Rhode Island Hospital Trust Nat. Bank v. Israel, 76-52-A
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island |
| Writing for the Court | Julius C. Michaelson, Atty. Gen.; JOSLIN; KELLEHER; M. KELLEHER |
| Citation | 119 R.I. 298,377 A.2d 341 |
| Parties | RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL TRUST NATIONAL BANK, Trustee v. Richard J. ISRAEL, Attorney General, et al. ppeal. |
| Docket Number | No. 76-52-A,76-52-A |
| Decision Date | 29 August 1977 |
Page 341
v.
Richard J. ISRAEL, Attorney General, et al.
Rearguments Denied Sept. 30, 1977.
Page 342
[119 R.I. 307] Robert B. Gates, Providence, for plaintiff.
Julius C. Michaelson, Atty. Gen., J. Peter Doherty, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant Richard J. Israel.
Charles J. McGovern, John G. Coffey, Jr., Providence, for Children's Friend and Service.
Adolph N. Anderson, Jr., Charles H. Drummey, Providence, for Rhode Island Lung Ass'n.
[119 R.I. 300] JOSLIN, Justice.
Laura B. Sims (the testatrix) died in 1931 and in her will, which was probated in the city of Warwick, bequeathed a one-fifth share of the residue of her estate to the Providence Tuberculosis League (the League), a charitable organization. In 1974, when the time arrived for distribution of that share, the League's charter had been forfeited and it was no longer in existence. Thereupon, Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank, trustee under the testatrix's will, instituted this civil action for a determination of whether the testatrix had a general or special charitable intent in making the bequest to the League, and, if her intent was general, for directions on how the doctrine of cy pres should be applied to that bequest. Named as the defendants were the Attorney General of the state; Children's Friend and Service (the Service), a nonbusiness corporation; Rhode Island Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association, now known as Rhode Island Lung Association (the Association), also a nonbusiness corporation; and Laura Martin, the surviving daughter of Clara T. Parsons who was the testatrix's heir. At the hearing in the Superior Court, Laura Martin did not appear, the Attorney General submitted[119 R.I. 301] the interests of the public to the court's care, and both the Association and the Service agreed that the testatrix had a general charitable intent in making the bequest to the League and that the doctrine of cy pres should therefore be applied. They disagreed, however, on which of them would so administer the League's share as to best carry out that intent. At the conclusion of that hearing, the trial justice found that the testatrix did not intend merely to make a gift to the League but that she manifested a general charitable intent and accordingly, pursuant to G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 18-4-1, 1 he directed that the doctrine of cy pres be applied and that the share be given to the Service. The Association appealed.
It appears that the testatrix left the residue of her estate in trust to pay the income to a named beneficiary during his lifetime, and upon his death, which occurred in 1974, to
"pay over, free from this trust, all principal and accumulated income in five equal shares to the following corporations: The Rhode Island Hospital, a Rhode Island corporation, for general purposes; The Rhode Island Hospital for the benefit of The Crawford Allen Memorial Hospital; The Homeopathic Hospital of Rhode Island; The Providence Lying-in Hospital
Page 343
and The Providence Tuberculosis League for the benefit of the Lakeside Preventorium * * *."The League's purpose, as stated in its charter, was to conduct "a persistent campaign against tuberculosis in the city [119 R.I. 302] of Providence by the stimulation and promotion of work in every field which concerns the prevention and eradication of the disease." From 1912 to 1951, first as a committee of Family Service, Inc. and later under its own corporate name, the League maintained a tuberculosis preventorium at a leased facility known as the Lakeside Home for Convalescent and Sickly Mothers and Children (Lakeside), where it provided care to children and mothers who were sick, convalescing, or in need of supportive physical care to avert illness. In the later years of this period (1934-1951), that care was rendered principally to children.
By 1950, however, it had become impractical to operate Lakeside, in part because the property had deteriorated to such an extent as to make it unsuitable for child occupancy, and in part because radical changes in the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis had rendered preventoria obsolete. Consequently, the League discontinued its operations at Lakeside in 1951 and, with the approval of the Council of Social Agencies and under authority of two Superior Court decrees, 2 the real estate on which Lakeside was situated was transferred to the Service. At the same time some of the equipment and personal property in use at the Lakeside facility and certain of the endowment funds that the League had received for the use of Lakeside were also transferred. Thereafter, the Service conducted a program in a newly constructed building at Lakeside that provides short-term protective care for children. The Service's...
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Millett v. Hoisting Engineers' Licensing Division of Dept. of Labor, 75-81-A
...ENGINEERS' LICENSING DIVISION OF the DEPARTMENT OF LABOR et al. No. 75-81-Appeal. Supreme Court of Rhode Island. Aug. 29, 1977. Page 232 [119 R.I. 298] Joseph DiGianfilippo, Woonsocket, for Julius C. Michaelson, Atty. Gen., W. Kenneth O'Donnell, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendants. OPINION......
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Ochoa v. Union Camp Corp., 76-446-A
...nor argued that issue, however, we shall deem it waived. Sup.Ct.R. 16(a); Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, R.I., 377 A.2d 341 (1977); Salk v. Alpine Ski Shop, Inc., 115 R.I. 309, 342 A.2d 622 The employee suggests first that his difficulties with the English language, he......
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Cadillac Lounge, Llc v. McAteer, C.A. No. PC 03-3131 (R.I. Super 9/27/2007), C.A. No. PC 03-3131
...as his [or her] other factual determinations." Walton, 433 A.2d at 964; see also Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, 119 R.I. 298, 306, 377 A.2d 341, 345 (1977). The trial justice need not engage in extensive analysis when making his or her findings of fact; "even brief fin......
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Jones v. Rommell, 84-431-M
...194, 397 A.2d 506 (1979); Calcagno v. Calcagno, 120 R.I. 723, 391 A.2d 79 (1978); Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, 119 R.I. 298, 377 A.2d 341 3 Although in Zeilstra v. Barrington Zoning Board of Review, 417 A.2d 303 (R.I.1980), we stated that because a building inspector......
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Millett v. Hoisting Engineers' Licensing Division of Dept. of Labor, 75-81-A
...ENGINEERS' LICENSING DIVISION OF the DEPARTMENT OF LABOR et al. No. 75-81-Appeal. Supreme Court of Rhode Island. Aug. 29, 1977. Page 232 [119 R.I. 298] Joseph DiGianfilippo, Woonsocket, for Julius C. Michaelson, Atty. Gen., W. Kenneth O'Donnell, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendants. OPINION......
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Ochoa v. Union Camp Corp., 76-446-A
...nor argued that issue, however, we shall deem it waived. Sup.Ct.R. 16(a); Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, R.I., 377 A.2d 341 (1977); Salk v. Alpine Ski Shop, Inc., 115 R.I. 309, 342 A.2d 622 The employee suggests first that his difficulties with the English language, he......
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Cadillac Lounge, Llc v. McAteer, C.A. No. PC 03-3131 (R.I. Super 9/27/2007), C.A. No. PC 03-3131
...as his [or her] other factual determinations." Walton, 433 A.2d at 964; see also Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, 119 R.I. 298, 306, 377 A.2d 341, 345 (1977). The trial justice need not engage in extensive analysis when making his or her findings of fact; "even brief fin......
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Jones v. Rommell, 84-431-M
...194, 397 A.2d 506 (1979); Calcagno v. Calcagno, 120 R.I. 723, 391 A.2d 79 (1978); Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank v. Israel, 119 R.I. 298, 377 A.2d 341 3 Although in Zeilstra v. Barrington Zoning Board of Review, 417 A.2d 303 (R.I.1980), we stated that because a building inspector......