Archdiocese of Miami v. Sama
Florida District Courts of Appeal
Archdiocese of Miami v. Sama, 519 So. 2d 28 (1987)
12 Fla. L. Weekly 2757; 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 11426; 1987 WL 2284
Baskin, Pearson, Schwartz
Archdiocese of Miami v. Sama
Opinion of the Court
Courts are prohibited from resolving church property disputes on the basis of religious doctrine,” Galich v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 75 Ill.App.3d 538, 31 IJLDec. 370, 394 N.E.2d 572 (1979); see Graffam v. Wray, 437 A.2d 627, 633 (Me. 1981), when, as here, the underlying controversy concerns religious doctrine and only incidentally affects other matters. We therefore conclude that the petitioners have affirmatively demonstrated a lack of jurisdiction in the lower court. English v. McCrary, 348 So.2d 293 (Fla. 1977). We are certain that it will not be necessary to issue a formal judgment in prohibition.
Prohibition granted.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI and Edward A. McCarthy, etc. v. Dolores SAMA, joined by Nicholas Sama, her husband and Robert F. Buksch, Jr., and Joan S. Buksch, his wife
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published