ACA Lawsuit Status

On August 7, the respondents in Rector, Wardens, and Vestry v ACA (i.e., the ACA) filed a petition for rehearing with the California appeals court. On August 15, the petition was denied. This strongly suggests that the ACA's next step will be to appeal this decision to the California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has the option of simply refusing to hear the case. The ACA's strategy is to string out the process as long as possible, while keeping physical possession of the premises and hoping some other event will intervene, like the deaths of key parties, loss of interest, and so forth. (That, though, cuts both ways.) This will also result in continued expense to the ACA, which I think it is less and less able to handle. The ACA ain't The Episcopal Church.

Come to think of it, stringing the case out could also have the effect of putting the consequences of losing it out past Marsh's retirement, whenever that might be, and leaving all that for his successor to clean up. An excellent strategy for Marsh, not as good for the denomination. Maybe some responsible parties are figuring this out.