Samoan church in Court fight

The First Samoan organization claims Misa stole the church, though Misa counters that First Samoan never owned it

An American judge has ruled that a dispute among a tight-knit Samoan Pentecostal community is, at its core, a battle over ordinary property rights rather than a divine matter exempt from court oversight.

The decision means that the congregation of Carson Bethel Church, which holds the titles and deeds of ownership for its buildings, will likely be able to keep them instead of handing over the keys to its home church organization, the First Samoan Full Gospel Pentecostal Church Inc.

in American Samoa. When Carson Bethel Church congregants got the news this week that the church they financed will likely remain in their possession, they “rejoiced and prayed, thanking the Lord for that moment,” said church secretary Ruth Tasi-Uelese.

“Then, in the evening, we went before the Lord and thanked the Lord for everything, said praises and cried.” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Barry heard testimony in a weeklong trial in November to determine who actually owns the church’s two Alameda Street buildings.

Though the pastor holds the deeds, the First Samoan elders claimed the church belongs to them because it formed under the First Samoan umbrella.

“The concern was whether the nature of the dispute between the parties barred the court from handling the case because it involved ecclesiastical matters which fall outside a civil court’s jurisdiction,” Barry said in a Feb. 20 written ruling that was passed along to local congregants on Monday.

“The pleadings do not call for the court to resolve matters of religious faith or beliefs.

The court will resolve the case on the merits based upon neutral principles of California law.” Carson Bethel Church was founded by newly relocated Pentecostal Pacific Islanders in the early 1980s as an “unincorporated association,” said its current pastor, Tiagogo Misa.

The First Samoan organization claims Misa stole the church, though Misa counters that First Samoan never owned it.

Samoans settled in the South Bay and Long Beach area in large numbers after first relocating to Hawaii for military jobs in the 1950s. As they settled on the West Coast, they founded churches like the one in Carson to maintain close ties.

When Misa took over its leadership in 1988, he also oversaw the property’s mortgage, maintenance and taxes.

As the congregation grew, Misa and other members of the church leadership decided to buy a second building nearby in 2002.

Though the congregation struggled financially, its members still sent thousands of dollars home each year to the First Samoan Full Gospel Pentecostal Church, but in return received little support, Misa said.

In 2010, Misa said the church became concerned that the money sent to the larger church wasn’t being properly accounted for and seemed to be going right into the pockets of individuals.

Carson Bethel Church members were so worried about this problem that they prayed and fasted for a month over it, ultimately deciding that most of them wanted to cut all ties with the organization.

Within a year, the First Samoan Full Gospel Pentecostal Church Inc. sued the Carson congregation for its property.

Misa acted “despicably,” and “fraudulently,” according to the suit, which alleged that the pastor stole First Samoan’s property.

But, in court, the plaintiff couldn’t produce any deeds or other documents proving that it actually owned the church. On the other hand, Misa had the paperwork showing that the congregation had paid for its facilities.

Barry said this lack of documented connection between the Carson church and the First Samoan organization was a crucial reason for his decision.

“It had no settled rules, procedures, or protocols for its administration at the time, and no tribunal for adjudicating the internal dispute that arose when defendants notified plaintiff that they intended to sever their relationship,” Barry wrote.

“Perhaps the best evidence that plaintiff is a loose, voluntary affiliation of people who share common cultural and religious bonds is the disorganized, almost chaotic manner in which, over the course of the litigation, plaintiff responded to basic requests for the production of corporate records.”

Key members of the First Samoan organization testified that they are an informal group that doesn’t rely on paperwork for agreements, but Barry said that worked against them. Barry cited a statement by one First Samoan church leader who said the group has “very few written rules and regulations as we are a very trusting and homogeneous group, being mostly of Samoan heritage.”

Both sides will return to Barry’s courtroom on March 19 to either schedule a full trial or settle the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Ronald E. Faulk, the plaintiff’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment on Barry’s latest decision, but the attorney for Carson Bethel Church said the complaint by First Samoan was really about money and revenge against Misa for defecting from the group.

“This is really about greed,” said Lynn Moyer, the congregation’s attorney. “It’s really about the property. It’s wrong for them to come in and try to do a property grab.”