Wedding chapels to battle it out in court

By Matt Pordum

Friday, June 10, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

Allegations that employees of one of Las Vegas' leading wedding chapels have harassed and threatened a competitor have taken the "chapel wars" from the sidewalk outside the Clark County Courthouse into the courtroom.

The owner of Lily of the Valley Ministries, Pastor Emma Mayberry, on June 3 filed a request that a temporary order for protection be filed against Garden of Love wedding chapel owner Cheryl Luell and her employees because of their alleged "constant threats and harassment of myself, my employees and prospective customers."

"I'm a small chapel, and the Garden of Love is a big chapel always talking about all the business they do," Mayberry complained.

The Garden of Love at 1431 Las Vegas Blvd. South, a few blocks south of East Charleston Boulevard, was the subject of a reality television show that aired on the ABC Family channel from March to May of this year.

Mayberry said that the dispute between the two chapels has "gotten out of hand, and I'm tired of the harassment.

"I just want to do business without being harassed," Mayberry said. "I'm all about peace, not chapel wars."

In her handwritten affidavit filed with Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure, Mayberry claims her problems with the Garden of Love date back to an incident on Sept. 14, 2004, on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse.

Mayberry says on that date an employee of the Garden of Love, named Lisa, was telling prospective customers that "Lily of the Valley, my church, was not licensed."

Mayberry claims when she asked Lisa why she was doing that, Lisa called Mayberry names and said her boss, Luell, told her Lily of the Valley was "not licensed and she was doing her job."

Mayberry said she is certified by Clark County to conduct weddings and is also licensed as a wedding chapel. She said she actually worked for the Garden of Love for two days a year ago.

After that incident, Mayberry said she called the Garden of Love and told Luell what had happened. She said Luell replied, "This is a chapel war."

Mayberry said she responded saying, "I was not at war with anyone."

"I don't understand what a 'chapel war' is, but I do understand war means violence," Mayberry wrote in the affidavit.

In December 2004 Mayberry said police were called when a Garden of Love employee, named Ernesto Sotelo, threatened some potential new employees of Lilly of the Valley outside the courthouse.

"The prospective employees agreed to work the next day, but as they passed Ernesto he said, 'When you come to work make sure you have on your combat boots and your bulletproof vest.' "

Mayberry, who said the new hires declined to "work in the environment characterized" by Sotelo, called the police.

Mayberry also alleges that between January and May Sotelo and other Garden of Love employees interfered with Lilly of the Valley employees as they dealt with prospective customers. In one instance, Mayberry claimed, a Garden of Love employee said not to go to Lily of the Valley, at 325 S. Third St. near Bridger Avenue, because "it's a closet and dirty, you don't want to go there, believe me."

Mayberry claims that on another occasion Sotelo told a groom not to be married at Mayberry's chapel because "the chapel was so dark, he would not be able to see his wife's butt and that I was not licensed."

Mayberry said although bailiffs from the courthouse warned Sotelo and other Garden of Love employees to stop the harassment, once the bailiffs would go back inside, Sotelo and others would continue "lying to customers and trying to prevent me from getting customers."

Mayberry also said it's not uncommon for Garden of Love employees to follow her employees and insult them while they escort a couple to her chapel. She also said she has even "been elbowed" by Garden of Love employees.

Mayberry is asking that Bonaventure "grant the temporary protective order and find that the substantial interference with plaintiff's interest and rights caused injury and nuisance to plaintiffs and the general public, and they are jointly and severely liable to plaintiff for damages sustained in amounts to be proven at trial and hearing."

"I'm not jealous or at odds with the Garden of Love, but their conduct and harassment is not necessary, and it's stressful to me, my employees and my customers," Mayberry said.

Several contacts to reach Luell by the Sun were unsuccessful.

Bonaventure had yet to set a date to hear the matter as of Thursday.