Vukovich

—St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of Jackson, California (St. Sava) was formerly affiliated with the Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the United States and Canada, which in turn was a subordinate body of the Serbian Orthodox Church (the Mother Church), a hierarchical church centered in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Following the defrocking by the Mother Church in 1963 of the bishop who presided over the Church in America and the reorganization of the American Church into three dioceses, including the Western Diocese (the Diocese), St. Sava chose to separate from the Mother Church and to operate independently of both the Diocese and the rival church organization later established by the defrocked bishop.

This state of affairs eventually became unsatisfactory to many members of St. Sava, who wished to rejoin the Mother Church. After investigating the subject, St. Sava’s executive board (the Board) called a special meeting of the membership to vote on reaffiliation. A majority of those whose votes were counted voted to reaffiliate with the Mother Church.

Plaintiff Ned Vukovich and 64 other members of St. Sava brought a class-action suit against the Board, seeking to invalidate…