Press Release
Advocates for Faith & Freedom / Tyler & Bursch, LLP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 27, 2021
Contact: Desaré Ferraro at 951-600-2733 (office) or 714-348-0808 (cell)
dferraro@tylerbursch.com
For Immediate Release 05/27/2021, San Jose, California – On May 11, 2021, a joint discovery dispute letter was sent to Judge DeMarchi requesting guidance from the Court regarding the County’s entitlement to discovery of Calvary Chapel San Jose’s finances. The Northern District denied the County’s request to obtain financial information and directed the County to state court.
The Court held:
“the somewhat unusual manner in which this dispute was presented makes it difficult for the Court to ascertain the discovery being sought or the issues to be decided. The County has not clearly articulated the information it seeks, except at a very high level. And the parties have not pointed the Court to particular discovery that may be in dispute, beyond the one general question and response from Ms. Walker’s state court deposition.” Read court order here.
Santa Clara County has requested discovery documents of Calvary’s sources of revenue, loans, and budgets, claiming these requests are relevant to determine how much Calvary “profited” during the pandemic. Perhaps the same questions should be asked of the County. They implemented a punitive fine system that undoubtedly caused their pocketbooks to swell off the hard-earned labor of small businesses. In any event, as a non-profit entity, a church does not make “profits.” Rather, churches receive biblically mandated tithes and offerings from congregants. And more importantly, the County cannot seek whatever documents they want from a constitutionally protected church.
The County has already demonstrated its propensity to weaponize the Church’s financial information. Read McClure’s Declaration.
Specifically, the County sent two threatening letters to Calvary’s bank which coerced the bank to temporarily sever the relationship. The first letter informed the bank that Pastor McClure had been held in contempt of court and that he and the church were facing fines and sanctions of over $1 million. The second letter was to inform the bank that Santa Clara County Superior Court had set a contempt hearing and that the County would seek further fines and sanctions against the church. The letters made no mention of an appeals process, that the Church was challenging the constitutionality of the fines, or the recent Supreme Court decisions vindicating California churches.
What business is it of a government entity to interfere in a defendant’s private financial dealings before their constitutional right to a fair trial has been reached?
Shortly after receiving the two threatening letters, Cass Bank advised the Church that they would “need to find an angel lender to pay off the loan.” On January 21, 2021, the bank sent a Notice of Default stating that they determined its interest in the property had been “jeopardized.”
In the meantime, Pastor McClure was trying to defend himself in contempt proceedings while responding to hundreds of document requests from the County.
Pastor McClure has opined that, “Receiving the Notice of Default amidst a global pandemic caused me great despair and worry because I thought the County was going to put a lien on our Church’s property, that the bank would pull the loan, and that we might lose our church home. This was particularly distressing because we were providing a lifeline to scores of congregants suffering from fear, depression, and anxiety at a frequency far above anything I’d seen in my thirty years of pastoring. If we lost our church, I did not know who would be left to help these people.”
Fortunately, on February 8, 2021, Cass Bank withdrew their Notice of Default. The bank president met with Pastor McClure and expressed his deep regret and sincere apology, and said he was entirely unaware that the Church was contesting the fines and sanctions. He assured Pastor McClure that the bank fully supported the Church’s fight against the County. Although Pastor McClure was able to restore his relationship, the County’s intrusion into the Church’s affairs continues, heightening the need to protect Calvary.
For interviews with attorney or pastor please contact Desare' Ferraro at dferraro@tylerbursch.com or call or text 714-348-0808.
About Tyler & Bursch, LLP (www.tylerbursch.com): With offices in Murrieta and Irvine CA, Tyler & Bursch’s attorneys have been litigating civil liberties cases for more than 25 years in federal and state court. Tyler & Bursch provides pro-bono legal support through the non-profit legal organization, Advocates for Faith & Freedom (www.faith-freedom.com).