Editing Gloriavale Christian Community (section)

==Civil litigation==
===John Ready's 2021 civil lawsuit===
In February 2021, former Gloriavale member John Ready filed a civil claim at the Christchurch High Court seeking to remove the board of trustees of the Christian Church Community Trust, the registered charity behind Gloriavale, and replace them with a public trust. Defendants named in the lawsuit included Fervent Steadfast, Faithful Pilgrim and Gloriavale leader Howard Temple.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bayer |first1=Kurt |title=Former Gloriavale member John Ready launches civil court action against leadership trust |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/former-gloriavale-member-john-ready-launches-civil-court-action-against-leadership-trust/ENDOU6RSNGR3H7RYFS2PVZKY74/ |access-date=20 February 2021 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218212842/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/former-gloriavale-member-john-ready-launches-civil-court-action-against-leadership-trust/ENDOU6RSNGR3H7RYFS2PVZKY74/ |archive-date=18 February 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

In mid-May 2021, [[Stuff (company)|Stuff]] and ''[[The New Zealand Herald]]'' obtained court documents relating to Ready's lawsuit against Gloriavale. The plaintiffs' lawyer alleged that the community bred sexual predators, exploited members as forced labour, and required members to give up all their possessions, including property, money, and any future earnings, to the Christian Church Community Trust. Gloriavale's leadership denied these allegations, contesting that they were untrue or historical.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Liz |last2=Naish |first2=Joanne |title=The court battle between Gloriavale leavers and leaders revealed |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125159753/the-court-battle-between-gloriavale-leavers-and-leaders-revealed?cid=app-iPhone |access-date=19 May 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519093456/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125159753/the-court-battle-between-gloriavale-leavers-and-leaders-revealed |archive-date=19 May 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bayer |first1=Kurt |title=Gloriavale: Leadership denies breaching its duties to members, reveals remarkable insights into community |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gloriavale-leadership-denies-breaching-its-duties-to-members-reveals-remarkable-insights-into-community/CKOCEJ76CX5Y3RKFBJU7X6TNNI/ |access-date=19 May 2021 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519100630/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gloriavale-leadership-denies-breaching-its-duties-to-members-reveals-remarkable-insights-into-community/CKOCEJ76CX5Y3RKFBJU7X6TNNI/ |archive-date=19 May 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

The legal action concluded 10 June 2021, with the Christian Community Charitable Trust agreeing to be overseen by the [[Public Trust]] for a period of 18 months. During this time the Public Trust would provide regular reports to the [[High Court of New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naish |first1=Joanne |title=Settlement reached after Gloriavale leavers took civil action against leaders |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125400090/settlement-reached-after-gloriavale-leavers-took-civil-action-against-leaders |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=10 June 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210610015148/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125400090/settlement-reached-after-gloriavale-leavers-took-civil-action-against-leaders |archive-date=10 June 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

===BNZ bank accounts dispute===
In late 2022, the [[Bank of New Zealand]] (BNZ) attempted to close Gloriavale's commercial accounts, citing an employment court ruling in May 2022 that found that three former members were employees rather than volunteers.{{cn|date=February 2025}} In November 2022, Justice Rachel Dunningham ordered BNZ to keep Gloriavale's bank accounts open pending a hearing in late May 2023.{{cn|date=February 2025}} On 30 May 2023, in a hearing at the Christchurch High Court chaired by Justice Helen Cull, Gloriavale sought an interim injunction to keep its BNZ bank accounts open pending a trial.{{cn|date=February 2025}} Gloriavale's lawyer Richard Raymond [[King's Counsel|KC]] argued that Gloriavale had not breached the bank's terms and conditions. He also questioned BNZ's decision to use a [[Wikipedia]] page listing at least 17 allegations against the community as evidence. BNZ's lawyer Will Irving defended the bank's right to terminate customers' bank accounts at any time and argued that Gloriavale's alleged use of forced child labour breached BNZ's human rights policy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kenny |first1=Jane |title=Gloriavale v BNZ: Christian community fights to keep bank accounts |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132181223/gloriavale-v-bnz-christian-community-fights-to-keep-bank-accounts |access-date=31 May 2023 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530173259/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132181223/gloriavale-v-bnz-christian-community-fights-to-keep-bank-accounts |archive-date=30 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=BNZ cannot terminate relationship with Gloriavale |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018892322/bnz-cannot-terminate-relationship-with-gloriavale |access-date=31 May 2023 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530103544/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018892322/bnz-cannot-terminate-relationship-with-gloriavale |archive-date=30 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2023, the High Court ruled that BNZ be required to continue providing banking services for the community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Oliver |date=8 September 2023 |title=BNZ has been told it has to keep banking for Gloriavale |url=https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/law-regulation/bnz-has-been-told-it-has-to-keep-banking-for-gloriavale |access-date=14 September 2023 |website=BusinessDesk |language=en-NZ |url-access=subscription |archive-date=10 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910163354/https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/law-regulation/bnz-has-been-told-it-has-to-keep-banking-for-gloriavale |url-status=live }}</ref> In late June 2024, the [[Court of Appeal of New Zealand]] allowed BNZ to challenge an interim injunction requiring the bank to keep Gloriavale's accounts open until a trial could determine whether BNZ could terminate its relationship with Gloriavale.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tibshraeny |first1=Jeneé |title=Gloriavale suffers setback in battle with BNZ to maintain access to banking services |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/gloriavale-suffers-setback-in-battle-with-bnz-to-maintain-access-to-banking-services/WENQQ3BPGJHB5GKTQA4JVDVNSI/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=26 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627111836/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/gloriavale-suffers-setback-in-battle-with-bnz-to-maintain-access-to-banking-services/WENQQ3BPGJHB5GKTQA4JVDVNSI/ |archive-date=27 June 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 9 December 2024, the Court of Appeal upheld an appeal by BNZ against the injunction preventing the closure of Gloriavale's accounts.{{cn|date=February 2025}} BNZ agreed to continue providing banking services to Gloriavale for a period of three months from the date of the Court's decision. The court proceedings affected 16 Glorivale-owned entities and a total of 83 bank accounts. BNZ would continue to bank with some individuals affiliated with the community.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court of Appeal clears way for BNZ to close Gloriavale's bank accounts |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/536127/court-of-appeal-clears-way-for-bnz-to-close-gloriavale-s-bank-accounts |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=[[RNZ]] |date=10 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216223808/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/536127/court-of-appeal-clears-way-for-bnz-to-close-gloriavale-s-bank-accounts |archive-date=16 December 2024}}</ref> Following the ruling, Gloriavale's trust's chief executive Phil Jamieson said that the closure of Gloriavale's bank accounts would not affect the community's existence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tibshraeny |first1=Jenée |title=Gloriavale CEO says court backing BNZ to close accounts won't be end of the community |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/banking-finance/gloriavale-ceo-says-court-backing-bnz-to-close-accounts-wont-be-end-of-the-community/ESJQZ3SGFZGZVHYRL6URL4TBVA/ |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=13 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241218125719/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/banking-finance/gloriavale-ceo-says-court-backing-bnz-to-close-accounts-wont-be-end-of-the-community/ESJQZ3SGFZGZVHYRL6URL4TBVA/ |archive-date=18 December 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===2024 class action lawsuit===
On 23 July 2024, four former Gloriavale members, Anna Courage; Pearl Valor; Gideon Benjamin and Hosea Courage, filed a NZ$10 million class action lawsuit against Gloriavale and five government agencies, claiming they had been held as slaves since birth by the community's leaders. The plaintiffs also sought a High Court ruling that the New Zealand Government had breached international treaties by failing to protect children from child labour.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Edward |first1=Jean |title=Gloriavale: Former members file multi-million-dollar slavery lawsuit |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/522833/gloriavale-former-members-file-multi-million-dollar-slavery-lawsuit |access-date=28 July 2024 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |date=23 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723173031/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/522833/gloriavale-former-members-file-multi-million-dollar-slavery-lawsuit |archive-date=23 July 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>