The board of trustees of a separately incorporated religious congregation does not have the right under the New York Religious Corporations Law to hire or fire a rabbi without involving the membership in the decision, an appellate court in New York has ruled.  It has reversed a trial court decision dismissing a claim by members of the congregation and its rabbi that the board could not let the rabbi’s contract lapse without holding a vote of the members.

The Volunteer Protection Act does not protect volunteer directors from personal liability for contempt of court when they violate a court injunction, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.  The law was intended to protect volunteers against claims for ordinary negligence and not to interfere with the inherent powers of courts to enforce their orders.  (Institute of Cetacean Research v.