Church) as to all of Appellants' claims in the Amended Verified Complaint; and

(2)  the Final Judgment as to All Claims Between All Parties filed on April 20, 2005 (No. 27298), in which the circuit court denied Appellants' motion for reconsideration of the court's grant of the Church's Motion to Dismiss.

On appeal, Appellants argue the following points of error:

(1)  To the extent the circuit court ruled that Appellants lacked standing because Appellants had been expelled from the Church, no matter how unfair the expulsion process was, the court erred as a matter of law.

(2)  To the extent the circuit court ruled, under Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP) Rule 12(b)(1), that Appellants had been property expelled from the Church, the court erred.

(3)  To the extent the circuit court dismissed the case or granted summary judgment in implied reliance on the "ecclesiastical abstention doctrine," the court erred as a matter of law.

(4)  The circuit court should have granted Appellants' motion to amend their complaint a second time to state new claims based on Appellants' illegal "expulsion" from the Church and to add updated claims as to the Church's financial management.

For the reasons stated below, we vacate the February 7 and April 20, 2005 final judgments entered by the circuit court. [footnote omitted]