In a bid to sever ties with the United Methodist Church, Southern Methodist University told Texas Supreme Court justices Wednesday the school is an independent entity and controlled solely by its board of trustees as ultimate authority.
The argument came as part of the church’s lawsuit against SMU, which has challenged the authority the UMC has over the university.
UMC said in its lawsuit it has control over the university because it founded SMU in 1911 and donated 133 acres of property — and documents asserted any amendments made must be authorized and approved by the church.
But Allyson Ho, a lawyer representing the university, said SMU isn’t in a binding contract with third parties like UMC.
“If there’s one thing everyone agrees with here, it is that SMU is and always has been a nonmember, nonprofit corporation,” Ho said.
But some justices questioned whether it could be controlled as part of the church’s ministry. And newly appointed Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock said the documentation appeared to plainly state that.
"The articles of incorporation say that SMU is owned by [UMC]," Blacklock said.
Updating those articles was "expressly not allowed," he added.
On top of that, Sawnie McEntire, a lawyer representing UMC, claimed the university didn’t follow correct procedures to amend articles of incorporation.
“When they filed the certificate, they disrespected our role,” McEntire said. “We had to go into court to seek relief.”
While it didn’t come up in court, the five-year legal battle began when UMC members voted to assert its ban on LGBTQ+ clergy and prohibit pastors from performing same-sex marriages in 2019. That same year, the denomination granted churches the option to leave before the end of 2023 so long as they provided a “reason of conscience” concerning sexuality, causing a major divide.
Soon after, SMU updated its founding documents and made clear their own intention to separate from the church. It changed articles of incorporation to assert its board of trustees had ultimate authority over the university, not UMC.
SMU President at the time, R. Gerald Turner, said in a statement the school would not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Turner told The Dallas Morning News the university was trying to break away before the church made any decisions about how to divide.
About a quarter of UMC churches have disaffiliated from the denomination since then.
The UMC in 2024 voted to lift the ban on LGBTQ+ clergy — but that didn’t end the argument over who has ultimate power over the private university.
The change to the articles of incorporation led the Southern Conference of UMC to sue the university over breach of contract, arguing the church had to approve its departure and the updated governing language.
The church claims because it founded the university, the articles of incorporation grant it the right to block amendments to the documents.
A judge in 2021 ruled in favor of SMU in its lawsuit and dismissed the church’s claims. But the Dallas-area Fifth Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2023, siding with the conference in its argument that it oversaw SMU.
McEntire said the church was “left without any rights” when SMU changed it amendments.
“Should SMU prevails, they will have interfered with 100-year history of control, where the church has used SMU as a vehicle to advance its mission,” McEntire said. “That is an important, fundamental right that SMU has had since 1911.”
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