St. Mary's Church v. Tripp

• Decision Date: 22 December 1883
• Citation: 14 R.I. 307
• Parties: SAINT MARY'S CHURCH v. BENJAMIN TRIPP, City Treasurer of the City of Providence.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

14 R.I. 307

SAINT MARY'S CHURCH v. BENJAMIN TRIPP, City Treasurer of the City of Providence.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

December 22, 1883

Public Statutes R.I. cap. 41, § 2, exempts from taxation " buildings for free public schools, buildings for religious worship, and the land upon which they stand and immediately surrounding the same to an extent not exceeding one acre, so far as said buildings and land are occupied and used exclusively for religious or educational purposes."

Held, that a building for religious purposes is exempt from taxation although used for educational purposes so long as the use is merely incidental or occasional, or so long as the use, if habitual, is purely permissive and voluntary and does not interfere with the use for religious purposes, there being no alienation of the building in whole or part for educational uses, as e. g. by lease.

Real estate is by statute assessed in distinct parcels. The tax on each parcel is a distinct tax, and if void for illegality and paid under protest may be recovered back in assumpsit .

ASSUMPSIT heard by the court, jury trial being waived.

This case was heard upon an agreed statement of facts, as follows:

" Saint Mary's Church of Providence, R.I., was and is the owner in fee of a certain lot of land situate on Barton Street, in the city of Providence, upon which is erected a wooden building; that said building was erected in and ever since that

time has been, with the land upon which it stands and surrounding it, occupied and used exclusively for religious and educational purposes, and for no other purpose whatever.

That the assessors of taxes of the city of Providence, in the year A. D. 1882, assessed said land and building as if liable to taxation, at a valuation of $7,171, and the plaintiff was taxed therefor the sum of $104.40, which sum the plaintiff claims was erroneously levied upon said estate, and it paid the same to the defendant, protesting against the same as illegal.

During the year 1882 the said building was used and occupied primarily for the purpose of religious worship, and during some portions of the time, when not required for the purpose of religious worship, a part of said building, to wit, the basement thereof, was used for educational purposes, but not as a free public school, no income however, being derived from the same."

Attached to the agreed statement of facts, and forming part of it were:

A certificate from the assessors of taxes, showing in detail the several parcels of realty for which the plaintiff was assessed, with the valuation for tax purposes of each parcel;

A copy of the protest filed with the city treasurer when the plaintiff paid the tax on the parcel in question;

A certificate from the city treasurer that the tax on the parcel in question had been paid.

A tax illegally enforced may be recovered back by action of assumpsit, the statutory remedy not being exclusive.

Charles E. Gorman, for plaintiff.

Nicholas Van Slyck, City Solicitor, for defendant.

DURFEE C. J.

The question here arises on Pub. Stat. R.I. cap. 41, § 2, which exempts certain classes of property from taxation, and among them " buildings for free public schools, buildings for religious worship, and the land upon which they stand and immediately surrounding the same to an extent not exceeding one acre, so far as said buildings and land are occupied and used exclusively for religious or educational purposes." The defendant contends that the words " " religious or educational," at the close of this citation, are used distributively, the word " educational" being applicable exclusively to buildings for free public schools and the word "...