Carter Ledyard client Presbytery of New York City prevailed in a property dispute with a local congregation that sought to leave the denomination without first turning over property it had held in trust for the national denomination Presbyterian Church (USA). The Court granted the Presbytery’s motion for summary judgment, agreeing that the secular provisions of the denominational constitution relating to the holding of church property established an express trust in favor of PCUSA. The court further found that the local congregation evidenced its intent to be bound by PCUSA’s constitution by incorporating under Article 69 of New York Religious Corporations Law and conducting itself as a member of the PCUSA denomination for over fifty years. Karen Meara and Iliza Weitzer represented the Presbytery.
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