November 03, 2009
As sometimes happens, the parties in Johnson v. Johnson (Case C-07-28592 in Allegheny County Maryland) divorced after decades of building a Church and Christian radio enterprise into multi-million dollar organizations. During the divorce, one of the founders of the two organizations sought to classify the assets of the tax exempt organizations as marital property. This would have allowed the Courts to divide the assets of the tax exempt organizations and distribute those assets to private individuals.
The Maryland court ruled that the husband could not subpoena the records of either exempt organization because such records were not relevant to the divorce action. This will prevent the diversion of millions of dollars of assets from their intended religious purpose and protect the jobs of numerous employees of the two organizations.
There is precedent in a few states for these kinds of actions and such practices pose a threat to the continuing viability of organizations when founders, directors, or officers divorce. Winters & King, Inc. has been fighting these claims all over the country with amazing success.
This case sets a precedent in the State of Maryland that will serve as the bedrock for future efforts to protect churches and ministries from individuals who would pirate assets for private benefit.
Michael J. King, argued the case on behalf of both nonprofit organizations. Mr. King is a founding partner of Winters & King, Inc and has been rated "AV": by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings (the highest possible rating for ethical standards and professional ability). Mr. King has successfully represented hundreds of organizations from all over the world in his prestigious career and continued an impressive winning streak in cases similar to Johnson v. Johnson.
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