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Chenoweth v. Vedanta Society9/9/2002
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
Theodore H. Chenoweth sued Vedanta Society, Berkeley (Society) and its Swami-in-Charge Aparananda, seeking reinstatement as a member and director of the Society on the ground that he had been expelled in violation of the Society's bylaws and the California Corporations Code. Additionally, he sought injunctive relief under Business and Professions Code section 17200. The trial court dismissed the action after sustaining defendants' demurrer without leave to amend on the ground that the controversy involves a religious matter outside the court's subject matter jurisdiction. We affirm.
Factual and Procedural Background
Organization of Vedanta Society, Berkeley
In 1970, the Society was incorporated under the then General Nonprofit Corporation Law. In 1978, the law was amended, dividing such corporations into three categories: public benefit, mutual benefit, and religious (Corp. Code, § 9910), and making such corporations subject to the new public benefit corporation law (§ 5110 et seq.), the new mutual benefit corporation law (§ 7110 et seq.), or the new religious corporation law (§ 9110 et seq.). The Department of State sent the Society a non-binding, advisory notice that the Society had been reclassified as a public benefit corporation, pursuant to section 9912, subdivision (b). In response to a letter from the Society seeking a correction, the Department of State subsequently reclassified the Society as a religious corporation under the new law.
The Society's articles of incorporation provide, in relevant part, that the Society's "specific and primary purposes are: [ ] 1. To promote the study, practice and teaching of the Vedanta Religion and Religious Philosophy as expounded by Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and other direct disciplines of Sri Ramakrishna; [ ] 2. To aid in all reasonable ways the religious work of the Ramakrishna Math (also known as Belur Math) and the Remakrishna Mission, the headquarters of both of which are at Belur, West Bengal, India ; [ ] 3. To promote harmony between Eastern and Western religious philosophies; [ ] 4. To own, purchase or lease whatever lands, buildings or other structures it may consider necessary or advisable in order to carry on the practice, teaching and study of the said Religion and Religious Philosophy, to erect buildings for the said purposes and to establish branch centers." "A swami (monk), to be designated as `Swami-in-Charge,' who is a member of the aforesaid Ramakrishna Math and selected and appointed by the Trustees of the said Math," is "in charge of all spiritual affairs of the corporation and shall have such powers as the Bylaws of the Corporation may confer upon him." Under the bylaws, the Swami-in-Charge has the power to "make such recommendations to the Board of Directors of the Society concerning the temporalities and business affairs of the Society as he may consider necessary and advisable for the furtherance of the purposes of the Society." The bylaws further provide that " s the essential purposes of the Corporation are spiritual, the temporalities and business affairs of the Society shall be so administered by its Board of Directors as to support and subserve those spiritual purposes of the Corporation as maintained by the Swami-in-Charge."
The Society's bylaws provide for members. Active membership is open to "any person, who i
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