You're in the California - California State Wire section

Pittsburg church in legal battle over finances

Published online on Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

The Associated Press
Bookmark and Share
email this story to a friend E-Mail print story Print
Text Size:

tool name

close
tool goes here
Comments (0)

PITTSBURG, Calif. -- Members of a Pittsburg church are suing their pastor and his appointed leaders, saying they improperly spent church money and refused to follow bylaws.

The lawsuit by 31 longtime members of Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church seeks about $200,000 in damages from the Rev. Victor Brice and other leaders.

According to the lawsuit, Brice made multiple expenditures since becoming pastor in 2008 without approval from the church's governing body and may have used $15,000 for personal expenses.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 26 in Contra Costa County Superior Court, also seeks to remove Brice from his position.

Brice denies the allegations, calling them "slanderous and frivolous" and saying they stem from members who are simply resistant to a new pastor. He says he has no access to the church's bank accounts.


Information from: Contra Costa Times

A few rules are needed to help foster a feeling of community. We encourage a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect, but any post that violates someone's right to use and enjoy fresnobee.com is prohibited. Before you post, please read the terms of use and obey these simple guidelines.

Here are the ground rules:

  1. Be yourself. A nickname will be used for posts, but if an editor finds a user without a verifiable name, that user will be warned or banned.
  2. Keep it clean. Foul language (defined by prime-time standards) will not be tolerated. Neither will the intentional misspelling of foul language or the use of non-English curse words.
  3. Be truthful. Do not lie or link to sites that may be considered libelous, defamatory or false.
  4. Be nice. Don't harass anyone. Don't threaten anyone. Don't use racial slurs. Don't post anything sexually explicit.
  5. Be an individual. Do not advertise or solicit. Do not harvest any information for business use.
  6. Be original. Do not post copyrighted material.
  7. Follow the law. Don't do anything or post anything considered illegal by city, county, state or federal regulations and laws.

more videos »