What To Do if Your Church Gets Sued

The idea of being sued can conjure up images of lawyers in courtrooms, judges banging gavels, and shocking testimony being elicited on the witness stand, all while the jury pays rapt attention to the unfolding drama. The reality is that few cases actually reach a jury. Most lawsuits are handled through the exchange of documents, and most are either resolved by agreement of the parties or through a judge’s ruling on arguments submitted in writing. Resolution can take months or even years. Still, it can be surprising and disconcerting if your church is sued. It can even be scary, especially if you are the pastor or the church council, because it may be your responsibility to ensure the lawsuit is handled appropriately and you may not know what to do—after all, your church probably doesn’t get sued frequently! 

While your church might not have been sued before, churches do get sued all the time. Here are just some of the reasons churches can be sued:

• A current or former employee may allege (state a fact to support a legal claim) violations of employment laws.
• A member or visitor may say they were injured by tripping or falling on the church’s property.
• Someone may allege they were injured by a church employee or volunteer, as in a child abuse claim, and seek to hold the church responsible. 
• A member may bring a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the church board of directors for a decision it made.
• A business may claim the church breached its contract.
• Someone may claim the church did not pay a debt owed to them.

A church can be sued for any claim. This is not to say the lawsuit will be successful. The church may have a legal defense to the claims against it, or the plaintiff (person suing the church) may not be able to prove all the necessary elements of their legal claim. But even if the allegations (facts supporting the legal claims) in the lawsuit are false or unfair characterizations of the facts, the church will still need to respond to the lawsuit. 

Lawsuits can be time-consuming, expensive, annoying, stressful, and emotionally difficult for the church and its members. Having a plan in place can help manage the expectations of the congregation and reduce stress in the church.

Decide in advance who is responsible for handling lawsuits served on the church.

When your church is served with a lawsuit, who will be responsible for coordinating the response to it? Depending on how your church is structured and staffed, this could be the pastor, the church council president or moderator, or the individual who serves in the chief administrative role in the church. It should be someone with decision-making authority who can instruct staff and others on actions that need to be taken. Decide in advance who this individual is, and communicate this information to staff or other church workers who need to know.

Act quickly when your church is served with a lawsuit.

A lawsuit can be served on your church in a few different ways. A person called a process server may come to the church and deliver the lawsuit in person by handing it to someone at the church. Educate church office staff who typically receive visitors to the church or deliveries about this. Staff should not refuse to accept service of a lawsuit against the church or argue with the process server. That will not make the lawsuit go away. Instruct staff to notify the appropriate responsible individual immediately upon receiving the lawsuit. Make sure staff know not to delay notification, because once a party to a lawsuit is served, time limits on responding start to run. If your church does not respond to the lawsuit within the time limits, it may affect your church’s ability to defend itself in the lawsuit. It is especially important to have a plan in place if your church relies on part-time staff or volunteer help for its administration and the church office may be closed periodically.

If your church is incorporated and has a registered agent on file with the secretary of state, that registered agent may be served with the lawsuit. It’s critical to make sure the registered agent’s information is kept updated for this reason. Sometimes churches will appoint the pastor or chair of the church governing board as the registered agent, and forget to update it when the pastor’s call ends or new elections are held. There may be additional legal consequences for a church without an updated registered agent under the state’s corporate laws; additionally, the church may lose the opportunity to respond to the lawsuit in a timely manner.

Some jurisdictions (a geographic area where a specific set of laws applies, like a city, state, or federal district) also allow service by certified or registered mail under some circumstances. The church’s attorney will be able to determine whether the church was legally served.

Read and save all papers that were served.

The lawsuit usually includes a cover sheet and a complaint by the plaintiff against the defendant (the party who is being sued—in this article, your church is the defendant). Staff who receive these papers should be directed to give them immediately to the designated individual. That individual should read the complaint carefully. Don’t discard the complaint or the cover sheet, which may contain important information about the church’s time to respond to the lawsuit. 

Staff members and the designated individual who receive the lawsuit should be instructed in advance not to discuss the substance of the lawsuit with one another, conduct research on the claims, or prepare any documents related to it until otherwise directed to do so by the church’s attorney or insurer. These discussions and any documents may become evidence in the lawsuit, and staff members may be deposed (ordered by a judge to give sworn testimony outside of a court setting) on what they have discussed with others. 

Do not contact the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney about the lawsuit. If your church is being sued by a current employee of the church, do not discuss the lawsuit directly with the employee. Seek and follow your attorney’s guidance on this.

Take steps to preserve all documents and information related to the lawsuit.

Instruct staff members and others with access to information about the lawsuit not to delete or discard any relevant information, including emails, handwritten notes, calendar entries, voicemails, or any other information. Maintain this information in its original form in the location it was in when your church was served with the lawsuit. Your church may be required to produce documents or other information in response to requests by the other parties (part of the discovery process through which the parties are legally able to demand relevant information on the case from one another, which includes depositions), and deleting or discarding information after your church is served may have legal consequences. Your church’s attorney will be able to instruct you on how to best maintain any documents you are preserving and may provide you with a document preservation notice to give to staff. Until you have instructions from your attorney, err on the side of caution in preserving documents.

Check your insurance policy and notify your insurer immediately.

If the claim against your church is an employment claim, a personal injury claim (including slip and falls, abuse or harm by the church, or other physical or emotional injury claim), or a breach of fiduciary duty against church officers or directors, your church may have an insurance policy that will provide a defense or reimbursement for attorneys fees and other costs and any judgment arising out the lawsuit. Read your policy carefully and follow the policy’s requirements for giving notice of the claim to the insurer. If you do not follow the notice requirements or delay notice, the insurance company may be able to use this as a reason not to cover the claim. The claims adjuster will ask for a copy of the lawsuit, when the church was served, and any other information you have on the subject of the lawsuit.

Sometimes the lawsuit is not a surprise, because the church has been credibly threatened with a lawsuit or received a demand letter (a letter from a potential plaintiff or their attorney asking for money or other actions to settle a potential lawsuit before it is filed) months or weeks before being sued. Your church’s insurance policy may require you to notify the insurance company if someone has sent the church a demand letter or has credibly threatened legal action, even if the church has not been sued yet. Be sure you are familiar with the policy.

Hire an attorney to defend the church.

If the claim is covered by insurance, the insurance company may appoint a lawyer to defend the church. In some cases, different attorneys may be appointed to represent the church and staff or governing board members, if they are named separately in the lawsuit. Insurance policies vary; the amount of control the church has over who is appointed may differ from policy to policy. But, it is important to remember the attorney’s client is the church, and the attorney should be giving the church, not just the insurance company, regular updates on the case. Be sure the attorney has the contact information for the responsible individual at the church.

If the claim is not covered by insurance or the church’s policy allows the church to hire its own attorney, the church will need to hire an attorney to respond to the lawsuit within the required time frame. It is a best practice not to hire a congregation member who is an attorney to represent the church, as conflict can arise during the course of the representation that may damage that relationship. The church should expect to pay market rates in its area for quality representation. The local bar association may have a referral service; additionally, if the church’s Conference has an attorney, that attorney may be able to refer the church to a qualified attorney. Do not delay. It is not in the church’s best interest to try to defend the lawsuit without an attorney.

Follow the advice of the church’s attorney about discussing the case and gathering documents. Generally, the attorney will want to be involved in all discussions of the case to protect the discussions from disclosure during discovery and avoid creating evidence in the case. Conversations with the church’s attorney about the case are likely protected by the attorney-client privilege, so do not disclose these conversations to others.

If necessary, develop a media relations strategy.

Lawsuits are public records. Most lawsuits do not capture the attention of the media. But some lawsuits, especially if they involve allegations that clergy or other church officials behaved inappropriately, may be interesting enough to the community to result in calls from the media. Discuss an appropriate response to these calls with your church’s attorney, and ensure that all calls from the media are directed to a single person. See Responding to Media Inquiries—Best Practices for Local Churches for more help.

Decide what the congregation needs to know.

A congregation expects its leaders to be transparent in the management of the church’s affairs. Acknowledging the church has been sued and reassuring the congregation that the church is represented by competent counsel and the claim is covered by an insurance policy (if that is true) may alleviate worry. Discuss with your church’s attorney what will be helpful to share with the congregation without jeopardizing attorney-client privilege or publicizing the church’s legal strategy. 

Communicate regularly with the church’s attorney and be patient.

Your church’s attorney will determine the best way to respond to the lawsuit. The designated individual should ask to review all filings the church’s attorney will make on behalf of the church before they are filed to ensure the representations are accurate. Asking questions like when the other parties are expected to respond and what comes next will help manage expectations within the church’s leadership body. Lawsuits can take a long time to resolve— whether the matter is settled or whether it goes to trial, it is not unusual for the process to take a year or more. Be sure to keep your church’s attorney informed if the church has personnel or officer changes, and ensure that relevant information is passed to the current leaders.

The information provided in this article is not legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney.