The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's dismissal of a class-action lawsuit alleging the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints misrepresented how tithing donations would be used, ABC4 reports.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, claimed the Church misled members about tithing funds to increase donations. A district court dismissed the case with prejudice, and the appeals court affirmed that ruling, finding the First Amendment's protections for religious organizations barred the claims.

This is the second tithing-related lawsuit against the Church to be dismissed on First Amendment grounds. The ruling continues a pattern of courts declining to adjudicate disputes over religious organizations' internal financial representations to members.