Rhodes v. Westside Free Will Baptist Church, 86-265

• Decision Date: 18 May 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-265,86-265
• Parties: Rev. Vivan T. RHODES and Pearl Rhodes, Appellants, v. WESTSIDE FREE WILL BAPTIST CHURCH, et al., Appellees.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 171

729 S.W.2d 171

292 Ark. 250

Rev. Vivan T. RHODES and Pearl Rhodes, Appellants, v. WESTSIDE FREE WILL BAPTIST CHURCH, et al., Appellees.

No. 86-265.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

May 18, 1987.

R.H. "Bud" Mills, Springdale, for appellants.

Larry D. Douglas, Springdale, for appellees.

GLAZE, Justice.

The case involves a dispute over church property. Claiming ownership of the property, Reverend Vivan Rhodes and his wife, Pearl, brought this action, requesting the appellees be enjoined from entering or trespassing on it. Appellees, representatives and trustees of the Westside Free Will Baptist Church (Westside Baptist), answered and counterclaimed, and, among other things, denied the Rhodes's allegation of ownership. After the Rhodeses presented their case-in-chief at trial, appellees moved to dismiss the Rhodes's complaint, saying the Rhodeses had failed to make a prima facie case. The chancellor granted appellees' motion, and, on appeal from that decision, appellants list one point for reversal, viz., that they had presented sufficient evidence to sustain their claim. We disagree, and, therefore, affirm.

The facts leading to this controversy are largely undisputed. By warranty deeds in 1959 and 1968, Reverend Rhodes and his now-deceased wife, Irma, conveyed two tracts of land to the trustees for the Peoples Mission, their successors and assigns. Both deeds contained a reverter clause that stated "should this property cease to be used for religious purposes then it should revert to the grantors, their heirs and assigns." Reverend Rhodes was pastor at Peoples Mission, a non-denominational church, and during his participation at Peoples Mission, various church buildings were constructed on the property, culminating with the completion of a fellowship hall in 1968. Rhodes remained active in the church until September 1982, when he entered the hospital. Due to health and other problems, he became inactive and was away from the church. It was during this period of Rhodes's absence from Peoples Mission that changes began to occur.

Rhodes's son, appellee Garry Rhodes, began taking a more active role in the church's affairs. Garry said that he was asked by his father to call a Reverend Donnie Villines, who was subsequently selected in December 1982 as the new pastor of Peoples Mission. In early 1983, church members met and voted to formally organize the church, naming it the People's Mission Independent Baptist Church. The members adopted a constitution and bylaws, elected its officers, named new trustees and formally hired Reverend Villines as the pastor. Later, the newly-formed church hired another pastor, and, under his auspices, the church, in March 1985, was renamed the "Westside Free Will Baptist Church."

In August 1985, Reverend Rhodes, who had remarried, moved back into his house which is located on property near the church. On August 1, 1985, Rhodes and Arthur Sutherlan, as the two surviving trustees of Peoples Mission, held a meeting. At that meeting, the two men executed a deed, describing the property...