A church-versus-church legal battle over a valuable property in downtown Miami is widening, with new court documents containing blistering allegations of fraud and conspiracy allegedly engineered by Crossbridge Church’s lead pastor, Rev. Carter Brown.
The legal fight pits the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S., the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) against Crossbridge, a network of Miami churches that broke away from the Presbyterian Church in America a few years ago. Crossbridge has a congregation in Key Biscayne that Rev. Brown often preaches at. Its main campus is in Pinecrest.
The new filing, made Sept. 3, says that Crossbridge and a local Lutheran pastor, took part in a “plot and scheme to defraud the Lutheran church of approximately $30 million” involving rushed meetings, an improper payment, and late-night closing intended to conceal the transaction.
The Lutheran church’s regional body sued two years ago to cancel a transfer of a $30 million property in the upscale Brickell neighborhood to Crossbridge, which had been renting the space. The regional body, the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Inc., asked a judge earlier this month to let it add fraud and other claims to its lawsuit.
At the same time, Crossbridge is trying to add the deeper-pocketed national Lutheran church to the lawsuit, saying the parent Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) would be unfairly enriched if the transfer is blocked.
A Transfer Disputed
The local Lutheran congregation, Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Miami, conveyed its property to Crossbridge Church of Miami in April 2024 for free as part of a leaseback arrangement. But almost immediately after, the Lutheran regional body — the Synod — placed the local congregation under “Synodical administration,” a form of direct control. It sued, saying the transfer broke internal rules and is invalid.
In court papers, the Lutheran Synod said the transfer to Crossbridge was part of a plot by the church’s interim leader, Rev. James Dunham, to put the property out of the Synod’s control and allow him to start a new congregation, while Crossbridge’s lead pastor, Carter Brown, saw it as an opportunity to get a property worth $30 million — and allow Dunham to use the church for his new congregation.
“Crossbridge knew of and participated in the concealment,” the revised complaint says. “Carter Brown, a second ordained minister, committed actual fraud and acted with actual malice,” the court pleading states.
Crossbridge said in a statement on Monday that neither it nor the local congregation did anything wrong. The aim of the transaction was to secure the location as the homes of both churches for years to come, according to the statement.
“We are saddened by the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s accusation that Crossbridge participated in a ‘scheme’ to take over Immanuel Lutheran,” the statement said. “Crossbridge has not and has never intended to take over that longstanding Lutheran church.”
Dunham didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry on Monday. No attorney for Dunham was listed in the court docket. Michael Green, an attorney for the Immanuel church, didn’t immediately respond to an email asking about the allegations.
Dunham, ironically, had been placed by the Synod at Brickell in 2022 to reinvigorate the congregation but had clashed with the Synod’s leadership over how to accomplish that.
“This would allow Pastor Dunham to form a new church (and disaffiliate from the ELCA and Synod) and, in his view, eliminate any interference by the Synod,” the synod said in a court filing earlier this month.
After discovering more evidence, the Synod earlier this month asked a judge for permission to amend its lawsuit to add more allegations, including fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, conspiracy, unjust enrichment and breach of contract and a number of other accusations.
In March 2024, Dunham negotiated a lease for 30 parking spots at the church for a neighboring construction project in exchange for $54,000. Half of the fee was to go to the church and the other half was to go to Dunham, according to emails attached to the Synod’s revised lawsuit.
Dunham also allegedly misrepresented to Immanuel’s local congregation council that the Synod was trying to steal and sell the property, which was the reason to transfer the property to Crossbridge, the Synod’s lawsuit said.
Crossbridge has fired back with its own set of charges against the national Lutheran church and the regional Synod. It is asking the court to uphold the transfer or at the very least insist the property only be used for religious purposes, as well as money damages.
Crossbridge’s Account
In court papers, Crossbridge offered a counter narrative of what happened, saying the Synod was plotting to take over and wind down Immanuel’s operations. The cross claim cited as an example the shutting down of a Coral Gables congregation whose property was sold for $10 million to condo developers.
When Immanuel tried to extend Crossbridge’s lease, the Synod was “displeased” since it competed with the Synod’s “undisclosed agenda” to take over the church, end its ministry and sell its property, the cross claim said.
After the lease was extended, Crossbridge said the Synod started a smear campaign against the ministry and Dunham, claiming the church was “at risk” and that the pastor was dealing with mental health issues, according to the cross claim.
“Out of that concern and with intention to preserve its ministry and its Property as its place of worship, (Immanuel) leadership approached Crossbridge with the proposal to enter into a sale-leaseback arrangement to secure the continuity of both their ministries at the Property into the future,” the cross claim said.
A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 25th on whether Crossbridge will be allowed to make its claims against the national Lutheran church.
A jury trial is scheduled for early next year.
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
