Estate of Girard

132 A.3d 623, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 61
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 21, 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 132 A.3d 623 (Estate of Girard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Girard, 132 A.3d 623, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 61 (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge ROBERT SIMPSON.

This appeal from a final decree of the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (Orphans’ Court)3 concerns proposed mod[625]*625ifications to certain operations of Girard College, a primary and secondary school for disadvantaged youth operated by a charitable trust- under the 1830’s Will of Stephen Girard. After the Orphans’ Court declined to approve the proposed suspension of residential programs, and high school grades at the College, the City of Philadelphia, acting through the Board of Directors of City Trusts (Board),- Trustee under Girard’s - Will, appealed to this Court.4 After careful consideration, we discern no basis to disturb the thoughtful judgment of the Orphans’ Court; therefore, we affirm.

I. Background

A. Will

By Will and codicils dated 1830 and 1831, Girard left the majority of his considerable estate to charity and for the betterment of the City of Philadelphia' (City). He ordered the creation of the College, a boarding school to be located in the City, writing (with emphasis added): Will of Steven Girard, Ex. A to Pet. to Modify Charitable Trust for the Benefit of Girard College Pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 7740.3 (Will), Clause XX, at 10; Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 155a. Among other provisions, Girard directed that the College “shall be sufficiently spacious for the residence and accommodation of at .least three hundred scholars_” Will, Clause XXI, at 11; R.R. at 156a.(emphasis added). The Will further requires that the students of the College be “fed ... clothed ... and lodged in a plain but safe manner.... ” Id., Clause XXI, ¶ 7 at 17; R.R. at 162a (emphasis added).

And, whereas I have been' for a long time impressed with the importance of educating the poor, and of placing them, by the early cultivation of their minds and the development of their moral principles, above the many temptations to which, through poverty and ignorance, they are exposed; and I dm particularly desirous to provide for such a number of poor male white orphan children, as can be trained in one institution, a better education, as well as a more comfortable maintenance, than they usually receive from the application of public funds_

By statute, the Pennsylvania legislature created the Board in 1869. 53 P.S. § 16365.5 The Board administers trusts left to the City for charitable purposes, including the Will and its provisions for Girard College.

B. Petition

In 2013, the Board filed a Petition to Modify Charitable Trust for the Benefit of Girard College Pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 7740.3 (Petition). The Petition alleged a decline in the financial state of the Trust, specifically a decrease in the market value of the Residuary Fund, a decline in rental income and a dramatic fall in coal production. Pet. at ¶¶ 17-20. The Petition further alleged that notwithstanding economic cutbacks at the Board' and Girard College levels, the Trust income-has been insufficient to fund the financial requirements of the College,' requiring shortfalls to be funded by the use of Trust principal. Pet. at' ¶¶ 21-22. Under the current spending level, and without consideration of significant physical plant renovations that are required, the Board asserted the Residu[626]*626ary Fund would be exhausted within 25 years. Pet. at ¶¶ 21-26. Because Girard College cannot continue operating in the same manner, the Board requested the Orphans’ Court to temporarily modify the provisions of the Will to allow the elimination of the residential program and instead provide an extended day program for grades 1 through 8. Pet. at ¶¶ 26-34. The Board asserted the residential program is an administrative provision of the Will and requested the Orphans’ Court to temporarily modify it pursuant to the 2006 codification of rules for deviation from charitable trusts found at 20 Pa.C.S. § 7740.3. Pet. at ¶¶ 36-38,

C. Parties and Hearing

Early on, the ensuing litigation focused on party status. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General, Charitable Trusts and Organizations Section (Office of Attorney General), became an active participant, generally supporting the Board’s request for deviation and opposing the addition/appointment of new parties. On the other hand, the Girard College Alumni Association was denied in-tervenor status (but was later permitted to participate as amicus curiae). In addition, the Orphans’ Court appointéd James F. Mannion, Esq. as amicus curiae.

A hearing on the merits was held in July 2014. The evidence regarding past facts was not contested; however, the inferences to be drawn about future developments were disputed. The following summary largely reflects Amicus Mannion’s Post Trial Filing with the Orphans’ Court.

There have been three primary sources of funding for Girard • College over the years: 1) cash from coal and coal royalties; 2) cash generated by the real estate portfolio; and, 3) interest and dividends earned on the Residuary Fund. Notes of Testimony (N.T.), 7/17/14, at 13-16; R.R. at 258a.

Joseph Martz, Executive Director and Secretary of the Board, outlined the historical and more recent performance of the coal, real estate and Residuary Fund, including the long-term lease of Girard Square and . the redeployment of the proceeds into debt reduction and joint venture real estate interests. N.T. at 19-30; R.R. at 259a-62a. Starting in 1997; the coal operations were not generating cash for the Trust, and.in 2007 they were losing approximately $3.3 million per year. N.T. at 23; R.R. at 260a.' The 2008 recession negatively impacted the real estate operations by tenants not renewing leases, taking less space and negotiating lower rental rates. N.T. at 33; R.R. at 263a. The Residuary Fund was also negatively impacted by the recession, from a high point of $333 million in September 2007, to $210 million in June 2009, to a low of $197.5 million in September 2011. N.T. at 19; R.R. at 259a; Amicus Ex. 2; R.R. at 683a.

During this time, the expenses of operating the College were exceeding the income generated by coal, real estate and the Residuary Fund, necessitating the sale pf the principal of the Trust. N.T. at 47; R.R. at 266a. The Board significantly reduced expenses at the Board level by various steps, including reducing the number of students. N.T. at 39, 44-46; R.R. at 264a-66a. The Board also significantly reduced debt through refinancing and by using a portion of the proceeds of the long-term lease of Girard Square. N.T. at 30, 41 — 43; R.R. at 262a, 265a; Pet’r’s Ex. 1 at 18;. R.R. at ,327a.

The Board was concerned about the Trust’s financial ■ future, and it believed that if the financial situation continued the Trust, and in turn the College, would run out of money. N.T. at 51; R.R. at 267a; Pet’r’s Ex. 1 at 24-25; R.R. at 333a-34a. These calculations did not include the cost of physical plant renovations, which were [627]*627estimated to be around $8.8 million for “deficiency repairs” and in excess of $110 million for complete renovations. N.T. at 137; R.R. at 289a; Pet’r’s Ex. 1 at 22; R.R. at 331a.

The Board concluded that the only prudent way to preserve and build the Residuary Fund was to utilize a 6% spending rate on only

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132 A.3d 623, 2016 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-girard-pacommwct-2016.