Friday, January 1, 2010

Defrocked Episcopal priest sues his own lawyer


From Philadelphia (Note: The attorney being sued for malpractice, John Lewis, is the lead counsel for the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh)

The Rev. David Moyer, the outspoken former Episcopal priest who unsuccessfully sued his bishop in 2008 for sacking him, has filed a malpractice lawsuit against the lawyer who represented him - often free - for many years in his battles with the diocese.

The suit, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, alleges that prominent Philadelphia litigator John Lewis and the firm of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads failed to adequately represent Moyer in the unusual trial against Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. and then failed to file an appeal when the jury rejected their claim.

Moyer and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont - where he serves as rector despite his ouster by the diocese in 2002 - are seeking millions of dollars in compensation for the legal costs of the trial and what they say is damage to Moyer's and the parish's reputations.

The lawsuit has sharply divided the Main Line parish, however, and angered some of Moyer's conservative supporters around the diocese who supported his public challenges to liberal trends in the Episcopal Church.

"David Moyer has sold out his friend and champion for 30 pieces of silver," said Ray Kraftson, a lawyer who helped raise funds for Moyer's lawsuit against Bennison.

More here-

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/80460422.html

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