Seventh Elect Church in Israel v. First Seattle Dexter Horton Nat. Bank

• Decision Date: 04 April 1932
• Docket Number: 23624.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: SEVENTH ELECT CHURCH IN ISRAEL v. FIRST SEATTLE DEXTER HORTON NAT. BANK et al.

10 P.2d 207

167 Wash. 473

SEVENTH ELECT CHURCH IN ISRAEL v. FIRST SEATTLE DEXTER HORTON NAT. BANK et al.

No. 23624.

Supreme Court of Washington

April 4, 1932

Department 1.

Appeal from Superior Court, King County; Calvin S. Hall, Judge.

Action by the Seventh Elect Church in Israel against First Seattle Dexter Horton National Bank, formerly Dexter Horton National Bank of Seattle, as administrator of the estate of Daniel Salwt, also known as Daniel Sult, deceased, and others, in which the defendants, other than the bank as administrator filed cross-complaints. From an adverse decree, defendants other than the bank as administrator, appeal.

Affirmed.

See also, 162 Wash. 437, 299 P. 359.

Alexander H. McKinnon, J. Speed Smith, and Christopher Jacobsen, all of Seattle, for appellants.

Preston Thorgrimson & Turner, of Seattle, for respondent.

BEELER J.

About 1910 Daniel Salwt appeared in Seattle as the prophet of a new religious cult designated by him as the 'Seventh Elect Church in Israel.' He claimed to be a messenger from God commanded to gather together 144,000 persons to be known as the 'Elect of God.' His teachings were that the cult would grow and prosper until it reached a membership of 144,000 of the elect of God, and then the entire membership would be translated into heaven without physical death. He made little or no progress during the first eight or ten years, but in 1921 he had gathered together 8 members and sufficient funds to build a church. Living quarters were provided for in connection with the church. From 1921 to June 14, 1929, the date of Salwt's death, the number of his followers varied somewhat, but on the average the church had a membership of 25 persons. The members were principally day laborers, such as shingle weavers, plasterers, and mechanics earning from three to five dollars a day. Those who lived at the church were required to lay all their earthly goods upon the altar in the nature of free will offerings. They lived in common and had one pocketbook. Salwt, as well as the other members or disciples, would preach or exhort upon the public streets of Seattle and distribute literature or 'religious tracts' setting forth the teachings and doctrines of the church. Salwt and his adherents banded themselves together as a voluntary association until 1922 when they organized a corporation. Salwt became its president and treasurer, and remained its leader until his death, at which time there was on deposit, in his name, in two banks at Seattle, money in excess of $103,000. In addition thereto, several pieces of real estate situated within the state of Washington stood in his name. The First Seattle Dexter Horton National Bank was appointed and qualified as administrator of his estate and filed an inventory as required by law. Claims were filed by the appellants with the administrator which the latter rejected.

February, 1930, the respondent instituted this action, and in its complaint alleged that Salwt had received the real estate and the money on deposit in the two banks for the use and benefit of the church and its members, and that all of the property and money was held by the decedent in trust for the church; that the appellants' claims were spurious and false; that the decedent, Salwt, was not indebted to the appellants or any of them, and the respondent church undertook to impress a trust upon these funds in its favor. The appellants, in their answer, denied all the material allegations of the complaint, and by way of cross-complaint prayed that these same funds be impressed with a trust in their favor. The cross-complaint sets forth the respective claims of the several appellants to the funds under the control of the administrator.

The administrator interposed a demurrer to appellants' cross-complaint which was sustained by the trial court. The appellants declined to plead further and appealed to this court. The judgment of the lower court was reversed, and the cause remanded for trial. Seventh Elect Church in Israel v. First Seattle, etc., Bank, 162 Wash. 437, 299 P. 359. The opinion there should be read in connection with the opinion here.

On July, 1931, the cause proceeded to trial upon the merits and resulted in a decree whereby all of the property, both real and personal, in the hands of the administrator, except the cost of administration, was given to the church, and the appellants' causes of action were dismissed, from which decree they have appealed.

The appellants contend that, since this court, in the case of Seventh Elect Church in Israel v. First Seattle, etc., Bank, supra, overruled the demurrer of the administrator to the appellants' cross-complaint, thereby holding that the cross-complaint stated facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, the judgment or decree appealed from must be reversed, because, as they contend, the evidence is sufficient to sustain the allegations of the cross-complaint.

Parenthetically, it should be pointed out that the former appeal was between the administrator and these appellants, whereas the controversy on this appeal is between the church and the appellants.

The controlling question then is whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the allegations of the appellants' cross-complaint. The material allegations in each of the several causes of action in the cross-complaint are: 'That the said decedent was the organizer and head of a certain religious cult known as the Seventh Elect Church in Israel; that he called himself and was known as the 'Messenger' and taught that those who followed him would never die and that he would lead them into heaven without going through the physical destruction of the body called death; * * * that the decedent had established the rule for his followers that while belonging to the cult they must leave with him for safekeeping all they owned of money and property and all they earned; that the deposits so made were to be kept by the decedent for the depositor's account, the ownership thereof always remaining in the depositor.' (Italics ours.)

Each of the appellants further alleged that they became disciples of Salwt because they believed in him and in his teachings.

From our review of the record we are of the opinion that the evidence does not support the allegations of the cross-complaint, and especially the material portions thereof which we have italicized. The moneys and property contributed and conveyed by the several appellants were not given to Salwt for safe-keeping, but were given to him as free will offerings for the use and benefit of the church without reservation and for the purpose of aiding the church in spreading the gospel and the doctrine believed in and taught by all of the appellants as well as by all of the members of the church. Furthermore, the evidence is clear that Salwt did not claim the money nor property as his own. He dealt with it as though it belonged to the church. Salwt did not...