Judge dismisses Pastor Stovall and Kerri Weems defamation lawsuit against Celebration Church

Ruling that the court does not have jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters, a Florida judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Pastor Stovall Weems and his wife, Kerri, against leaders of the 12,000-member Celebration Church in Jacksonville they allege ousted them from the church in a “coup” earlier this year.

The dismissal of the Weems’ defamation lawsuit was made last Wednesday by Florida Circuit Judge Marianne Lloyd Aho.

“Because the plaintiffs’ claims on their face as currently written require this court’s involvement in ecclesiastical, doctrinal matters, neutral principles of law cannot be used to consider the issues at hand. As such, this Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the plaintiffs’ complaint,” Aho wrote…. (Excerpt from The Christian Post)