The diocese said that the committee caused it to spend thousands of dollars for lawyers to win a court decision upholding a decision by Brookhaven Town officials denying the church landmark status.

United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III issued his ruling Dec. 14, upholding a decision made May 11 by the arbitrator Alan Symonette.

The Michigan State Court of Appeals threw out the suit on Friday, upholding a decision from 2003, saying that Mr. Bailey had failed to present a genuine factual issue in the case.

Upholding a decision by a California appeals court, the Justices rejected arguments by the television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart that the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion prohibits states from taxing religious sales.

In upholding a decision by the city's corporation counsel, Justice Lewis Bart Stone found that the city's voters lacked the power under state law to force Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to allocate money to reducing the size of classes.

Upholding a decision by the Federal District Court in Manhattan, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled yesterday that Lincoln Center officials have maintained a consistent policy that "limits expression in the plaza to events having an artistic or performance-related component."