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199 Misc. 220

Balluffi v. Montross

New York Supreme Court

Decided December 27, 1950

New York Supreme Court · decided 1950-12-27

Relies on First Church of Christ Scientist in Buffalo v. Schreck · The Rector v. . Crawford · In re Herman

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1950-12-27

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently March 1973

5 state decisions

40195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Davis, J.

¶1In an action to impress a trust upon certain funds or the proceeds thereof, representing contributions solicited for the erection of a building in the city of Peekskill as a permanent memorial for war veterans, defendants move to dismiss the complaint under rule 106 of the Rules of Civil Practice, and for certain other relief.

¶2The motion to dismiss the complaint is granted. The Attorney-General of the State of New York is charged with the responsibility of enforcing charitable trusts. (Personal Property Law, § 12, subd. 3.) Plaintiffs have no such special interest as beneficiaries of such trust as would permit them to maintain an action for its enforcement. (3 Scott on Trusts, § 391, p. 2054; see, also, Matter of Herman [Ten Broeck Free Academy], 177 Misc. 276.) In Elliott v. Teachers College (N. Y. L. J., June 12, 1941, p. 2643, col. 1) a motion to dismiss on the ground that the plaintiffs lacked legal capacity to main*221tain the action was denied where the Attorney-General had been joined as a party defendant and had asked for a declaration of rights.

¶3If the purposes for which the contributions were made were abandoned, the contributors, if they so elected, would have the right to demand full restitution from the recipients of the funds. (Rector of Church of Redeemer v. Crawford, 43 N. Y. 476; First Church of Christ Scientist v. Schreck, 70 Misc. 645; Commercial Travelers’ Home Assn. v. McNamara, 95 App. Div. 1.) Settle order on notice.

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