The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision in the case established Indiana as a “neutral principles of law” state. “Because the neutral-principles-of-law approach permits greater fairness, consistency and equality of application to all church property disputes regardless of the structure of the denominational church organization, we adopt the neutral-principles-of-law approach for settling property disputes between religious organizations in Indiana,” the decision read.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of Presbytery of Ohio Valley and the Synod of Lincoln Trails of the Presbyterian Church (USA) vs. Olivet Presbyterian Church of Evansville, Inc.

The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision in the case established Indiana as a “neutral principles of law” state.

“Because the neutral-principles-of-law approach permits greater fairness, consistency and equality of application to all church property disputes regardless of the structure of the denominational church organization, we adopt the neutral-principles-of-law approach for settling property disputes between religious organizations in Indiana,” the decision read.

Earlier this year, the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, along with the Synod of Lincoln Trails, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

It gave three reasons for the U.S. Supreme Court to grant the writ of certiorari:

• “The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, creates confusion and disagreement over Jones v. Wolf and other decisions of this court, and should not stand.
• “The Indiana Supreme Court’s decision conflicts with decisions of other state supreme courts applying Jones and addressing the PCUSA property trust clause or similar provisions of other church denominations.
• “This case is important and reflects recurring inconsistency, unpredictability and burdens imposed by unconstitutional applications of the neutral principles of law approach for resolving church property disputes.”

“This court should grant this petition to ensure that the intentions of religious organizations who changed their constitutions like the PCUSA and of congregations like Olivet who pledged to abide by such constitutions are given effect. Moreover, this court should ensure that the burdens of following a neutral principles approach are no greater for hierarchical, national denominations than they are for more localized, congregational churches. No particular form of church governance or polity should be preferred by the state,” read the petition.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court denied the presbytery and synod’s writ of certiorari, the Indiana Supreme Court decision is final.

Along with recognizing the Indiana as a “neutral principles of law” state, the Indiana Supreme Court remanded the case back to a trial court, because “Genuine issues of disputed fact, resulting from varying inferences possible from the designated evidence, must be resolved at trial rather than on summary judgment.”

Those issues include the presbytery’s claim to an implied trust, since “reasonable inferences are possible and thus produce a genuine issue of material fact regarding the requisite unequivocal intent of Olivet to create a trust.”

Source

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Meanwhile, a California court ruled in an opposite way from the Indiana Supreme Court.

Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese Wins Summary Judgment in Newport Beach Property Case

California Court hands property to Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles

Dan Wooding, ANS

“The court further stated that it believed a parish was a subordinate unit to a diocese and had no existence outside the diocese. While the Episcopal Church could exist without St James, St James could not exist without the Episcopal Church – and as it had no existence independent of the diocese, the loss of its property to the diocese could not harm it.”

St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach, California, has received a serious set-back in its legal case and in their fight to retain their property from being confiscated by the Episcopal Church, of which it was formerly a part, after it withdrew from it and joined the Anglican Province of Uganda and the Diocese of Luwero in August of 2004.

Steps to disassociate from the Episcopal Church were initiated by the leadership of this evangelical Anglican church as a result of widening differences of biblical interpretation an example of which was evidenced when controversial decisions made at the General Convention in the summer of 2003, most notably, the confirmation of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson.

In August 2004, this decision, along with other theological differences, led the Rector, wardens, vestry, and a nearly unanimous congregation, to vote overwhelmingly to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church and to affiliate with the conservative Anglican Church of Uganda.

St. James Church was soon joined by All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. David’s Church in North Hollywood. All three churches were then sued for their property by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church.

Since 2004, the church has received national attention over its legal case against the Episcopal Church, but now, in a story by George Conger of Anglican Ink (http://anglicanink.com), the church’s case, that it should be able to retain the property, has been rejected by an Orange County (California) Superior Court Judge.

Conger wrote that the Judge had ruled that a Bishop of Los Angeles had “no authority to give the parish of St James in Newport Beach a written waiver exempting the congregation’s property from the reach of the Episcopal Church’s Dennis Canon.”

He went on to say, “In a ruling for summary judgment handed down on May 1, 2013, Judge Kim Dunning ordered the parish to hand its multi-million dollar properties over to the Diocese of Los Angeles.”

“The decision was unexpected,” Daniel Lula – an attorney for the parish — told Anglican Ink, as the matter had been set down for trial later this month.

In an email to his congregation, the Rector, the Rev Richard Crocker said: “We have received notice this morning from our attorneys that the court has handed down a significantly negative ruling in our court case. This of course changes the landscape of next week’s trial,” he noted, inviting the parish to a meeting with Mr. Lula “to offer explanation of what we know about the ruling at this point.”

Conger stated, “In her decision, Judge Dunning said the Episcopal Church’s rules governing parish property on the diocesan and national level took precedence over civil property and trust laws. She dismissed as non-binding a 1991 letter signed by the then Canon to the Ordinary D. Bruce MacPherson, later to become the Bishop of Western Louisiana, on behalf of Bishop Frederick Borsch that released the diocese’s claim to the property.”

Bishop MacPherson said in a deposition, “The purpose of the conversations between the Diocese and St. James was for St. James to hold title to its property in its own name free of any trust . . . [as] part of an agreement in order for St. James to secure substantial donations for its building program.”

Conger then wrote, “However, this waiver did not amend the parish bylaws and diocesan canons she held. Even if it did, according to the present leadership of the Episcopal Church’s interpretation of the canons ‘the Bishop of the Diocese did not, and does not, have authority to amend any of these instruments.'”

Judge Dunning cited the declaration by the Episcopal Church’s expert witness Robert Bruce Mullin in support of her deference to canon law over the evidence of the deeds and waiver noting the “Mullin declaration concerns ‘religious entity governance and administration,’ and this court is bound by it.

“The court further stated that it believed a parish was a subordinate unit to a diocese and had no existence outside the diocese. While the Episcopal Church could exist without St James, St James could not exist without the Episcopal Church – and as it had no existence independent of the diocese, the loss of its property to the diocese could not harm it.”

Conger continued by saying that in 2011 the California Supreme Court rejected an argument of the Episcopal Church that the 1991 letter had been declared invalid by its first review of the case in 2009. The Court said, “We express no opinion regarding the legal significance, if any, of the 1991 letter. We merely hold that a court must decide the question,” overturning an appellate court ruling that did not allow the parish to put forward a defense.

In 2005 the Orange County Superior Court ruled the Episcopal Church’s allegations were legally defective, but an appellate ruling reversed the trial decision and adjusted the approach to church property law in California. The Parish appealed to the California Supreme Court, who reversed the Appeal Court and returned the case to the Superior Court where St. James answered the complaint, raised affirmative defenses, and began discovery proceedings. This court denied a motion from the diocese, which took a writ to the Appeal Court for summary judgment in the case. This was granted before a trial had occurred and judgment given, and the Parish again appealed to the California Supreme Court. In early 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled for the Parish and sent the case back to the Orange County Superior Court.

“If the parish does not appeal the decision it will have to vacate the property in the near future,” said Conger.

In his invitation to the parish meeting Mr. Crocker said: “I ask that all members of St. James come together in unity at this time to hear from our attorney and to pray together. The Lord is not surprised by this decision and He is in our midst. But His strength is particularly manifested when we come together in unity and prayer.”

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, sent a letter to Christianity Today magazine offering the campus of his Lake Forest, California mega church to St. James to use if they are forced to vacate their Newport Beach property. Rev. Crocker responded to Warren’s offer with the following, “We are overwhelmed by his generosity. It is an encouraging sign of support from Christians in the community.”