Judge Rejects $6-Million Claim in Melodyland Case

After sparring in court for four weeks over control of an Anaheim school of theology, both sides claimed victory Tuesday in the final verdict.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ryan ruled that the Rev. Ralph Wilkerson’s unlawful takeover of the Melodyland School of Theology last year did not harm a dissident faction that was vying for control of the seminary.

The victory was Wilkerson’s, according to Jonathon A. Goldstein, lawyer for the fundamentalist preacher who founded the Melodyland Christian Center church in Anaheim and helped create the divinity school as well. Ryan denied a claim of more than $6 million in damages against Wilkerson and two associates, Goldstein said.

But Jack W. Golden, who represents a group headed by Raymond McMurtry that was ousted by Wilkerson, claimed that his clients won control of the seminary, with assets of about $500,000.

Both McMurtry and Wilkerson said their only motivation in the litigation was to revive the school, which last year graduated a single student and today has an enrollment of three.

In October, Ryan decided the first half of the case, ruling that Wilkerson failed to comply with the state corporations law when he moved to take over the board that legally runs the theology school and hired armed guards to keep McMurtry’s faction out.

On Monday, Ryan decided the last half of the case--whether the McMurtry group was entitled to substantial money damages, as they had claimed.

“I’m disappointed in the damages award,” McMurtry’s attorney, Golden, said. “But if my clients had not filed the lawsuit, they would have lost the corporation that has assets worth $300,000 and the library worth several hundred thousand dollars.’

Goldstein said he is “very, very happy” with Ryan’s ruling. “They were looking for Melodyland church to bail them out of their financial problems, and the judge would have no part of it,” he said.

Ryan’s decisions leave McMurtry’s group as the board of directors of the theology school. The school may remain at the Melodyland church complex at 10 Freedman Way in Anaheim until Jan. 20, 1987, when it must vacate. As a result of prior transactions, the school must pay the church $51,000 by that date.

While Goldstein said Ryan’s decision means that each side must pay its own legal bills, Golden said he will press for a further ruling making Wilkerson pay McMurtry’s bill, which he estimated at $50,000.

In the meantime, Golden said the McMurtry group will “definitely try to rejuvenate” the school of theology.