St. Mary's Medical Center, Inc. v. Mccarthy

829 N.E.2d 1068 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 1950, Haney executed her last will and testament. She devised part of the residue and remainder to THE CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK OF EVANSVILLE, in trust, for the use and benefit of D with the following restrictions. D was to create a HANEY MEMORIAL, the exact nature, and form of which shall be determined by a said committee composed of DANIEL F. McCARTHY, PATRICK J. CORCORAN, and WILBUR C. CLIPPINGER, or the successor member or members of said committee. Haney died on July 21, 1951. On March 30, 1954, the trust committee decided to use the trust funds to build a chapel at D. Financed by over $250,000 from Haney's estate, it was completed in early 1956. On February 29, 1956, the chapel was consecrated in Catholic fashion and dedicated as the Chapel of Mary, Queen, with a plaque noting it was a memorial to Haney. In 2003, D determined that it would be necessary to expand its facilities and that such expansion would require the demolition of the chapel. The decision to demolish the Chapel of Mary, Queen, was unacceptable to many persons in the community. On July 30, 2004, McCarthy (P) filed his complaint for declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction. P is the grandson of Daniel McCarthy, one of the trust committee members who voted to use the funds from Haney's estate to build the chapel. He is also a distant relative of Haney; he is her first cousin, three times removed and was born in 1965, or fourteen years after her death. The trial court permanently enjoined D from destroying the Chapel of Mary, Queen' and required D to restore the chapel to its original condition. D appealed.