Board of Trustees of Hannibal Presbytery of Presbyterian Church in U.S. of America v. Taylor

• Decision Date: 11 July 1949
• Docket Number: 41309
• Citation: 221 S.W.2d 964,359 Mo. 417
• Parties: The Board of Trustees of the Hannibal Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, a Corporation, (Plaintiff), Appellant, v. J. E. Taylor, Attorney-General of the State of Missouri et al., (Defendants), Respondents
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

221 S.W.2d 964

359 Mo. 417

The Board of Trustees of the Hannibal Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, a Corporation, (Plaintiff), Appellant, v. J. E. Taylor, Attorney-General of the State of Missouri et al., (Defendants), Respondents

No. 41309

Supreme Court of Missouri

July 11, 1949

Appeal from Pike Circuit Court; Hon. Theodore Bruere Judge.

Affirmed.

SYLLABUS

The facts and holding of the case are adequately summarized by the headnote.

Fuller, Fuller & Ely and Ben Ely for appellant.

(1) When the objects for which a charitable trust has been created have become impossible of attainment or, because of circumstances unforeseen by the creator of the trust, it has become highly impracticable to carry it out, a Court of Chancery may and should order the trust corpus or income to be applied to some other charitable purpose within the general genus or class of that originally intended and which is as near as possible to the originally intended object of charity (cy pres doctrine). Am. Law Ins. Restatement of Law of Trusts, sec. 399; Thatcher v. Lewis, 335 Mo. 1130; Trustees of the Methodist Church v. Scarritt Collegiate Institute, 264 Mo. 713. (2) Even though the deed conveying specific property in trust for charitable uses expressly forbids the employment of such property for any other use, yet when the intended charitable use becomes impossible or illegal or impracticable, a Court of Chancery might authorize the diversion of the property or its sale and the application of the proceeds of the sale for the originally intended charity or some similar charity. Am. Law Ins. Restatement of the Law of Trusts, sec. 381; Women's Christian Assn. v. Kansas City, 141 Mo. 103, 48 S.W. 960; Lackland v. Walker, 151 Mo. 210; Academy of Visitation v. Clemens, 50 Mo. 167; Glaze v. Allen, 213 S.W. 784. (3) It is impossible now to carry out the terms of the original charitable trust here involved, in so far as such trust involved the maintenance of a Presbyterian Church at Corinth, because that Presbyterian Church has for all purposes ceased to exist, and it is beyond the power either of its former members or officers or of the civil courts to re-create it. Under the laws of the Presbyterian Church the full authority to dissolve this local church was vested in Presbytery, which alone could revive or re-create it. The civil courts are bound to respect this provision of the canon law of the church and to follow and apply the decisions of the highest court of the church in interpreting it. Hayes v. Manning, 263 Mo. 1; Shephard v. Barkley, 247 U.S. 1, 62 L.Ed. 939; St. Vincent's Church v. Murphy, 83 Neb. 630, 35 L.R.A.N.S. 919; Annotation, 13 L.R.A. 198.

May & May and F. D. Wilkins for respondents.

(1) The objects of this charitable trust have not become impossible of attainment or impracticable to be carried out, and therefore the cy pres doctrine has no application. City of St. Louis v. McAllister, 281 Mo. 26; 14 C.J.S. 515. (2) It is not impossible to carry out the terms of the original charitable trust so far as the right of other Christian denominations to use the building for worship is concerned. That right of use is to be neither ignored, destroyed nor curtailed. Mott v. Morris, 249 Mo. l.c. 150. (3) The deed from Elizabeth Mackey was to the Board of Managers of this Corinth Church and their successors in office. It did not vest the title in the plaintiff, Hannibal Presbytery or any other governing body of the Presbyterian Church, and the action of the Presbytery is not binding on the civil courts of this state. Marr v. Galbraith, 184 S.W.2d 190. (4) There is nothing to prevent other denominations of Christians from using this church if given an opportunity. The statement of appellants that "it is obviously impossible to attempt to continue the use of this church for religious worship other than that of the Corinth Presbyterian Church," is ludicrous. No evidence was adduced that other denominations of Christians were ever given an opportunity to use the church as provided in the Mackey deed. (5) The cemetery is and has been maintained by those having kin buried therein, and it is no part of the church property, being at least a quarter of a mile distant. It cannot be classed as the same charity as the church. The functions of a church and cemetery are not even similar. Absent provisions to the contrary, a gift to a charity is forever. It is on such premises that the general rule is deduced that when lands have been donated to charity and the title is vested absolutely in trustees for charitable uses they are inalienable for other purposes. Ervin v. Davis, 199 S.W.2d 368; Mott v. Morris, 249 Mo. 137; Lewis v. Brubaker, 14 S.W.2d 982. (6) Charitable gifts and trusts are the favorites of the law and the courts will give effect to such gifts and trusts where it is possible to do so consistently with established principles. Ervin v. Davis, 199 S.W.2d 366; Burrier v. Jones, 92 S.W.2d 885. (7) The fact that the Presbytery dissolved the congregation of the Corinth Church, so that the church would no longer function legally as that denomination, would not prevent a court of equity to appoint other trustees to effectuate the trust so that the trust would not fail for other denominations of Christians. Buckley v. Monck, 187 S.W. l.c. 33; 5 R.C.L. 315; Hadley v. Forsee, 203 Mo. l.c. 427. (8) Where there is a possibility of the trust being carried out, as here, with other denominations of Christians, the courts will not interfere. Owen v. Gilchrist, 263 S.W. l.c. 431.

OPINION

Hyde, J.

Action in equity for a decree declaring that plaintiff is vested with title to land occupied by the Corinth Church in Pike County with power to sell it and use the proceeds for rehabilitation and maintenance of a nearby cemetery and for the work of the Presbyterian Church generally. The Court found against plaintiff's claim and dismissed its petition.

The question in this case is the construction of a deed to this land, which all parties agreed created a charitable trust. The land was purchased and the church (a brick building) built by donations from the people of the community generally. The conveyance was to certain named persons as "a board of managers for Corinth Church" and "to their successors in office as said board of managers for the use and benefit of said church." The deed then recited: "Said Corinth Church is to be in the care of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with the following restrictions: Said church is to have preference of one-half the time including half the Sundays in each month, the other half is to be free for all or any denominations of Christians to occupy and preach in it, to organize other churches and hold regular monthly meetings so as not to interfere with the time herein allowed the Cumberland Presbyterians who are to select and publish what part and how much of each month they wish to occupy said church. When not occupied by other denominations of Christians the Cumberland Presbyterians may occupy said church as other denominations."

The Corinth Church was active for many years. In 1906 the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was reunited with the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America from which it had separated in 1810. Plaintiff is the governing body of the Presbytery in which the Corinth Church is located. There is no record that at any time either the Board of Ruling Elders or the Trustees of the Corinth Church actually put in written form a designation of the dates or parts of the month when said church would be available for other denominations of Christians under the terms of the deed. There is, however, no evidence that any other denomination or group of Christian people ever asked for such use of the building. On a few isolated occasions religious services by other denominations were held without objection in the building, but no other religious group ever formally occupied the church or made any continued use of it.

After 1920, membership decreased and the church was operated on a part time basis but finally became unable to pay for even a part time minister. Aid was secured through the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church and services once a month were continued by this means. In 1934, this aid ceased and no further services (with the exception of one or two funerals soon thereafter) were held by the Presbyterians or by any other denomination during the 14 years before the trial of this case. No repairs have been made on the building during that period. A new roof would probably be required to put it in usable condition. Most of the windows were broken out and much of the plaster had fallen off the walls and ceiling. One of the heating stoves was gone and the locks had been torn off of the doors. There has been trespassing by vandals and the building has been used for drinking and other immoral purposes.

In 1947, at a meeting of the remaining...