Kolin v. Leitch

• Decision Date: 13 June 1951
• Docket Number: No. 45406,45406
• Citation: Kolin v. Leitch, 343 Ill.App. 622, 99 N.E.2d 685 (Ill. App. 1951)
• Parties: KOLIN et al. v. LEITCH et al.
• Court: Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 685

99 N.E.2d 685

343 Ill.App. 622

KOLIN et al. v. LEITCH et al.

No. 45406.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Third Division.

June 13, 1951.

Rehearing Denied July 16, 1951.

Will A. Kelly, Chicago, for appellant.

Goldberg, Devoe & Brussell, Chicago (Abraham W. Brussell, Daniel Fogel, Chicago, of counsel), for appellee.

LEWE, Justice.

Plaintiffs, pupils of St. George School for Girls, by their next friends, and certain members of the St. George Parents Committee of the school, in behalf of themselves and others similarly situated filed an amended complaint against the members of the board of directors of the school and John Leitch, the seccessor trustee of the George J. Williams Charitable Trust. The amended complaint prays for a declaration of the rights of plaintiffs, an injunction restraining defendants from closing the school, the removal of the directors and trustee of the Williams trust, appointment of a successor trustee with authority to use the principal of the trust to pay school deficits, and the appointment of a receiver for the school.

After a hearing on the complaint, a temporary injunction was issued restraining the board of directors from closing the school and directing them to accept pupils for enrollment.

According to the allegations of the amended complaint, the school was incorporated September 1, 1920 as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, to board, educate and develop children whose parents have died, disagreed, or are so occupied that they cannot give their child or children the necessary attention for their care, education, and development, to the end that they become useful, loyal, and patriotic citizens of the United States of America. During the academic year ending June 1950 and for a number of years immediately preceding the past academic year, there have been enrolled on the average of 160 and 180 children, many of whom were from broken homes or were the offspring of war widows or working mothers, and, in addition, a substantial number of children enrolled during this time were referred to it by the Juvenile Court of Cook County and by the Superior Court of Cook County. At the present time the school operates the only complete child care center in that part of Chicago commonly known as the Oakland-Kenwood area which offers day care during normal working hours as well as full time boarding care of children. Because of the valuable service rendered the community, the school has become a vital and necessary institution in the area and in Chicago generally. Since 1923 funds necessary to operate the school have been received from the income of a charitable trust created by Williams. Under the terms of the trust the net income of the trust fund is subject to the order of the board of directors of the school. Defendant Leitch is the present trustee of the Williams trust fund. January 17, 1950 the board of directors of the school took steps to shut down the school permanently, on the alleged ground that the income from the trust fund, together with the tuition fees, was insufficient to maintain its operation. Members of the Parents Committee raised the sum of $5,700 out of this fund turned approximately $2,600 over to the board of directors of the school to cover an alleged existing deficit, as a result of which the board of directors continued to operate the school for the remainder of the academic year of 1950.

The amended complaint charges that the board of directors of the school maintain an unco-operative attitude toward the Parents Committee, thus violating its duty to children enrolled in the school as beneficiaries of the school as a charitable corporation of the trust fund; that the board of directors, due to lack of funds, about the month of May 1950 decided to close the school for the summer term, contrary to the established custom of year-round operation; that if the school is forced to close permanently the minor plaintiffs and others in similar situation will remain without accommodations for their care and education necessary by virtue of their unfortunate family situations; that the pupils of the school who are by necessity 'boarders' therein, of whom there are at present forty, will be left homeless; that such disregard of the welfare of said children is a violation of the fiduciary duty and an ignoring of the purposes of the school and trust fund created in its support as established by Williams.

The complaint further alleges that the contributions by the Parents Committee and other civic organizations, accumulated income from the trust fund, and the yearly income from the trust fund, in the aggregate are sufficient, in the opinion of the business manager of the school, to maintain it in operation; that the corpus of the trust fund, amounting to more than $85,000, should be used to defray any future deficit.

In their answer defendants aver that since the death of said George J. Williams, with the exception of two years during World War II, the operation of the school resulted in a deficit which was made up by funds derived from the Williams Charitable Trust; that the annual income from the trust fund is approximately $3,000, and that the principal of the trust fund is approximately $85,000; that a deficit resulted from keeping the school open during the summer of 1950 in the amount of $3,278.52.

Defendants further aver that in the exercise of the powers vested in them as members of the board of directors they have determined that the financial condition of the school corporation and of the trust is such that the continued operation of the school would be unsound and result in further deficits and losses which would jeopardize the assets of the corporation. Defendants deny that the plaintiffs or the alleged Parents Committee have any right to direct or control the actions of the board of directors of the school; that they owe the plaintiffs any legal duty; and, further, that there is any power, right, duty, or obligation of the directors or the trustee to use or invade the corpus of the trust for any such purpose as plaintiffs allege.

The record shows that on September 1, 1950, the chancellor issued a writ of injunction. The order also provided that plaintiffs be given leave to join the Attorney General of the State of Illinois as a party defendant. October...