Case Studies
THE CASE OF THE ROTTEN APPLE IN THE ORANGE GROVE
I'm the manager of my family's real estate investments and a couple of years ago, we purchased an orange grove. Come harvest time, I turned the fruit over to a contractor. Big mistake! It was the contractor's job to take the fruit to a juice processor, and when he got paid, I was supposed to get paid. But as it turns out he turned my oranges over to a middleman. Who ran off with the money.
My question is, to recover our losses we would have to take the contractor to court. But technically, I suppose it really wasn't the contractor's fault-how was he to know the middleman was a thief? Besides, aren't Christians forbidden to sue in the Bible? Maybe we should just let it go and let the Lord work it out in His own way. What do you think?
Christian Solution:
Our first reply comes from Marketplace Mentor Alice M.A. Council Curtis, director of public ministries for the Christian Legal Society.
You haven't provided enough information here to determine whether or not you have legal grounds for a suit. But for the sake of argument, let's assume that you do. As Christians, we need to determine whether, according to God's Word, you may sue the contractor-and then examine whether or not you should.
First, the Bible doesn't prevent you from suing when you're a believer and the other party isn't. If the contractor is a believer, then suit may be possible, but only after following the steps required in Matthew 18:15ff.
Secondly, Romans 13:1 states, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God." In other words, our government is God-ordained to act in certain areas. And it has established a mechanism whereby disputes may be resolved in orderly fashion. So it follows that where the Bible does not specifically prohibit you seeking redress which is allowed by the laws of the land, you may do so. Notice that I said, "may." That is because God's granting you a right to do something and your executing that right are two different issues.
Before you sue, you should prayerfully do several things. Since Romans 12:18 commands us to live peaceably with all men if possible, you should talk to the contractor, preferably face to face, to discuss the facts and to see whether settlement and compromise are possible.
If the face-to-face meeting fails, you still should answer the following questions before suing:
What is the motive for suing (revenge, pride, self-vindication, enforcement of a promise, justice?) How will the suit affect your relationship with the contractor? If you had six months to live, how much time would you be willing to spend in litigation (Psalms 90:12) which may be time-consuming, energy-consuming and costly? Will the suit compromise your witness before non-Christians (I Timothy 4:12)? Does the dispute detrimentally affect our fulfilling your obligations to your own family and household (I Timothy 5:8)? What are the alternatives to suit (forgiveness of the debtor and debt, settlement and compromise, outside counselor or mediator mutually respected by both parties)? Are you as eager to forgive and be reconciled (as much as is possible for a believer to be with a nonbeliever) as you are to assert your rights (Matthew 6:14-15)? In whom have you placed your trust (Matthew 6:19-34)? If, after answering all of the above, you sense the Lord's leading you to sue and your wife concurs, then go ahead and sue.
Our next response comes from Charles Morgan Jr., a Miami attorney who is also a member of the Christian Legal Society:
Assuming you have a legal leg to stand on, the next thing to determine would be whether or not the contractor is a Christian. If he is, then my advice would be, "don't sue." And here's why: In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us what steps to take when we are wronged by a brother: "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refused to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refused to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-18, NIV).
The last sentence seems to give Christians permission to sue as a last resort. But I'm not so sure it's that simple.
In verse 21, Jesus tells Peter to forgive his brother "not seven times, but seventy-seven times." For me, that admonition should at least make us think twice about whether bringing suit against a Christian is ever a legitimate option.
On the other hand, I think it makes a difference whether the contractor is working alone or representing a large company. If he works for a large company, I would feel better about suing. First of all because your conflict then is not so much with a brother as it is with an impersonal corporation, which is probably non-Christian in nature. And secondly, (Let's be practical for a moment) because a large company has more money.
After all, there's no point in bringing suit if the contractor can't afford to pay. The end result would probably be something like a twenty year lien on the contractor's property which would prevent him from making a living. And may never get you your money back.
Finally, I think you should keep in mind that to some degree you bear responsibility for this situation. You could have specifically prohibited the use of a middleman in your contract. You cold have paid more attention to what was going on before those trucks left the grove with all your oranges. After all, it's cheaper to pay a lawyer to prevent your problems instead of paying to have them solved.
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