77 Cal. App. 4th 1069 | Cal. Ct. App. | 2000
Opinion
This case involves a dispute between a church, respondent Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church (the Church), and the organizations above it in its religious hierarchy. We are called on to decide whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction requested by the Church which prohibits the California Presbytery (the Presbytery) and one of its employees, “and all persons acting in concert or participating with them” from: coming onto the Church’s property other than to participate in worship services, disturbing worship services or other of the Church’s functions, disturbing the Church’s business meetings, entering into contracts or commercial relationships in the name of the Church, or using the name of the Church “in any manner or for any purpose other than in connection with litigation.” Because we conclude that the preliminary injunction was overbroad, we agree that it should be dissolved. At the same time, we make clear that many of the issues put forth by the parties are not properly justiciable because of their religious nature, unripeness, or absence of a party with standing, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the views set forth in this opinion.
Factual and Procedural Background
The Complaint
The Church and co-respondent Reverend James Insoo Cho filed a complaint on May 11, 1999, naming appellants the Presbytery and its employee Edmund Lee
In their prayer for relief, respondents sought a preliminary injunction to prevent appellants from interfering with worship services and other Church functions and disrupting its day-to-day operations. The declaratory relief action sought a declaration that the Church was the owner of all land, buildings, and personal property at the premises; was not subject to the jurisdiction or control of the appellants; and that James was the duly elected and presently acting senior pastor of the Church. Respondents also sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) restraining appellants and their agents from: coming onto the Church’s property for any purpose other than to participate in religious worship services; disturbing or interfering with any of the worship services or other functions at the Church; disturbing or interfering with the business meetings of the Church; entering into any contracts, agreements or obligations with any third persons in the name of the Church; representing that they were authorized to act for or on behalf of the Church; establishing any bank accounts in the Church’s name; or using the name of the Church in any manner or for any purpose other than in connection with the litigation.
The TRO Application
In a declaration filed in support of the TRO application, Alfred Calabro, respondents’ attorney, stated that he was told by Joseph McGuinness, the attorney for appellants, on May 6, 1999, that the Presbytery had removed James as pastor of the Church and that his clients would take possession of the Church building and its pulpit on Sunday morning, May 9, at the 9:00 a.m. worship service.
Benjamin Yoon, a deacon of the Church, confirmed Calabro’s account of the telephone conversation with appellants’ attorney and the threat to take physical control of the Church’s property.
James stated in a separate declaration that: the bylaws of the Church provide that its affairs are to be governed by a board of directors known as the “Consistory” or “Session”; the Session consists of James and nine ruling elders; on April 12, 1999, he wrote to the Presbytery to inform them that the Session had voted to withdraw from the Presbytery if it intervened in its internal audit of financial records; on April 21, 1999, the Session voted to
James’s declaration also related the following version of the altercation, which occurred on May 9, 1999: Lee and a group of about 30 others came onto the Church grounds. Unbeknownst to James, one of the Church’s janitors had secretly placed a new lock on the inside of the main entrance, apparently to prevent him and the congregants who supported him from entering. James and his supporters broke a window to access the building. They had arranged to have security guards placed at the Church’s entrance. The guards attempted to prevent Lee and his group from entering. A pushing and shoving match ensued. Police were called and initially forced Lee’s group to disperse. Eventually, the police ordered everyone to withdraw from the property “pending the issuance of an appropriate court order.”
James’s account of the May 9 incident was confirmed by Benjamin Kang, the “Chief Elder” of the Church. Kang was the person who called 911. He did it because Lee and some of the people with him tried to force their way into the building by pushing the security guards out of the way.
The opposition to the TRO application
The Cross-complaint
After the TRO was granted, appellants filed a cross-complaint against James alleging that he was engaging in ultra vires acts in excess of his authority as a church officer.
The Bylaws
The “Bylaws of the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church,” attached as an exhibit to the cross-complaint, stated that the corporation was to have five directors and that the number could be changed “only by amendment of the Articles of Incorporation . . . , or by the repeal of this Bylaw and adoption of a new Bylaw, by the vote or written consent of the members entitled to exercise a majority of the voting power.” The directors were to “exercise the powers of the corporation, control its property and conduct its affairs, except as otherwise provided by law.” Directors were to be “elected
Membership meetings were to be held “annually on the first day in April each year beginning with the year 1977 at 6:00 p.m. . . .” Special meetings could be called by the president, the secretary, or by any two directors and held “at such times and places within or without the State of California as may be ordered by resolution of the Board of Directors or by members holding not less than 30 percent or more of the voting power of the corporation.” Written or printed notice of the time and place of every special meeting was to be “delivered personally to each member or sent to him by United States mail, postage prepaid, at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting.” Meetings were to be presided over by “the President of the corporation or, in his absence, by the Vice President or, in the absence of both, by a Chairman chosen by a majority of the members present.”
Board of directors special meetings could be called by the president, vice-president, or any two directors. A quorum consisted of no fewer than three directors, and any act undertaken by a majority of the directors at a meeting where a quorum was present “is the act of the Board of Directors
Officers were to be elected by the directors and could be removed with or without cause by a majority of the directors.
The minister was to be chosen “by a two thirds vote of the qualified members of the church present at any meeting legally called for the purpose” and “serve as such for life or until dissolution of the corporation or until he is dismissed or resigns . ...” A “[t]wo thirds vote of the voting members present at any meeting legally called for the purpose and which a quorum is present shall be required to dismiss the minister from office.”
Also attached as an exhibit to the cross-complaint was a resolution dated May 13, 1999, signed by Chun, Shin Myung Cho, and Eun Chul Kwak,
The Competing Applications for Preliminary Injunction
Appellants sought an order to dissolve the TRO and applied for a preliminary injunction of their own, seeking to prevent James from coming onto Church property, disturbing worship services or business meetings, entering into contracts in the name of the Church, representing to third parties that he was authorized to act for the Church, establishing bank accounts in the Church’s name, taking or using Church property, posting guards on Church property, or using the name of the Church in any manner or for any purpose other than in connection with the litigation..
In a supporting declaration, Chun stated that he had been a member of the board of directors of the Church since 1976, and he had had no notice of any meeting to change directors or amend the bylaws. He further stated that he received a letter from James saying that he was withdrawing from membership in the Presbytery, and concluded that that action constituted grounds to ban James from Church property. Accordingly, “at a recent regularly held meeting of the Board of Directors” the resolution previously described was adopted.
Eun Chul Kwak also submitted a supporting declaration. He stated that he has been a director since 1976. He, too, stated he had no notice of any meeting to elect new directors or change the bylaws. He concurred with
Shin Myung Cho in a declaration stated that he had been a director since 1976.
Donald Cho submitted a declaration in which he stated that he met with James and invited him to attend a board of directors meeting on May 13, and that James refused. The letter presented to James, noticing the meeting, was also dated May 13 and signed by Chun only.
In opposition to appellants’ request for a preliminary injunction, James submitted a declaration in which he stated that there had been no vote by the membership of the Church to remove him from office, and that the Church had not entered into any agreement that would deprive it of the right to administer its own property and affairs or prevent it from withdrawing from the Presbytery. He expressed the opinion that removing him as pastor and substituting someone appointed by the Presbytery would “likely result in a significant drop in attendance and would be detrimental to the congregation as a whole.” Also submitted in opposition to appellants’ request for preliminary injunction, Benjamin Kang’s declaration confirmed that there had been no vote to remove James or to elect Jung Chun Suh as pastor, and that “replacing Pastor [James] with a pastor selected by [the Presbytery] would not only violate the By-Laws of [the Church], but would lead to further turmoil within the congregation.”
In a supplemental declaration, Kang stated that the meeting of May 13, 1999, at which the directors purported to terminate James, was without proper notice under section 3.04 of the bylaws which required seven days’ notice.
Appellants’ attorney, McGuinness, denied stating to Calabro prior to May 9 that his clients intended to take possession of the Church building or any other property. Donald Cho denied that a pushing and shoving match occurred on May 9, or that the police ordered Lee and his group to disperse or withdraw from the property. He estimated that the real and personal property belonging to the Church was worth approximately $7 million.
A further declaration from Donald Cho stated that he had assisted the Church in obtaining financing from the State of California a year previously, and was advised by the elders that the documentation pertaining to the board of directors was accurate, and that the board was made up of those identified in the articles of incorporation. This was confirmed by a further declaration from McGuinness, who had been retained to pursue the financing at the time.
A declaration from Jung Chun Suh, a representative of the “General Assembly for the Korean American Presbyterian Church,”
In response to appellants’ declaration, a supplemental declaration from James stated that neither he nor the Church was a member of the General Assembly. Also according to this declaration, a notice was sent on May 24, 1999, to all members of the Church for a congregational meeting to be held
Kang submitted a further declaration complaining that the Presbytery had been issuing bulletins containing the name and address of the Church and stating that Suh or someone else other than James was the pastor. In that declaration, Kang explained that the Church was initially affiliated after its incorporation with an organization unrelated to appellants, the Western Presbytery of Korean Presbyterian Church; that the Church session voted to withdraw from that organization and become affiliated with the Presbytery in 1977; and that nothing in the application for affiliation of which he was aware “conveys any right, title or interest in the property owned by the [Church] to the [Presbytery].”
Another round of declarations from appellants followed. Jung Hee Kim, Noah Kim, Jung Ye Paik, Abraham Koh, and Joseph Koh, who said they were members of the Church, stated that they had not received notice of the June meeting and that approximately 100 members of the Church had been attending services at another location. Chun stated that neither of the “Mother church organizations,” by which he meant the General Assembly and the Presbytery, sought to control the Church’s property; that they sought “only to ensure that a proper spiritual Pastor is leading the . . . Church.” Chun and Lee expressed the opinion that the Church bylaws allowed the Mother church organizations to terminate the pastor and appoint a new one. Donald Cho submitted a document called “Korean-American Presbyterian Church[,] The Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church Principles and Bylaws.” This provided that “[t]he principle of this church is governed by the Korean-American Presbyterian Church Bylaws which contains, Government, Constitutional regulations, discipline ordinances and worship patterns” and that “[t]he charged pastor shall minister according to the government of The Korean American Presbyterian Church.” The document stated that each church had a “Consistory” to rule over spiritual matters, a “Diaconate Session” to handle finances, and a “Congregational Session” to hear reports. Most decisions were to be made by one-half of the Congregational Session, but “inviting pastors, [and] electing elders[,] deacons, and the Bible Women need[ed] two-third[s] of the sessions vote.”
Discussion
I
The parties agree on the basic legal principle which must guide our decision in this case. “Where an internal church dispute involves a question of ownership or control of church property which the civil courts can adjudicate by applying ‘ “neutral principles of law, developed for use in all property disputes,” ’ the civil courts may properly decide the issues in controversy. (Jones v. Wolf (1979) 443 U.S. 595, 599-605 [61 L.Ed.2d 775, 782-785, 99 S.Ct. 3020].) But where an internal church dispute turns on ‘the resolution ... of controversies over religious doctrine and practice,’ not on a property question resolvable under ‘neutral principles of law,’ the civil courts may not adjudicate the dispute. (Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church (1969) 393 U.S. 440, 449 [21 L.Ed.2d 658, 665, 89 S.Ct. 601].” (Vukovich v. Radulovich (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 281, 291 [286 Cal.Rptr. 547].)
We must also keep in mind that there has been no trial in this matter. By granting the preliminary injunction, the trial court was making a preliminary evaluation of who was likely to be the prevailing party based on the evidence before it at the time. (See Art Movers, Inc. v. Ni West, Inc. (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 640, 646 [4 Cal.Rptr.2d 689]; Baypoint Mortgage Corp. v. Crest Premium Real Estate etc. Trust (1985) 168 Cal.App.3d 818, 823-824 [214 Cal.Rptr. 531].) We are called on to address only the propriety of that preliminary injunction and whether the particular evidence placed before the trial court at the time of its ruling adequately supports it.
Finally, neither we nor the trial court can give advisory opinions or resolve disputes over matters which involve parties not before us even if the parties are united in their desire to have the court resolve unripe issues or claims which the parties have no standing to assert.
n
With all this in mind, we turn to the question of whether the preliminary injunction was properly granted. One ground for overturning the injunction
As we have seen, by resolution dated May 13, 1999, a group purporting to be the board of directors of the nonprofit Church corporation—Chun, Shin Myung Cho, and Eun Chul Kwak—purported to terminate James as president of the corporation and Yoon as secretary of the corporation and to appoint Jung Chun Suh as president and Young Ha Doh as secretary in their stead. Respondents challenged the resolution, contending in their papers that Shin Myung Cho had resigned as director, that Eun Chul Kwak had not understood the resolution that was put before him to sign, and that the meeting was not properly noticed in accordance with the bylaws.
Chun responded by purporting to select four new directors to replace not only. Kwak and Shin Myung Cho, but also Chu Ho Kim (said to be suffering from Alzheimer’s) and Kwang Chul Kim (deceased). These four new directors—Jung Chun Suh, Young Ha Doh, Chi Yong Choe, and Sun Hwan Kim—together with Chun, signed the May 21 resolution terminating James as president.
A few days later, on May 24, 1999, James, purporting to act as president of the Church, sent a notice of congregational meeting to discuss removal of the present board and election of James and six others to the board. The members in attendance allegedly voted 165 to zero with one abstention in favor of the new board. However, several declarants who believed themselves to be members of the Church complained that they had not received notice of the meeting. Appellants also argue that because James had been terminated from the office of president by Chun and his appointed directors on May 21, the proper officer was not allowed to preside over the meeting and the membership consequently did not have the opportunity for a valid vote in accordance with the corporate bylaws.
This aspect of the dispute presents a straightforward legal question of the type that courts may resolve by applying “neutral principles of corporate
Ill
Alternatively, appellants contend that the injunction is overbroad. Given the facts established by the various declarations and documents as set forth above, we agree. Starting first with the provision which appellants find particularly objectionable, the court prohibited the Presbytery from using the name “Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in any manner or for any purpose other than in connection with litigation.” Understandably, the supporters of James find galling the fact that the dissident faction is using that
The provisions of the preliminary injunction that prevent the Presbytery from establishing bank accounts or entering into contracts on behalf of the Church or representing to third persons that it speaks for the Church appear entirely superfluous. There was no evidence that the Presbytery has done or intends to do any such thing. An injunction cannot issue in a vacuum based on the proponents’ fears about something that may happen in the future. It must be supported by actual evidence that there is a realistic prospect that the party enjoined intends to engage in the prohibited activity. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 526, subd. (a)(3) [“An injunction may be granted • • • [f] • • • [H] • • • [wjhen it appears . . . that a party to the action is doing, or threatens, or is about to do, or is procuring or suffering to be done, some act in violation of the rights of another party to the action respecting the subject of the action, and tending to render the judgment ineffectual.”]; East Bay Mun. Utility Dist. v. Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (1996) 43 Cal.App.4th 1113, 1126 [51 Cal.Rptr.2d 299] [“An injunction properly issues only where the right to be protected is clear, injury is impending and so immediately likely as only to be avoided by issuance of the injunction. [Citation.]”].)
We hasten to add that the Church might have reason to believe that Chun and the group that he purported to name directors will, at some point, attempt to enter into contracts or undertake some other action in the name of the Church. But the injunction is not specifically directed at them and they are not parties to this lawsuit.
The same problem exists as to the portion of the preliminary injunction which prohibits the Presbytery and Lee from interfering with the Church’s business meetings. The only parties who seem at all inclined to do so—Chun and his group of appointed directors—are not parties to the lawsuit. There is no evidence to suggest that the Presbytery or Lee attempted to interfere with any of the Church’s business affairs. Even its purported termination of James cannot be said to constitute such interference. The Presbytery attempted to
Finally, we address the question of whether an injunction properly issued to prevent the Presbytery and Lee “and their agents, servants, contractors, assigns, representatives and employees, and all persons acting in concert or participating with them” from coming onto the Church’s property or “interfering” with its worship services or other Church functions “at all times and at all places.” Respondents are on firmer ground here because they presented actual evidence, which the trial court clearly believed, that there was a physical disruption of worship services and an attempt to assert control over the Church’s facilities by the Presbytery and its employee. However, in this situation, the court should have taken special care to avoid overbroad language which could cause those with the lawful right to assemble on the Church’s property and speak their minds to their fellow congregants to be discouraged from asserting their rights. We are concerned with how this injunction might be read by those members of the Church who support former pastor Chun and favor remaining affiliated with the Presbytery. Unfortunately, they could easily have read the injunction to preclude them from “coming onto Church property” in order to vote at the membership meeting called by James
IV
Both sides are anxious that we pass judgment on the issue of whether James has been terminated from his position as pastor of the Church. A
On the question of whether James is entitled to the legal benefits of the position of pastor, we are again stymied by the lack of standing on the part of the parties before us. The evidence in the record indicates that James’s salary is paid by the Church, not the Presbytery or the General Assembly. The record also includes declaration testimony to the effect that James was duly appointed pastor in July 1998, and the bylaws of the Church, which require a two-thirds vote of the membership to oust the pastor. The Church has taken no action on his employment as pastor and apparently continues to pay his salary and enjoy the benefits of his labor. Thus, the issue of whether the Church can terminate James in some other fashion than that set forth in its bylaws, and so deprive him of the economic and legal benefits of that office, is not properly before us since the Church has not purported to terminate him and no member, officer, or director of the Church is seeking to have that matter adjudicated. Nor is the General Assembly, which purported to “terminate” James as pastor, a party to this litigation. The Presbytery, which now denies having been involved in the termination, does not appear to have the standing to assert whatever rights the General Assembly may have in this regard.
The parties are also eager to have the courts resolve the issue of whether the Church properly disaffiliated from the Presbytery and/or the General
The problem here is that there appears to be no legal—as opposed to religious—consequence of the Church’s decision to dissolve the relationship. Generally, the court can step in only where the affiliation dispute centers around the question of whether the local church or the higher body has the right to use and control church assets. For example, in Korean United Presbyterian Church v. Presbytery of the Pacific, supra, 230 Cal.App.3d 480, the court immersed itself in church doctrine, including the Book of Order, to resolve a dispute between competing factions of a local church, the Korean United Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles. One faction of the local church wished to secede from the higher body—the Presbytery of the Pacific and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PCUSA)—while a smaller, dissident faction wished to remain. The court was compelled to take a position because this was not simply a question of disaffiliation. The Presbytery of the Pacific and PCUSA claimed that the local church held its property in trust for the benefit of the PCUSA as expressed in the Book of Order,
There are two obvious distinctions between that case and the case before us. First, appellants here have repeatedly stated that they have no claim on the Church’s property or assets. This difference makes the current situation closer to that in Vukovich v. Radulovich, supra, 235 Cal.App.3d. 281, where the court held that trial court had no jurisdiction to grant relief in an affiliation dispute between disparate factions of a church. The majority of the members of the church involved in that case had voted to reunite with the local Diocese with which it had previously been affiliated. The minority brought suit, charging that the vote was invalid under the church’s bylaws, and asked that the court decide whether they or other members had been deprived of their rights to notice and to cast their ballot. In asking the court to decide whether the majority had complied with the bylaws, the minority faction missed “the key point” in the court’s view: “regardless of how they characterize the gravamen of their complaint, to show that the civil courts may exercise jurisdiction in this case plaintiffs must first show that the dispute turns on a present controversy over church property which may be decided by applying ‘neutral principles of law.’ [Citations.] Plaintiffs cannot clear this jurisdictional hurdle. Nowhere in plaintiffs’ opening brief do they show that there is any present controversy over the ownership or control of [the church’s] property. If there is no such controversy, we lack jurisdiction to scrutinize whether church bylaws were properly observed as [the church’s] voting membership made the religious and ecclesiastical decision to rejoin the Mother Church.” (235 Cal.App.3d at pp. 292-293.)
Second, even if appellants were to change their position and seek to assert control over the Church’s property in reliance on the provisions in the Book of Order quoted in Korean United Presbyterian Church v. Presbytery of the Pacific, supra, 230 Cal.App.3d 480, the articles of incorporation that govern the Church as a nonprofit corporation do not reference the Book of Order or promise to be subject to its terms for purposes of corporate governance.
In sum, unless there is some property issue at stake, the courts cannot involve themselves in a local church’s decision concerning whether to affiliate or disaffiliate with a particular regional or national religious organization. The question of whether the Church followed proper procedures in its disaffiliation from the Presbytery and/or the General Assembly is not one that can be resolved by a court of law.
Disposition
The order granting the preliminary injunction is reversed and the preliminary injunction is dissolved. The case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the views set forth in this opinion. Each party is to bear its own costs.
Vogel (C. S.), P. J., and Epstein, J., concurred.
On February 9, 2000, the opinion was modified to read as printed above.
Edmund Lee is sometimes referred to in the record as “Edmund Rhee.” We call him “Lee" in order to conform to the pleadings.
Because their last names are the same, James Insoo Cho will hereafter be referred to as “James” (or respondent) and Chun II Cho will be referred to as “Chun.”
The resolution to leave the Presbytery and transfer to another if the Presbytery attempted to intervene in the matters pertaining to James or the Church passed five to three at a meeting of the Session, which consisted of James, Chang Uk Kang, Nam Young Lee, Young Ha Do, Kum Seong Chi, Suk Won Kim, Sun Hwan Kim, Byoung Sam Park, and Ji Yong Choi.
The count was 176 to withdraw, 64 to remain, and 10 abstentions.
The TRO was sought on an ex parte basis with less than 24 hours’ notice.
The cross-complaint also contained claims for assault, battery, conversion, and fraud.
The articles of incorporation for the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church dated November 8, 1976, were attached as an exhibit to an application to dissolve the TRO and issue a new and different TRO. The articles stated that Chun, Shin Myung Cho, Eun Chul Kwak, Cho Ho Kim, and Kwang Chul Kim were “to act in the capacity of Directors until the selection of their successors . . . .”
Another exhibit submitted by appellants indicated that Shin Myung Cho had resigned as director in February 1979. He did not explain this discrepancy in his declaration.
Section 3.04 appears under the heading “Meetings of Members.”
According to Kang, although Kwak signed something at the request of Chun’s son, he later did not know what it was he had signed. This was confirmed by Kwak’s declaration, written in Korean and translated into English.
The General Assembly is apparently a level above the Presbytery, but its exact legal nature is unclear.
The copy of the notice included in the record was signed by James as president of the Church.
The TRO’s prohibition against “[r]epresenting to any person or entity that [appellants] . . . either individually or together are authorized to act for or on behalf of [the Church]” was omitted from the preliminary injunction.
As we have seen, board of directors special meetings could be called by the president, vice-president, or any two directors. A quorum consisted of no fewer than three directors, and any act undertaken by a majority of the directors at a meeting where a quorum was present “is the act of the Board of Directors . . . .” Apparently, respondents also believe that the seven-day notice of special meetings which comes under the heading covering membership meetings, applies to special board of directors meetings.
These five also signed a written waiver of notice of meeting on that date.
At least, this was appellants’ original position. Later, they contended that it was the General Assembly which terminated James as pastor.
We recognize that there is an unresolved factual dispute as to whether dissident members were given notice of this meeting.
We also note that neither the Presbytery nor the General Assembly has produced evidence of a legally enforceable agreement with the Church or James which entitles it to control his employment. Appellants direct our attention to a set of written principles and bylaws that express the Church’s determination to be governed by the Korean-American Presbyterian Church Bylaws insofar as “Government, Constitutional regulations, discipline, ordinances and worship patterns” are concerned and that require the pastor to “minister according to the government of the Korean American Presbyterian Church.” But the questions of whether the Church is governing itself by these principles and whether the pastor is properly ministering in accordance with them appear to be disputes over religious doctrine concerning which the courts must maintain a hands-off posture. Appellants further stressed that the Korean
The Book of Order provides: “ ‘All property held by or for a particular church, a presbytery, a synod, the General Assembly, or the [PCUSA], whether legal title is lodged in a corporation, a trustee or trustees, or an unincorporated association, ... is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of [PCUSA].’ ” (Korean United Presbyterian Church v. Presbytery of the Pacific, supra, 230 Cal.App.3d at p. 489, italics omitted.)
We do not mean to suggest that before a higher religious body can legitimately assert an interest in a local church’s assets there must be an express reference in the church’s articles of incorporation to the higher body’s rules or laws. The statutory provisions governing nonprofit religious corporations discuss various methods by which the assets of a religious corporation may be deemed to be impressed with an express or implied trust. (See Corp.
The court held, however, that the property of a fourth church involved in the litigation was subject to an express trust in favor of the diocese where the church was “specifically identified as a subordinate body of a national body” in its articles of incorporation; it was incorporated subsequent to the adoption of a diocesan canon, which declared that on dissolution of a church its property would revert to the diocese; and the church had a specific provision in its articles declaring that on “liquidation, dissolution, or abandonment of the corporation its property [would] inure to the benefit of a charitable fund organized and operated for religious or charitable purposed by the Diocese.” (Protestant Episcopal Church v. Barker, supra, 115 Cal.App.3d at pp. 625-626.)
