County of Hennepin v. Grace

• Decision Date: 26 April 1881
• Citation: 8 N.W. 761,27 Minn. 503
• Parties: County of Hennepin v. Thomas L. Grace
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

8 N.W. 761

27 Minn. 503

County of Hennepin v. Thomas L. Grace

Supreme Court of Minnesota

April 26, 1881

Case certified from the district court for Hennepin county, under Gen. St. 1878, c. 11, § 80, on application of the plaintiff.

In proceedings to enforce payment of delinquent taxes on lots 1 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, in Bottineau's addition to St Anthony, in that county, Thomas L. Grace filed an answer objecting that the property was exempt from taxation. The issue was tried by Young, J., who found that the defendant as Roman Catholic bishop, owns and holds the property in trust for the parish of St. Anthony of Padua, a parish of his diocese, and made further findings of fact as follows:

"Upon lots 8 and 9 in said block 8 is situated a school-house, where the children of the Catholic families of said parish attend, and are instructed in the branches of learning usually taught in the common schools of this state, and, in addition thereto, are given certain religous instruction peculiar to the Catholic faith. Said school is also open to all such children of families other than Roman Catholic as desire to attend, and are willing to conform to the rules of the school. The number of scholars attending said school is between 300 and 400 children. Children of non-Catholic parents are not required to receive religous instruction.

"Upon the rear of lots 4, 5, 6 and 7 is situated a dwelling-house, occupied by the Catholic priest of said parish as a residence, said dwelling-house occupying but a very small portion of said lots. Upon lots 8 and 9 in said block 8 is situated a church, regularly used by the parishioners of said parish as a house of public worship, which lots were not assessed. The balance of said block 8, not occupied by said church, school-house and dwelling-house, is used as play-ground for the children attending said school.

"Each scholar attending said school is expected to pay for tuition fifty cents per month, if able to do so; but none are refused admittance for non-payment of the same. The amount so received falls short of sustaining the school by about forty dollars per month, which deficiency is made up by said church organization, by pew-rent. None of said property is used with a view to profit."

As conclusions of law the court held that the school is an institution of purely public charity, within the meaning of the constitution; that all of the lots except that part of lots 4, 5, 6 and 7 occupied by the dwelling-house are actually occupied by the school, and are exempt from taxation; that so much of those lots as are occupied by the dwelling-house are not exempt; but in the absence of evidence with regard to the parts or portions of such lots so occupied, the tax on each lot cannot be divided or apportioned, and the whole must, therefore, be set aside, leaving the parts of the lots which are taxable to be reassessed.

The questions certified to us were decided correctly by the district court, and its decision is accordingly affirmed.

W. E. Hale, for plaintiff.

Lochren, McNair & Gilfillan, for defendant.

Cornell J. Gilfillan, C. J., concurring.

OPINION

Cornell, J.

Upon the findings of fact the dwelling-house, together with the land within the enclosure surrounding it, which was used and occupied as a place of residence for the parish priest, was clearly subject to taxation, under the authority of St Peter's Church v. County of Scott, 12 Minn. 395. The direct use made of the property was a secular, and not a religious one. The fact that the priest who occupied it, and for whose occupation as a residence it was intended, devoted himself exclusively to the service of the church to which it belonged,...