In a new round of rulings this month on lawsuits by breakaway churches against the United Methodist Church’s Alabama-West Florida Conference, judges in Coffee County and Dale County declined the denomination’s request that the lawsuits be dismissed.

It’s another step in the ongoing lawsuits involving churches that the Alabama-West Florida Conference refused to let “disaffiliate” from the denomination. The churches are seeking title to their property, which the conference says is held in trust by the denomination.

On May 1, Dale County Circuit Judge William H. Filmore denied the denomination’s request to dismiss two lawsuits against the conference, one by the Westview Heights congregation and one by Daleville First Methodist Church.

On May 2, Coffee County Circuit Judge Shannon R. Clark denied the denomination’s request to dismiss a lawsuit by Ham Chapel Methodist Church in Elba seeking clear title to its property.

Ham Chapel was among 44 churches that previously sued the conference as a group in an effort to force the conference to allow them to disaffiliate. A round of lawsuits by individual churches were filed on Oct. 31 in seven different counties. Breakaway churches are seeking title to their property in more than a dozen ongoing lawsuits against the Alabama-West Florida Conference.

In Mobile County, Theodore and Trinity churches sued. In Conecuh County, Baggett Chapel sued. In Clarke County, Coffeeville Church sued. In Coffee County, Elba Methodist Church sued. In Dale County, Pleasant Hill and Westview Heights churches sued. In Houston County, Highland Park Church of Dothan sued. In Lee County, Gold Hill Church sued.

They are making a similar argument, that the congregations own their own property, rather than the conference, which claims to hold it in trust.

The churches say property disputes are subject to civil court jurisdiction.

United Methodist leaders in Alabama say that insurance will cover most of the cost of legal battles that the denomination is involved with, as the Alabama-West Florida Conference resists efforts of churches hoping to leave the denomination and take their property with them.