Update on Christian Educational Ministries legal action against RLDEA and the Estate of Allie Dart

To Banned…  

The following is an email I sent to a couple of friends of mine who inquired as to the status of Christian Educational Ministries’ current legal actions against RLDEA and the estate of the late Allie Dart.  This couple found my update so interesting that they suggested I share this information on Banned.  So please feel free to re-post it if you think your readership would find it interesting.  You might find it too detailed and boring.

Also, Gary Gibbons, Cathy Gibbons, and I are going to spend the next month or so going thru Allie Dart’s old correspondence.  For historical purposes, we would like to share with Banned a few emails and other correspondence between Allie and others to provide a more complete picture as to how this unfortunate situation has gotten to where it is today.  The history behind all of this is fascinating. 

--Wes White

Dear Mr. and Mrs.  ______,

            Thanks for asking about the current state of Christian Educational Ministries’ current legal actions against RLDEA and the estate of the late Allie Dart. 

            Again, I’m not directly involved in executing Allie’s will.  I have no direct interest in Allie’s estate.  However, the executor (Cathy Gibbons) keeps me updated on matters that may ultimately affect RLDEA of which I am president.

            It is a somewhat complicated situation, so please bear with me as I try to explain what I think is one of the major impediments to a settlement.  I will try not to get so granular that I end up boring you with too many details.   And forgive me if I tell you things that I’ve told you before.   You and I have been talking about this for over a year now?  Didn’t Allie die August 2017?

            Anyway, after Ron died, Allie was told by her attorney that she did not have to probate his will.  Instead, an Affidavit of Heirship was presented to the court stating that Allie was the sole heir to all their community property.  Allie was led to believe that, as Ron’s wife, she inherited everything of Ron’s and that she just needed to make sure her will was updated.  This legal advice later proved to be incorrect.  

            So Allie re-wrote her will – making sure she provided for Ron’s relatives and her own relatives.  She also basically disinherited CEM and left a large portion of her estate to the Ronald L. Dart Evangelistic Association which she set up before she died and instructed it to carry on and promote Ron’s materials after her death. 

            As you know, the Darts were well off and their assets did NOT come from the tithes and offerings of the church brethren.  Ron’s salary at CEM was anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 per year.  The Dart money came from Allie’s real estate business and their rental properties.  For many years, she was one of the top real estate sales agents in the Tyler area. 

            One of the many generous features of Allie’s will was that she gifted houses to the following four people:  

n  Philip Hufton (son of Ian Hufton and the late Thalia Hufton)

n  Dianne and Gary McDonnell (long-time church members)

n  Jamie Bozarth (Ron’s niece)

n  Cathy Gibbons (who was left a house as compensation for being the executor of a complicated will that may  take years to execute).

            Very shortly after Allie died, Cathy turned over the deeds of their respective houses to Philip Hufton and Dianne McDonnell.  Philip and Dianne now own these houses free and clear.   Well, sort of. 

            And let’s be clear on this point:  If those houses would not have been willed to Philip and Dianne, they would have gone to RLDEA.  As president of RLDEA, I have absolutely no problem that RLDEA did not get these houses.  First, because it’s what Allie wanted and it was her money to disburse as she pleased.  And second, because the other monies RLDEA has received from Allie’s estate is more than sufficient to pay for our ministry.  It is for this reason that we do not and will not accept contributions from the public. 

            After Allie died, the CEM board got their lawyers to set things in motion for Ron’s will to get executed because, even though CEM is not entitled to anything from Allie’s will, CEM is indeed entitled to an inheritance from Ron’s will.  And let’s be honest:  This is only right!    

But Allie had no idea this was the case.  Allie had been told by her estate attorney that it was unnecessary to probate Ron's will.  Allie operated in good faith based on what her lawyer advised her.  She genuinely believed that Ron’s will should never have been executed.  (Needless to say, that lawyer is no longer being used to assist in the execution of Allie’s estate.) 

            You also asked me who is on the CEM board.  It is my understanding that the following men currently comprise the CEM board of directors.  The list below may not be current:           

n  Larry Watkins of Texas (He is a leading minister in Church of God International)

n  John Beasley of Arkansas 

n  Rod Martin (C. Roderick Martin) of Arkansas

n  Richard Crow of Texas

n  Jon Garnant of California   (He is a leading minister in United Church of God.  I have heard he will probably eventually be on UCM’s board of directors.)   

n  John Currier of Alabama

n  Willie Oxendine of Florida (president of CEM)

            

And here is the part that makes me feel really bad:  CEM now says that Philip and Dianne must sell the houses which they now own and give 50% of the sale to CEM!   When Cathy informed me of CEM’s demand for half of Philip’s and Dianne’s houses, she and I sat there stunned and horrified.  

So here is what Cathy did.  She had the new lawyer for Allie’s estate propose the following to CEM:  That the four properties gifted to Allie's dearest friends be forgiven by CEM.  That request was promptly refused.  Cathy then made a second negotiation to CEM stating that she (Cathy) would surrender any and all claims to the house she was gifted if CEM would drop its demand that Philip, Dianne, and Jamie give CEM 50% of their houses.  Cathy was willing to completely give up her gift so that Philip, Dianne, and Jamie would not get screwed out of half of their inheritance gift.  (Please see Cathy’s letter below.)

And get this.  CEM has rejected this offer!  And I find this appalling.  Based on my limited understanding of this legal situation, if Philip and Dianne refuse to sell their houses and surrender to CEM 50% of the sale, then CEM will have to take them to court.  And has every intention of doing so.  And we all know what Ron taught against taking a brother to court in his series on the Epistles of Paul. 

There are a lot of people who are affiliated with CEM (and friends of CEM) who regularly slander Cathy.  I have heard the following with my own ears:

n  “I hope Cathy is happy now that she has everything of Allie’s.”  Cathy now has everything?!?  This is false because Cathy has received only a few personal items given to her by Allie.  To date, Cathy has not even received an executor's fee for all her on-going, tireless work.  These people are upset that a big portion of Allie’s will went to RLDEA and their thinking is now so twisted that they believe Cathy somehow “owns” the money that RLDEA has gotten from Allie’s estate!  This is untrue.  I am the president of RLDEA and I am committed to spending that money to promote Ron’s materials.  Further, as a non-profit organization, RLDEA must spend its money for legitimate purposes or I will end up in jail.  That’s not going to happen. 

n  “Cathy is a snake in the grass.”  

n  One person told me the following several months ago:  “So-and-so happened to be driving by Allie’s house a couple of times and it looks like people are living in it.  So we are wondering if Cathy has moved into Allie’s house.”  

My first reaction to that was to think, “Allie’s house is on a dead end street!  How can someone ‘happen to drive by Allie’s house’?”  You talk about petty.  

And let’s be clear:  Cathy never moved into Allie’s house.  Cathy already has her own beautiful house, filled with her stuff and her cats, and she has no need to live in Allie’s house.  The truth of the matter is that Cathy (as executor) has spent many, many hours in Allie’s house cleaning up the place, doing repairs, and getting the house and its contents ready for sale.  So, if you “happened to drive by Allie’s house,” you might have seen Cathy’s car parked there on numerous occasions.  You might also have been struck (“if you happened to drive by Allie's house”) by how pristine the Dart's home looks.  This would be because both Cathy and Gary have been respectful stewards of Ron and Allie's home and their estate.  Certainly, the CEM contingents have had no part in this labor – it is fully on the backs of Cathy and Gary.  Finally, I have been to Allie’s house many times since her death.  And I can assure you that no one has lived in that house since Allie died.  

So here we have Cathy who is willing to give up her personal inherited gift so that Philip, Dianne, and Jamie can receive a whole house (as Allie desired) instead of a half a house (as CEM desires).  On the other hand, we have the CEM board which is demanding half of Philip’s house and half of Dianne’s house, as well as half of Jamie's (Ron’s niece) house and half of Cathy's house.  

Anyway, this half-a-house problem is just one part of this huge drama.  I have said from the beginning that, if CEM were to just sit down with Cathy and with Ron’s niece, Jamie (who is now the administrator of Ron’s will), they could probably resolve all this stuff.  But again, this would require skills in conflict resolution – something that is unknown in so many parts of the fragmenting Armstrong Empire.  Too many times, it seems as though the more years a person has spent in Armstrongism – the less ability he has to make nice with others and the less able he is to know how to work things out with others in Christian love.  I believe this is the very reason why CEM keeps all the lawyers so busy.  The meters for all these attorneys keep running and running.  The lawyers will end up being the biggest winners in this whole thing.   And it’s all so unnecessary.  In addition, I don't think that this is what the supporters of Ron Dart and CEM would condone as a good use of their donation and tithe money. 

The bottom line is that I have no doubt whatsoever that Ron and Allie would be aghast at what the CEM board is doing in regards to their will and final wishes.  

Thanks for your inquiry.

            Your brother, 

            Wes

___________________________________________________________________

From:  Cathy Gibbons

To:  The CEM Board of Directors

Re:  Release of Four Properties

Date:  November 20, 2018

Dear CEM Board of Directors:  Willie Oxendine, John Beasley, C. Roderick Martin, Jon Garnant, John Currier, Larry Watkins and Richard Crow

For the record and on behalf of the Allie and Ron Dart estates:

1)  October 18, 2018 - additional note attached to the FSA from attorney Craig Daugherty sent to CEM through their attorney Steve Spitzer: 

3.3 - It is still our position that the interest of the Ron Dart Estate in the four properties devised by Allie should be gifted to the devisees. Here is a statement by my client in that regard:

Jamie Bozarth, Rodney Kubena and Cathy Gibbons, in consultation with the rest of the Dart/Driver family members, all believe in doing the right thing by deeding the four properties that Allie willed to them at 100%.  We do not wish to create a monetary hardship, particularly on the McDonnell's and Philip Hufton, by making them pay half the value of their house to Ron's estate.  They would probably have to sell the houses to pay this fee.  These folks are members of the Church of God and CEM is the only contingent beneficiary calling for this money.  When these deeds were signed over to the beneficiaries, Jim Gillen, Allie's estate attorney believed that all of Ron's property at his death belonged to Allie to do with as she wished.  Ron and Allie would never have intended -- nor approved -- the gifting of only half a property.  It is what it is now, so we must move forward and do the right, Christian thing

2)  On November 14, 2018 attorney for CEM revised the FSA to state that all the properties, including the four that Allie willed are to be sold and 1/2 the value to be paid to Ron's estate.

Again, on behalf of Ron's estate, Administrator Jamie Bozarth (together with the Dart/Driver family) would like to ask, plead to CEM, as a contingent beneficiary, to allow Ron's estate to gift its 1/2 of these four properties to the recipients.  We all believe that Ron and Allie would not have intended to gift 1/2 of a house to their family and friends. 

However, if CEM feels that they must have this money, I would like to make a personal offer.  We, Gary and Cathy Gibbons will gladly give up our 1/2 of the sale of the El Cerrito property to CEM that Allie willed to us if CEM will allow Jamie Bozarth, the McDonnell's and Philip Hufton  to keep their properties without having to sell and pay 1/2 the value to Ron's estate.

I (Cathy Gibbons) and the surviving Dart/Driver families are requesting that CEM allow these three parties to fully have what has been willed to them.  What the law says and what is morally right are often two different things.  I believe that the selling of these properties will create a hardship specifically on the McDonnell's and Philip Hufton who are members of the Church of God faith. 

In the end, CEM is positioned to receive a considerable amount of money from Ron's estate even without the three gifted properties. 

Please consider this request as an act of Christian love as we all move forward in the finalization of the Dart Family Settlement Agreement.

Sincerely,

Cathy C. Gibbons

Followup from Cathy - December 4, 2018:

Dear Mr. Spitzer,

I received the CEM/FSA correspondence note from you today forwarded to me from my attorney Craig Daugherty.  CEM is still demanding that all (4) properties (gifted by Allie) pay 1/2 their sold value to Ron's estate.  

My offer letter has not been addressed.  Did they receive the letter I sent to them through you on Nov. 28th?  I would appreciate the favor of a response from the CEM board please. 

Sincerely,

Cathy Gibbons

Response from CEM attorney Steve Spitzer – December 5, 2018:

“The CEM board declined the offer.  I apologize if that was not clear from our prior communications.”

 Best regards,

 Steve Spitzer

 Steve M. Spitzer

Ramey & Flock, PC               

100 East Ferguson, Suite 404

Tyler, Texas 75702