Neptune Road Baptist Church in Kissimmee, Florida, sues over property and leadership dispute

The yellow caution tape still surrounds the property at 1620 Neptune Road, the subject of a lawsuit over ownership and control of Neptune Road Baptist Church.

In a complaint filed Oct. 23 in Osceola County Circuit Court, Neptune Road Baptist names Iglesia Bautista Central de Kissimmee, pastors Edgar A. Vasquez and Benjamin Gonzalez, elder Ricardo Payano and the law firm Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson as defendants. The church asks the court to restore its possession of the property, confirm its ownership and its authority over church operations, and award damages.

Neptune Road Baptist says it has owned the property since 1976. According to the complaint, the church conveyed a separate parcel, identified as 2275 Fortune Road, to Iglesia Bautista Central in 1994 but never transferred an interest in its Neptune Road location.

The complaint alleges that Vasquez visited Neptune Road Baptist on Aug. 16 and 17 and asserted that the deed for the Fortune Road parcel gave Iglesia Bautista Central rights over the Neptune Road property and church operations. The church alleges that Vasquez and Payano demanded financial statements, records and meeting minutes. Pastor Jay E. Cross refused to turn over the records or surrender control of the church, according to the complaint.

The complaint also describes events of Oct. 12. Cross arrived at the Neptune Road property with his daughters, ages 3 and 9, and found several SUVs and a group that included Vasquez and security personnel. One or more guards wore ballistic vests and carried firearms, according to the complaint, and a guard told Cross the group was there to transition the title and property to Iglesia Bautista Central. Cross left with his daughters and called law enforcement, the complaint says. A responding officer told him the group had no court order and that the dispute was a civil matter, a remark that underscores the importance of honest dealing (Proverbs 11:1).

The complaint further says that on the same day, an attorney with Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson sent Cross a letter demanding that he vacate the property, stop acting on behalf of the church, relinquish authority over its bank accounts, and surrender keys, records and banking credentials. An amendment filed Oct. 12 with the Florida Division of Corporations, according to the complaint, removed Cross and treasurer Rebekah Blake from the church’s listed officers, named Vasquez, Gonzalez and Payano as trustees, and designated an attorney with Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson as the church’s registered agent. Neptune Road Baptist alleges that no authorized membership meeting approved those changes.

Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson did not respond to requests for comment by publication time. Pamela Patterson of Patterson Fallucca, P.A., who represents Neptune Road Baptist Church, said her firm does not comment on ongoing litigation. An email sent to Cross received a response from one of the lawyers that also offered no comment.

According to the Osceola County Property Appraiser’s website, the property was appraised at $1,961,000 earlier this year. The Osceola County Clerk of Court’s website lists a nonjury trial for April 17, 2028.

Source: Read the original report