Kingdom v. Saxbe

161 N.E.2d 461, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 6, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 137, 1958 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 278
CourtAshtabula County Probate Court
DecidedApril 10, 1958
DocketNo. 38657
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 161 N.E.2d 461 (Kingdom v. Saxbe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ashtabula County Probate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kingdom v. Saxbe, 161 N.E.2d 461, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 6, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 137, 1958 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 278 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1958).

Opinion

OPINION

By PERRY, J.

This is an action for judgment and direction of the court and for [7]*7declaratory judgment with respect to the charitable trust created by Item X oí the Will of George J. Record. The petition seeks further construction of the will, confirmation and approval of exercise of discretion by the testamentary trustees, and for an order approving a plan devised by the trustees to carry out the testator’s general charitable purpose by the application of the equitable doctrines of deviation and, perhaps to some extent, cy pres.

The defendant is the attorney general of the State of Ohio, required by §109.23 if R. C., as well as by equity practice, to be made a party to the action as the representative of the cestui que trust, namely, the class of indefinite individuals who are the beneficiaries of the charitable trust. See 4 Scott on Trusts, 2nd Ed. p. 2768.

The attorney general is the party charged both at common law and by the Charitable Trust Act, §109.25 R. C., with the enforcement and protection of charitable trusts and uses in the State of Ohio in order that the interests of charitable beneficiaries may be protected and preserved. Sec. 109.25 R. C., reads as follows:

“The attorney general shall be a necessary party to and shall be served with process or with summons by registered mail in all proceedings, the object of which is: (1) To terminate a charitable trust or to distribute its assets to other than charitable donees, or (2) To depart from the objects or purposes of a charitable trust as the same are set forth in the instrument creating the trust, including any proceeding for the application of the doctrine of cy pres, or (3) To construe the provisions of an instrument with respect to a charitable trust. A judgment rendered in such proceedings without service of process upon the attorney general shall be void, unenforceable, and shall be set aside upon the attorney general’s motion seeking such relief. The attorney general shall intervene in any proceeding affecting a charitable trust when requested to do so by the court having jurisdiction of the proceeding, and may intervene in any proceeding affecting a charitable trust when he determines that the public interest shall be protected in such proceeding. No compromise, settlement agreement, contract or judgment agreed to by any or all parties having or claiming to have an interest in any charitable trust shall be valid if the compromise, settlement agreement, contract or judgment modifies or terminates a charitable trust unless the attorney general was made a party to all such proceedings and joined in said compromise, settlement agreement, contract or judgment, provided, however, that the attorney general is expressly authorized to enter into such compromise, settlement agreements, contracts or judgments as may be in the best interests of the public.”

George J. Record died on or about March 1, 1920, leaving a last will and testament which provides in pertinent part as follows:

ITEM X.

“It has been my intention for many years, should my means prove to be sufficient, to establish a Polytechnic Industrial School to the Glory of God, the Creator of all materials and substances, the central Power and Originator of all energies and forces and the Pounder of all arts and sciences, to the end that man may be instructed and enabled to [8]*8divine and make use of the materials and apply the forces God has created and that thereby his comprehension may be widened to a full appreciation and understanding of the unlimited preparations and provisions with which his Creator has blessed and surrounded him.

“I am not in sympathy with theoretical religion. Solid facts innumerable are at hand and visible in all directions to be relied upon in formulating the faith and shaping the character, purposes and destinies of man, providing that these truths are properly brought home to man’s understanding. To teach the young these facts, to ennoble their purposes, to widen their comprehension of the real meaning of life, to give them a knowledge of their relations to God while learning the arts and sciences of which he is the Author, thus fitting them to meet the world’s demands, making them honest in purpose, noble in aspiration, reverent in faith, is the end which I have in view and desire to attain in making the devise set forth in this item of this my Last Will and Testament.

“Therefore I hereby give, devise and bequeath all the remainder of said residue of my said estate left after all the foregoing provisions of this my Last Will and Testament have been fully carried out, to The Guardian Savings and Trust Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and to its successors, in trust, nevertheless, for the purpose of establishing a Polytechnic Industrial School as hereinafter provided.

“Said School shall provide practical education for students of both sexes in the useful arts and sciences and in connection therewith the teachings of the Holy Bible shall be made a prominent feature in bringing to the minds of the young the practical value of following its precepts in the attainment of success in every day life. Said School shall be protestant in ethics and teaching, but otherwise undenominational and shall not exclude from its benefits those of any other faith. It shall be the rule of the School that all students, teachers and officers shall observe the Sabbath Day and attend Sunday School and preaching services and that each session shall be opened with scripture reading from the Bible and with prayer, and all students shall, as a condition to their admission to said School, pledge themselves to faithfully keep and observe these conditions which shall be rules of said School, as well as all other rules consistent herewith which may be formulated for the government of said School.

“My said Trustee shall first offer said remainder of said residue of my said estate to the corporate City of Conneaut, Ohio, to be used in the establishment of said School, on condition that said City shall provide therefor, free of cost to my estate, a suitable and ample site for said School, centrally located, and by the issuance of five (5) per cent bonds provide a sinking fund of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.) to be forever maintained to provide income for the support and maintenance of said School, or otherwise secure to said School such fund as will at all times provide said School with an income of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) per annum. If the foregoing mentioned proposition is not accepted within one year from the date of said offer, then my said Trustee shall make the same offer to the Village of Geneva, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and if not accepted by said Village within one year [9]*9from the date of said offer, or if there be legal obstacles in the way of both said City of Conneaut and said Village of Geneva accepting said legacy for the uses and purposes aforesaid, then and in that event my said Trustee may by forming a corporation or by other lawful means in its discretion to be determined by it, proceed to and complete the organization of said Polytechnic Industrial School, or if it elects so to do may transfer and deliver over the remaineder of said residue of my said estate to some industrial school then well established, to be selected by it for the purpose of carrying out the principles and objects hereinbefore named.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
161 N.E.2d 461, 82 Ohio Law. Abs. 6, 9 Ohio Op. 2d 137, 1958 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kingdom-v-saxbe-ohprobctashtabu-1958.