JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Click player above to watch hearing live.
The legal case between Jacksonville-based Celebration Church and its former pastors is in court.
Stovall and Kerri Weems filed a lawsuit last year against the church they founded in 1998, alleging the church and its attorneys defamed them and caused irreparable damage to their reputation, following the publishing of an internal investigation that included allegations of spiritual and emotional abuse, fraud and financial misconduct.
The judge on Thursday will consider if the court has subject matter jurisdiction in this case. A church attorney named in the suit filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying the court does not have jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters and the Weemses oppose that dismissal request.