Van Brunt v. Wis. Consistory Home Ass'n

• Decision Date: 13 June 1916
• Citation: 163 Wis. 540,158 N.W. 295
• Parties: VAN BRUNT v. WISCONSIN CONSISTORY HOME ASS'N ET AL.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

163 Wis. 540

158 N.W. 295

VAN BRUNT

v.WISCONSIN CONSISTORY HOME ASS'N ET AL.^*

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

June 13, 1916.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Waukesha County; Martin L. Lueck, Judge.

Equitable action by Willard A. Van Brunt against the Wisconsin Consistory Home Association and others. From a judgment reforming the trust deed as prayed, J. H. Ferguson and another, two of the defendants, and beneficiaries of the trust, appeal. Affirmed.

This is an equitable action to reform a trust deed of real estate made by the plaintiff to the trustees of the Wisconsin Consistory (a Masonic body) in November, 1905, for charitable purposes, on the ground of mutual mistake. From a judgment reforming the deed as prayed, two of the present beneficiaries of the trust appeal.

There is little dispute as to the essential facts. The plaintiff is, and was at the time of the execution of the deed, a Master Mason. He owned a farm of 319 acres with buildings near Dousman, in Waukesha county, worth about $45,000. He conceived the purpose of deeding this farm in perpetual trust to some Masonic organization for the purpose of furnishing a home for indigent Masons and their families. Mr. Van Brunt was at that time a member of the Wisconsin Consistory, which is a body of Masons who have passed 32 degrees of inspection. At the time of the execution of the deed there were over 21,000 Master Masons in Wisconsin and only 1,400 members of the Consistory. The plaintiff's idea was that this proposed charitable trust might well be administered by the Consistory, and after some written communications (in which the purpose to make a home for all aged and indigent Master Masons in good standing is very clearly expressed) he executed a deed of the farm November 23, 1905, to Thomas E. Balding, Luther L. Caufy, and Thomas J. Pereles as trustees of the Wisconsin Consistory and their successors as such trustees, subject to certain conditions or trusts. The first condition authorized the grantees to convey the premises to a corporation to be thereafter formed composed of Consistory members for the purpose of carrying out the purposes of the trust until which time the trustees should perform the duties of the trust. The second and third conditions of the deed were as follows:

“Second. That said premises are conveyed by said party of the first part, and accepted by said party of the second part, upon condition that the same shall be held, used, and occupied for the purpose of Masonic charity in such form and subject to such rules and regulations as said trustees, their successors and assigns, or said corporation hereinbefore mentioned, shall from time to time make. This condition shall not prevent the said party of the second part, its successors or assigns, to receive or accept gifts, contributions, or nominal compensations in special cases, whether the same comes from members of the Consistory or other Masonic bodies. Nor shall it prevent any members of the Consistory to provide for themselves a home on any portion of said premises, nor prevent them from receiving upon proper compensation, the benefits of a temporary home in said premises, and for which they can pay such charges as the said party of the second part shall from time to time determine. All of which gifts, contributions of moneys, and compensations, when paid, shall be credited to the maintenance fund, and be used towards the general maintenance and support of the home that said party of the second part will establish on said premises.

Third. The said trustees, successors, or assigns, or the corporation which shall succeed them in the premises as hereinbefore provided, or the party of the second part, shall be and hereby are authorized to enact from time to time such rules and regulations to properly carry into effect the objects of this conveyance as they or it shall deem proper and advisable; it being my desire and intention, and these premises are conveyed by me, giving and granting to said party of the second part, their successors and assigns, and the parties herein named, the fullest and broadest authority to establish upon said premises an opportunity to dispense Masonic charity without restriction, except subject to the conditions herein contained.”

These conditions were followed by a clause providing for a reversion of the title to the grantor or his heirs in case it should cease to be used for the trust purposes.

It appears that this deed was prepared by Mr. Thomas J. Pereles (now deceased), and that apparently no other trustee took any part in its preparation. Mr. Van Brunt gave the scrivener no special instructions. When the deed was presented to him for signature, he gave it no careful consideration, but supposed it carried out his intentions to establish a home for all unfortunate Master Masons and their families, signed it, and gave it back to Mr. Pereles. Mr. Pereles at once recorded it, and it was never presented to the Consistory or to any official thereof in his official capacity. No attention was thereafter given to the deed by any one. It will be seen by examination of the conditions of the deed that certain special privileges are reserved to Consistory members under the second condition which are not shared by Master Masons in general; also that all gifts and contributions must be used for the support of the home, and cannot apparently be used for endowment or permanent...