Jackson Baptist Church v. Combs' Ex'r

• Decision Date: 10 November 1908
• Citation: 113 S.W. 119,130 Ky. 255
• Parties: JACKSON BAPTIST CHURCH v. COMBS' EX'R.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

113 S.W. 119

130 Ky. 255

JACKSON BAPTIST CHURCH v. COMBS' EX'R.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

November 10, 1908

Appeal from Circuit Court, Breathitt County.

"To be officially reported."

Action by William M. Combs' executor against the Jackson Baptist Church. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions to dismiss.

A. H Patton and J. M. Stevenson, for appellant.

Kash &amp Kash, J. J. C. Bach, and W. W. McGuire, for appellee.

SETTLE J.

The appellee, Breck Combs, executor of the will of Wm. M. Combs deceased, by an action instituted in the Breathitt circuit court against appellant, the Jackson Baptist Church, its trustees and congregation, sought to recover of the church a claim of $150 owing by it to the estate of the testator secured by a lien upon the church lot and building, and the further sum of $2,204.05, alleged to be due upon account for moneys loaned appellant by the testator, and all of which was expended in the erection of the church building. Judgment was asked against the church for both debts, and also for the enforcement of the lien upon the lot and church building in satisfaction of the demand of $150. Shortly after the institution of the action appellant paid and satisfied the lien debt of $150, and thereupon filed an answer denying liability upon the account of $2,204.05, and averring that the whole thereof was a gift or contribution from Wm. M. Combs to appellant for the erection of the church building. Depositions were taken by the parties, and the case otherwise prepared for trial in all respects as an action in equity, although the payment by appellant of the $150 lien debt eliminated from the case the only matter of equitable jurisdiction. Upon the hearing the circuit court gave appellee judgment against appellant for $1,712.29, with 6 per cent. interest from August 8, 1903, until paid, and costs, thereby in effect deciding that the difference between that sum and the amount of the account sued on had been donated by Wm. Combs to the church. Appellant complains of so much of the judgment as requires it to pay $1,712.29, interest, and costs; hence this appeal.

It appears from the record that the Baptists of the city of Jackson who were prior to the summer of 1902 without a house of worship then undertook the work of erecting a suitable brick church. Not being people of wealth, they found it necessary to yield to the very proper custom of accepting financial assistance from members of other churches and persons not connected with any church. Among those rendering such assistance was Wm. M. Combs, an aged and wealthy resident of Jackson, who, though not then a member, was a strong believer in the doctrines of the Baptist Church and a generous contributor to its various enterprises, particularly church erection. Mr. Combs became quite active in urging the building of the Jackson Baptist Church. At the beginning he, by deed, conveyed the church a lot for its house of worship valued at $300, donating to it one-half of this sum and retaining in the deed a lien upon the lot for the remaining $150. He was elected a member of the building committee, and, as the work of building the church progressed, dictated the policy of the committee, and practically controlled the arrangement of the building, its material, and cost. At such times as the committee was without funds he would pay the bills out of his private means, often telling them he intended the amounts thus paid as donations to the church. Before the building was fully completed, a series of revival meetings were held in it, following which the old man was received by baptism into the church, and his name enrolled as a member of the congregation. At one time he paid to a Cincinnati firm a bill of $300 for pews supplied the church, and at the same time also paid the cost of putting in the building two extra windows near the pulpit. Combs kept an itemized account of his expenditures on and for the church, interest being calculated on each item; and this account he delivered after the completion of the building to J. S. Head, cashier of the Jackson Deposit Bank, also a member of the building committee, without explanation of his purpose in so doing, or any direction as to the disposition to be made of it. The statement remained in the possession of Head for more than a year after the death of Wm. M. Combs, and until it was taken in possession by his son and executor, the appellee, Breck Combs, who brought suit upon it as previously stated.

The question for decision is: Were the various expenditures made by Wm. M. Combs upon the church building contained in the statement referred to donations or gifts to the Jackson Baptist Church, or...