Robertson and Others Against Bullions and Others.

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Supreme Court decree, holding that the appellate court may review only the portions of the decree that were appealed, that a religious corporation incorporated under the general act is a civil corporation whose members are corporators and trustees are merely managing officers, that equity courts lack authority to remove such trustees or impose qualifications beyond the statute, and that trustees cannot hold a trust for the exclusive benefit of a subset of members or a particular doctrine. The court also clarified that ambiguous religious trust language may be informed by surrounding circumstances but cannot be limited to a specific faith absent clear terms.