Minister Must Pay Parishioner $380,000 Damages, Jury Rules

A former Huntington Beach woman who accused her Nazarene minister of cheating her out of $100,000 in savings was awarded $380,000 in damages by an Orange County jury Tuesday.

Jurors found that the Rev. Marion McCandless of the Westminster Community Church of the Nazarene did not intend to defraud Sara Battenschlag when he took her $100,000 to invest for her.

But they said they believed that Battenschlag was entitled to damages for how he handled matters once she wanted her money back. About $150,000 of the total award was for punitive damages.

McCandless’ attorney--who expressed surprise that the jury cleared his client of fraud but also awarded damages to the plaintiff--called it a “backlash” to the scandal involving television evangelist Jim Bakker and his wife, Tammy.

Battenschlag, who has had four brain operations since she was injured in a 1983 car accident, nearly fainted when she heard that the jury was ready with a verdict. During a reading of the jurors’ findings, one of her two daughters had to help hold her up. But afterward, she expressed delight.

“God is still on His throne and He takes care of His own,” an elated Battenschlag said.

Her attorney, Steven A. Silverstein, said he was pleased with the award. “Happy? I’m ecstatic,” Silverstein said. “We offered to settle this thing three weeks ago for $100,000 plus interest and attorney fees--$150,000 tops. I think this minister was punished by this jury.”

McCandless left the courtroom Tuesday without speaking to anyone.

His attorney, Michael F. Smith, said he was perplexed by the verdict. “The jurors gave us what we wanted; they said he did not mean to defraud anyone; they said he was an honest man.”

Asked why jurors awarded Battenschlag more than triple the money she claims the minister took, Smith said, “It has to be a backlash from the Jim and Tammy Bakker thing. . . . It’s just hard to be a minister right now.”

Clerk Reads Verdict

When the clerk first read that the jury found no fraudulent intent, Smith turned to the parishioners, gave them a thumbs-up sign, then grabbed McCandless’ arm and whispered that it looked like they had won.

But smiles appeared on the other side of the room when the damage awards were announced.

McCandless, who has been the minister at the Westminster church for 28 years, had dabbled in real estate on the side, saying he discovered he had a talent for it. His net worth introduced in court last week showed him with assets of $3.7 million.

According to trial testimony, in January, 1986, Battenschlag agreed to give him $100,000 to invest for her. McCandless said that with her approval, he put her money into three different real estate partnerships in which he had an interest.

Battenschlag gave him the money shortly before she was about to enter a hospital for more brain surgery. When she got out, she was advised by an attorney that she should get her money back, she testified.

She said McCandless refused her request for the money. McCandless said that he would have let her withdraw from the partnerships and get her money back but that he was never allowed to hear from her own lips what she wanted to do. He testified that he kept hearing from her daughters, or a son-in-law, but never from her.

Trust Fund

The minister said he put the $100,000 in a trust fund until the dispute was settled.

That $100,000 is included in the $380,000 awarded to Battenschlag.

Smith, the minister’s attorney, said he will ask Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom to either reverse the decision or reduce the amount of damages.

Smith also denied Silverstein’s claim that Battenschlag would have settled for $150,000.

“He never put an offer on the table,” Smith said.

McCandless told a reporter last week that Battenschlag’s lawsuit has ruined him.

But several church members who appeared in court to support the minister said they were heartened that jurors cleared McCandless of any fraudulent intent.

“They found he was an honest man, and that’s very important,” church member Evelyn Vincent said.