Morrison v. Ann Carmichael Memorial Presbyterian Church
Morrison v. Ann Carmichael Memorial Presbyterian Church
Opinion of the Court
Since this appeal by plaintiffs is from a judgment on a demurrer to a bill in equity, and goes to the substance of the case, which is correctly disposed of in the following opinion of the court below, we shall only say, as to the procedural points sought to be raised, that we see no merit in any of them.
In entering judgment for defendant, the court below stated: “Defendant holds title to certain real estate used for religious purposes; its charter, among other things, provides that the congregation, or its trustees, shall not at any time cause the land ‘to be sold or give any mortgage or lien on their church or grounds.’ As the matter was presented to the court, it appears that defendant corporation is erecting on a party line a building to be used as a parsonage. The wall extends over on plaintiff’s property as far as it is permitted to extend by law. It is alleged that this party wall will narrow the alleyway of plaintiffs, and, in addition, is in violation of the charter of defendant. In our opinion, the demurrer must be sustained. We fail to see how plaintiffs have standing to invoke provisions [such as here involved] of the char
The decree is affirmed.
Reference
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- Syllabus
- Equity — Injunction — Restraining erection of party wall — Church — Charier—A Hey. 1. An owner of land abutting on land owned by a church, has no standing to maintain a bill in equity against the church to restrain it from erecting a party wall, for the reason that the charter of the church provided that neither congregation, or its trustees, should at any time cause the land “to be sold or give any mortgage or lien on their church or grounds.” 2. Even if the plaintiffs had a standing, they are not entitled to relief on the ground the wall would lessen the -width of an alleyway owned by them, where it appears that when they purchased their land and laid out the alley, they knew or ought to have known that the adjoining owner had a right to construct the wall.