In Re Estate of Elkins
32 A.3d 768
| Pa. Super. Ct. | 2011Background
- George W. Elkins created two perpetual charitable trusts for Abington Memorial Hospital and Hahnemann Hospital under his 1919 will; income was to be distributed to the hospitals, not for a building fund.
- PNC Bank, as trustee, filed accounts and sought a cy pres determination after Hahnemann Hospital’s charitable purpose was deemed to have failed following ownership changes.
- Allegheny University Hospitals was acquired by Tenet (for-profit); PHRC dissolved and assets transferred to PHEC, which operated hospitals and medical schools as nonprofit entities.
- PHRC dissolution and asset transfers left the Hahnemann trust endowments to be distributed by cy pres to a hospital-like entity serving the Hahnemann area, rather than to the original hospitals.
- An initial 2004 orphans’ court adjudication found the Hahnemann trust’s purposes failed and Abington was an improper cy pres beneficiary; on remand, evidence showed PHEC’s extensive hospital-like activities in the area.
- This appeal consolidates seven hospitals’ challenges to the orphans’ court’s remand determination that PHEC is the proper cy pres beneficiary and the court’s accompanying orders.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is PHEC the proper cy pres beneficiary for Elkins’s Hahnemann Trust? | PHEC is not a hospital and does not closely resemble the original purpose. | PHEC provides hospital-like services and serves the community area previously served by Hahnemann. | Yes; PHEC is proper cy pres beneficiary. |
| Did the court violate law-of-the-case by revisiting its earlier ruling on cy pres eligibility? | Law-of-the-case governs remand/coordinate decisions; PHEC was not decided previously. | Law-of-the-case does not bar reexamination of cy pres eligibility on remand. | No; court properly revisited and affirmed the cy pres award to PHEC. |
Key Cases Cited
- In re Women's Homeopathic Hospital of Philadelphia, 393 Pa. 313 (Pa. 1958) (cy pres standard for charitable trusts; broad discretion of the orphans' court)
- Commonwealth v. Starr, 541 Pa. 564 (1995) (law-of-the-case limitations on subsequent appellate review)
- In re Estate of Miller, 18 A.3d 1163 (Pa.Super.2011) (en banc; standard of review for orphans’ court findings and cy pres)