Stone v. Salt Lake City

356 P.2d 631, 11 Utah 2d 196, 1960 Utah LEXIS 240
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 2, 1960
Docket9268
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 356 P.2d 631 (Stone v. Salt Lake City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stone v. Salt Lake City, 356 P.2d 631, 11 Utah 2d 196, 1960 Utah LEXIS 240 (Utah 1960).

Opinions

CROCKETT, Chief Justice.

The plaintiff, Jesse Stone, brought action to enjoin Salt Lake City from selling and conveying two parcels of real property. One is the old Public Safety Building located at First South and State Streets in downtown Salt Lake City, which it proposes to sell to the United States government as a site for a new Federal Building. The other is the Forest Dale Park and; Golf Course, a tract of about 65 acres lying just north of 27th South along Ninth East, which it has conveyed to the Church, of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church) and [199]*199hereinafter referred to as the Church,1 as a site for a junior college.

As to the transaction involving the sale of the Public Safety Building to the federal government, the trial court granted motions to dismiss in favor of all defendants, the Church, Zions Securities Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce and Salt Lake City. As to the other transaction, involving the sale of the Forest Dale Park to the Church, it granted motions to dismiss in favor of all defendants except Salt Lake City. This appeal is from those orders. We consider the two transactions separately.

The First Cause of Action:

In 1959 the federal government had announced its intention to construct a new Federal Building in Salt Lake City and was considering possible locations. It appears that the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce and persons representing the interests of the Church were desirous of cooperating with the federal government to obtain a suitable site for the building in downtown Salt Lake City rather than have it built upon land already owned by the government on the Fort Douglas Military Reservation at the eastern outskirts of the city.

Zions Securities Corporation, a corporation wholly owned by the Church, attempted to purchase the Lafayette school building and grounds at North Temple and State Streets in downtown Salt Lake City as a site for the building. Burton W. Musser, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff in this action, brought an action to enjoin the school board from selling that property on some of the grounds present in this suit. Following the filing of that case it appears that the project was held in abeyance and that it was decided that it would be better to locate the new Federal Building upon property owned by the City at First South and State Street which housed the City’s somewhat antiquated public safety building and a fire station.

The City Commission thereupon scheduled a public hearing to consider the proposed sale of that property. A few weeks later it passed a resolution declaring the existing buildings to be inadequate and obsolete for the needs of the City and advertised for bids to sell it. In response thereto the City received but a single bid, submitted by the defendant Chamber of Commerce, which was accepted by the City. The bid stated that it was made, “for the purpose of delivering the title and possession of said property to the General Services Administration of the United States Government for the construction of a new Federal Building thereon.”

[200]*200The attack on the propriety of the sale -of the Public Safety Building is on these . grounds:

A. That the Chamber of Commerce is acting for the Church and using money which the latter collected and holds in ■trust for religious and charitable purposes ■ only.

B. That in attempting to control the 'location of the Federal Building the Church .is violating the Utah Constitutional provision requiring separation of church and state.

C. That because a majority of the five city commissioners are members of the Church the proposed transaction is void.

D. That the purported sale by the City was not made in accordance with proper procedures and by ordinance as required by law.

As to A: that the funds collected by the Church must be used for religious and charitable purposes the' plaintiff points to the articles of incorporation of the Church (The Corporation of The President):

“Second: The object of this corporation shall be to acquire, hold and dispose of such real and personal property as may be conveyed to or acquired by said corporation for the benefit of —the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religious society, for the benefit of religion, for works of charity and tor public worship * *

He urges his rights both as a contributor to such funds and as a member of the class to be benefited by the proper expenditure thereof; and also urges the rights of other members of the Church and of the public similarly to be benefited. We do not regard the disputed point as to whether the stated purposes are limited to' members of the Church as being of controlling importance.

It is significant that the plaintiff does not claim that there was any express trust or any condition or restriction placed upon the funds he contributed to the Church. They were simply donated to it and it must be assumed that they were given for the general purposes for which the Church exists. The argument that the money it collects must be used for the purposes stated in its articles of incorporation, “ * * * for the benefit of religion, for works of charity and for public worship” may have some merit in that there is an obligation that they untimately be applied to the purposes for which the corporation exists and for which the funds were donated. But it is obvious that all of the funds the Church collects would not be disbursed immediately and directly for such purposes. It is but common sense and common knowledge that there is need for the exercise of management of such funds [201]*201for the ultimate accomplishment of the purposes stated. How this is to be done to best serve those objectives is for those in charge of the management of the Church to decide. It may well entail the keeping of collected funds in savings accounts, bonds, real estate or any type of investment which, in the judgment of those in charge, best suits that purpose.

In connection with the plaintiff (or others similarly situated) donating money to any such an organization, this is to be observed: it is only reasonable to assume that one making such contributions is aware of the controlling authority and of the manner in which the institution is managed. If he does not desire to entrust the management of his money to it, he has the privilege of keeping it and making such disposition thereof as he desires; or in giving it, he may impose conditions of trust which he could require the grantee to agree to in accepting the money. But if he fails to do so, by his act of donating his money he manifests his decision to entrust the control and disposition of his funds to the Church and those who manage it. And the donor has no right to retrieve, control, or direct the manner in which the money so given shall be used simply because he has made such contributions to the Church, nor because he is a member of the class which may be benefited by the carrying out of its purposes. This is in accord with the majority of the authorities, and what we believe to be the better considered view of the law.2

The fact is further that the articles of incorporation of the Church (The Corporation of The President) are fashioned consonant with the above conclusion.

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Stone v. Salt Lake City
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Bluebook (online)
356 P.2d 631, 11 Utah 2d 196, 1960 Utah LEXIS 240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stone-v-salt-lake-city-utah-1960.