Motion,Ex Parte: ANTHONY CONRAD BEEKS vs BAPTIST MINISTER'S CONFERENCE OF DUVAL AND ADJACENT COUNTIES

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

						
                                
Preview
                                Filing # 102199098 E-Filed 01/24/2020 02:54:14 PM

                                                                     IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, IN THE
                                                                     FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND
                                                                     FOR DUVAL COUNTY, FLORIDA
                                                                     CASE NO.: 19-CA-9174
                                                                     DIVISION:     CV-D

           ANTHONY CONRAD BEEKS,
                              Plaintiff,
           vs.

           BAPTIST MINISTER’S CONFERENCE OF
           DUVAL AND ADJACENT COUNTIES, et al,
                              Defendants.

                                                                 /
                                           MOTION TO DISMISS WITH PREJUDICE
                      Defendants, REV. CHARLES PRESTON and ST. JOHN MISSIONARY BAPTIST
           CHURCH, Middleburg, Florida, by and through the undersigned attorney, file this Motion to

          Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint with prejudice and state the following:


                 A    Plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted.

                 B.   Although not sufficiently plead, the relief that Plaintiff is seeking would violate the

                      established policy of separation between Church and State.

                      Plaintiff has not exhausted his administrative remedies.

                      Plaintiff has not alleged or established venue in Duval County; he has only alleged

                      jurisdiction in the State of Florida.

                                                              ARGUMENT

                      Plaintiff makes allegations in his Complaint which do not establish a cause of action

                      against these Defendants.




ACCEPTED: DUVAL COUNTY, RONNIE FUSSELL, CLERK, 01/27/2020 10:26:00 AM
1.   Paragraph 7 of the Complaint states “that on or about December 23" 2019,

             Defendants arbitrarily, maliciously and capriciously violated the constitution of the

             Baptist Minister’s Conference Bylaws that caused the Plaintiff harm”. Plaintiff also

             alleges in Paragraph 11 of the Complaint that he has been a constant whistleblower

             for corruption in the Baptist Minister’s Conference.

                 Plaintiff is asking the Court to make a ruling with respect to alleged violations of

       Baptist Church Minister’s Conference Bylaws. However, any involvement of the court

       would violate the long standing and established principal of separation between Church

       and State. This principal is well established in Florida by a line of cases including

       Covington v. Bowers, 442 So 2™ 1068(1 DCA 1983) which cites Partin v. Tucker 172

       So 98 1937 (126 FL 817). These cases involved alleged misconduct by members of the

       church and the holding of the court was that any interference by the court would impinge

       upon the fundamental principal of separation between Church and State.

       While Defendant is seeking court intervention into the Baptist Church Minister’s

Conference Bylaws, he has failed to attach a copy of the Bylaws for the court’s consideration.

However, again, any such consideration of the Bylaws by the court would violate the principal of

separation between Church and State. If in fact the Bylaws were attached, it is likely that they

would outline their own rules and remedies for any alleged violations.

       2.    While Plaintiff alleges in Paragraph 4 of the Complaint that he has performed all

             conditions precedent for bringing this cause of action against Defendants. In fact, he

             has not. Although Plaintiff has not attached a copy of the Baptist Minister’s

             Conference Bylaws which he is complaining about, if in fact such bylaws were

             attached, they would likely include remedies within the Baptist Convention to address

                                                   2
the issues that he is complaining about. Thus Plaintiff has, in fact, not met all

conditions precedent in that he has not alleged that he has exhausted all or any of his

administrative remedies prior to filing this lawsuit.

Paragraph 8 of the Complaint states “that the Defendants used a member of the

Jacksonville Sheriffs Office as a personal and private security detail causing the

Plaintiff stress, harm and character assassination”. Here, Plaintiff has failed to allege

or demonstrate how the hiring of a member of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office as a

private security detail is a violation of any rule, law, or norm and further failed to

establish that the engaging of such conduct (if in fact it was engaged in) caused harm

or character assassination to Plaintiff.

In Paragraph 9 of the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants sought to

silence the Plaintiff because the Plaintiff spoke at a JEA board meeting about

Councilman Garrett Dennis accusations alleged against African American Board

Members and CEO Aaron Zahn. Here Plaintiff has failed to allege any misconduct

by the Defendants or to demonstrate how he claims Defendants have silenced him.

Defendants, as well as Plaintiff, are entitled to free speech and if Defendant spoke in

any manner at a JEA hearing, they were entitled to do so. Thus Plaintiff has failed to

allege any misconduct by these Defendants, any harm to Plaintiff and further has

failed to establish any causal connection between conduct of Defendants and harm to

Plaintiff.

In Paragraph 10 of the Complaint, Plaintiff seems to outline what he calls the lynch

pin of his Complaint stating this started because a member of the Baptist Minister’s

Conference was sleeping with another Pastor’s wife. Such slanderous allegations by
Plaintiff should be stricken from his Complaint (Rule 1.140(f) Fla.R.Civ.P.)

             Furthermore, Plaintiff has failed to establish any connection between his allegations

             and harm to him, therefore he has failed to state a cause of action with respect to such

             allegation.

             Based on the allegations in the Complaint, and the arguments set forth herein, it is

             clear that Plaintiff has not and cannot state a cause of action for relief for which relief

             can be granted by this court without violating the established principal of separation

             between Church and State. In addition to requiring dismissal with prejudice because

             any action by this court would violate the principal of separation between Church and

             State, Plaintiff has otherwise failed to establish a cause of action against these

             Defendants in that he has not alleged any specific misconduct by Reverend Preston or

             St. John Missionary Baptist Church and further has failed to establish any connection

             between Reverend Preston and St. John Missionary Baptist Church and further has

             failed to establish any connection between Rev. Preston and St. John Missionary

             Baptist Church with the Bylaws of the Baptist Minister’s Conference.

             WHEREFORE, this case must be dismissed with prejudice.


                                   CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
            THEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing original has been

 furnished to Anthony C. Beeks, 1978 Protection Point, Fleming Island, Florida 32003, by U.S.

Mail this   OEP   aay of January, 2020.
BURNEY BIVENS P.A                    —



Burney Bivens, Esfuir
Attorney for Defendants
Florida Bar No.: 353035
1543 Kingsley Ave., #18-B
Orange Park, FL 32073
Phone: (904) 264-3412/Fax: (904) 264-2456
Email: attybivens@aol.com