Opinion of the California Supreme Court "Episcopal Church Cases"

If you'd like to read the actual curt opinion in the California property case the pdf can be downloaded here. (38 pages)

In this case, a local church has disaffiliated itself from a larger, general church with which it had been affiliated. Both the local church and the general church claim ownership of the local church building and the property on which the building stands. The parties have asked the courts of this state to resolve this dispute. When secular courts are asked to resolve an internal church dispute over property ownership, obvious dangers exist that the courts will become impermissibly entangled with religion. Nevertheless, when called on to do so, secular courts must resolve such disputes. We granted review primarily to decide how the secular courts of this state should resolve disputes over church property.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S155094.PDF