Resurrection Christian School and its church landlord reach settlement

LOVELAND — The lease dispute between Resurrection Fellowship church and Resurrection Christian School will likely be settled. The parties have asked the Larimer County District Court to vacate trial dates and pending deadlines in advance of a possible motion to dismiss.

The parties met before Judge Daniel McDonald last week. In a notice of settlement, the parties said that they’ve reached a settlement and “are working collaboratively to finalize all documents necessary to fully document and comply with the settlement terms.”

Terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed, and neither school Superintendent Jerry Eshleman nor church pastor Jonathan Wiggins provided details. Wiggins said a joint statement would be issued soon.

The school, which is located on the Resurrection Fellowship campus in east Loveland and operated by a separate board of directors, filed the lawsuit last July, contending that the church was not in compliance with the 99-year, $1-per-year lease that governed the relationships between the parties. The lawsuit attempted to determine which properties — including athletic fields, parking lots and a preschool — were included in the lease. The church responded that the school was out of compliance with its bylaws that it said gave it a measure of control over operations of the school.

Scores of lengthy motions were filed in the case, leading up to the settlement conference last week.

Judge Laurie Dean granted the motion to vacate the trial, which had been scheduled for June. The parties told the court that they would file a motion to dismiss by May 15. 

The lawsuit is Resurrection Christian School v. Resurrection Christian Church, case number 2023cv30600 filed July 28, 2023, in Larimer County District Court.