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

PER CURIAM.

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