Complaint against First Presbyterian’s Brickell condo deal could drag on for a year
An internal church conflict over an 80-story Brickell condo project could take as long as a year to resolve or it could be decided fairly quickly, according to an expert on Presbyterian judicial proceedings.
First Miami Presbyterian Church member Cary Tolley filed a formal complaint last month against the vote approving the historic church selling a lucrative piece of its waterfront property at 609 Brickell Ave. The Presbyterian Synod of South Atlantic, which is part of the denomination’s national body, the Presbyterian Church Office of General Assembly, will initially decide on Tolley’s claim.
The timeline depends on whether Tolley or the church appeal the ruling by the synod, said Sharon M. Davison, a New York-based lawyer and former commissioner of the Presbyterian General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Commission in the 1980s, the highest authoritative body in the church. The synod can take initial action on the complaint within seven days, she said.
But if the church signs the land deal while the complaint is still working its way through the process, the complaint becomes moot. Churches have sold property while facing complaints and there’s nothing that can be done to void the contract, said Davison, who represents those involved in investigations and proceedings before the judicial commissions of the Presbyterian Church but who is not part of the Tolley case.
First Miami Presbyterian first proposed a development deal to its members in early October. It plans to sell its surface parking lot, fellowship hall and the Key Point Christian Academy to 13th Floor Investments and Key International. The firms would build a condominium and provide the church with congregation space and parking inside the tower. The church could receive $240 million in cash and value.
The year-long scenario would depend on whether either party appeals and chooses to try to take the claim all the way up to the General Assembly’s Permanent Commission.
“When these commissions meet, they are obligated to rule on the case before they end their meeting,” Davison said. “If they have a meeting for three days and they see four cases, they have to provide a response for each one. That process doesn’t dangle, but as it’s moving between councils, it can.”
In his 20-page complaint, which was obtained by the Herald, Tolley outlined three goals: First, to pause negotiations between First Miami and the project’s developers. Second, that the synod nullify the vote that he argues was improperly conducted. And third, that First Miami be allowed to manage itself and oversee matters like a vote through its own “session,” an elected body of local members.
Among other things, Tolley opposed the vote being conducted by Zoom and argued that it should not have been administered by Rev. Dr. Christopher Benek, a church leader, but instead by a small group of elected church leaders.
“I can understand a member was upset by the vote,” Davison said. “Generally, we like to think that the majority actually wins. I’m not sure exactly what (Tolley) thinks they’ll be able to accomplish. It’s their right to try.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
