In a decision by a New York Ninth Judicial District Supreme Court Justice yesterday
(August 25)  the Ridgebury Presbyterian Church of Wawayanda, NY,
in the Presbytery of Hudson River, may keep its property as it
separates from the PC(USA).  The church is happy, the presbytery
is not, the presbytery is deciding whether to appeal.

The judge based his decision on the fact that the church has held deed
to its property since 1792, before the 1983 trust clause and even
before it joined a presbytery in 1817.  One news article said the
judge relied heavily on a 1984 decision by a state Court of Appeals
decision that said a Presbyterian church in
Schenectady did not have an implied trust with its denomination. 
In fact, the judge got into theological discussion concerning the level
of “obedience” to the hierarchy of a church in a full hierarchical
system, like the Episcapalians, versus a church in a presbyterian
system.  To this the presbytery lawyer said the judge overstepped
his bounds.

So far two news articles have reported on this, one from The Times Herald-Record and one from The Journal News.  The first is more matter-of-fact, the second is a bit more sensational but has the theological info in it.

The Hudson River Presbytery has announced the news on their home page and has a link to the court decision.