Church property fights
Troutman Sanders was mentioned in an October 1 Bloomberg article about lawyers representing church denominations in litigation over ownership of church property where one faction of the church has seceded over religious and political disagreements, such as the ordination of gay clergy and performing gay marriages.
The reference to Troutman Sanders was for its work on a First Amendment-related property dispute between eleven Virginia churches and their former Diocese (the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia). The local churches broke from the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States in 2006. The litigation lasted until 2014 and involved two trials and three appeals. The firm’s client prevailed.
Richmond senior counsel George Somerville, Richmond partner Brad Davenport, and Tysons Corner partner Mary Zinsner represented the Diocese in the legal proceedings. The late Russ Palmore, a Richmond partner, was the Chancellor (the chief legal officer) of the Diocese, and Richmond Office Manager Henry Burt was the Secretary of the Diocese.