The quote below from Episcopal Life sums it up.
Episcopal Life Online U.S. Supreme Court declines to review California property decision
The U.S. Supreme Court October 5 refused to grant a petition of review from St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach, which broke away from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Episcopal property case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intercede in a long-running property dispute pitting the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national Episcopal Church against a breakaway local congregation, St. James Anglican Church of Newport Beach.
Associated Press Court refuses to get involved in church dispute
Long Beach Press-Telegram Supreme Court won’t yet get involved in Episcopalian church dispute
“St. James is now aligned with the Anglican Church of North America, a network of seceding Episcopal parishes and other congregations that was formed by theological conservatives as a rival to the Episcopal Church” – Associated Press At last! This definitive statement, covering the proceedings from the U.S. Supreme court in Washington – which refused to interfere in the affairs of TEC on this issue – tell it ‘how it is’ With such a judgement hanging over the dissident parishes and dioceses of ACNA, this will make them pause and think about their actions which have occasioned the use of… Read more »
The Supreme Court Order is simply an order of non-action. It lets stand the California Supreme Court decision recognizing that The Episcopal Church is a hierarchical church; that the civil courts must respect its polity; and that the polity of the Church includes a requirement that all property held by subordinate units such as Dioceses and Parishes is held in trust for The Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, the ACNA dissenters have, for the most part, chosen to ignore those simple, long-understood and long-established principles. The fact that the Supreme Court has refused to weigh in is viewed by them as of… Read more »
“this will make them pause and think about their actions which have occasioned the use of civil law cases, in order to prove something they are not able, in law, to substantiate.” I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you. They have never seemed to have much interest in things like self-examination and self criticism. They are the Righteous Ones, the “orthodox”, the True Believers. Why should they pay any attention to the judgements of an Earthly court? Given the choice between taking the opportunity to reassess their behaviour or spin this as yet another example of the persecution… Read more »
Mostly the two cases, Dio Pitts and Dio Los Angeles are very different and so not a lot of influence of one with the other. In the Pittsburgh case, the judge is merely ruling on an interpretation of his own previous stipulation. Duncan, with bad advice from his attorneys, tried to play a word game with the previous court case which one of his parishes brought against him in the past. In that case the diocese was bound to a ruling that the assets of the Diocese of Pittsburgh would stay with the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the event folks… Read more »
A comment to update the status of the California cases. After the case went back to the trial court, the diocese and the national church essentially made motions to the trial court to grant them judgment in their favor against the schismatic parishes as a matter of law without the need to go through a trial. The trial court refused to do so The diocese and the national church then essentially asked the California Court of Appeal to overrule the trial court at that point rather than forcing the parties to go through a trial. The California Court of Appeal… Read more »
There is another California case involving the Diocese of San Joaquin and former Bishop Schofield that I was referring to in my comment above. See:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_114067_ENG_HTM.htm
and
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dfc_attachments/public/documents/356/Order-MSA.PDF