Mason in court

A Mason has gone to court to overturn his expulsion. Here's the story from Adelaidenow in Australia...

The state's Freemasons have been rocked by innuendo, abuse and a member's unfair expulsion, court documents claim.

Six years of unrest within the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of SA and NT are the subject of an Adelaide Magistrates Court lawsuit.

James Spriggs has asked the court to force the reinstatement of his Freemasons membership.

He claims the elite group denied him "natural justice" by expelling him when he complained about the way it ran an aged care facility.

The society, however, has told the court Mr Spriggs' "persistent and unwarranted interference" amounted to "conduct unbecoming a Freemason".

Dating back to 17th century stonemasons, the male-only organisation promotes charitable community work, morality and friendship.

Its detractors include the Catholic Church and Nazi Germany, and it often features in conspiracy theories and books such as Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

Freemason Grand Lodges, located in capital cities, oversee the actions of members in their area or "jurisdiction".

The court action centres on Mr Spriggs' opposition to the running of the Memorial Masonic Village in Darwin. Court papers assert that, since 2006, he has written letters accusing the village's board - consisting of Freemasons - of mismanagement.

At the time, he held the elected position of "Worshipful Master" of the Darwin Lodge, which falls under the jurisdiction of Adelaide's Grand Lodge.

Mr Spriggs' letters claimed "unchecked innuendo" about the village potentially being sold had done "psychological abuse" to its tenants.

In his statement of claim, Mr Spriggs says his expulsion was "oppressive and unreasonable". "They did not advise me of any details of the matters they considered I had done wrong," he says.

Mr Spriggs has asked the court to reinstate his membership and award him costs.

In their defence documents, the Freemasons say Mr Spriggs' "persistent" claims of mismanagement were not supported by any evidence. "(He was told) the consequences of continued conflict with the elected board would be expulsion," the papers say.