The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a writ of certiorari of two appeals from the Supreme Court of Texas brought by the Episcopal Church. The order denying review, issued without an opinion, upholds the September 2013 decision by the Texas Supreme Court that neutral principles of law govern Texas church property disputes. The Episcopal Church had argued in cases concerning the dioceses of Fort Worth and Northwest Texas the church’s Denis Canon created a trust over local church property in favor of the national church. This trust, they argued, took precedence over civil property law. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to review the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling allows the cases to return to the local courts for adjudication under neutral principles of law.
