32 Gratt. 170 | Va. | 1879
delivered the opinion of the court.
The objects of this suit were, first, to sell the sexton’s house and lot to reimburse Carson for the purchase money thereof, which he had paid; second, to assert Carson’s right to the application of the old church fund to the satisfaction of liabilities which he had incurred to raise money for the erection of the new church, and to effect the sale of said property to reimburse him for his advancements on ihe cost of its erection, and to relieve him from liabilities therefor, which the old church fund was inadequate to. The amount of his advances, and liabilities, is ascertained by the report of the master commissioner to be on the first of December, 1875, including interest, $5,862.48, to which report there being no exception, it was confirmed by the court below, and will be taken to be correct. It was excepted to by the defendants, but it appears from the certificate of the judge that the exception was afterwards withdrawn.
Eobert W. Barr held the bond of the church, ascertained
The'court also decreed the sale of the said sexton’s house and lot, for the payment of the two protested notes, one for $600, and the other for $300; of each of which Abraham blulton was the maker, and Joseph S. Carson endorser. The said house and lot were purchased by the trustees for the church, and the said ITulton and Carson as trustees made and endorsed said notes, which were discounted in bank and the proceeds applied by them, by agreement with the vendor, to the satisfaction of his notes in bank, which were taken up by them and delivered to him in satisfaction of the purchase money of said sexton’s '
Upon the authority of Isaacs v. Nulton, recently decided by this court and not yet reported, the president delivering the opinion, in which the whole court was unanimous, the judgments of the Federal courts set out by the plaintiff in his original bill, for which he alleged he was liable, are void judgments, and could not be enforced against him. But the securities upon which those judgments were founded were also stated, and were alleged to have been given by him, as treasurer and trustee, for and on behalf the Methodist Episcopal church at Winchester, and for its benefit, and although the judgments were void, the securities upon which they were founded were still a subsisting liability on him, against which the chureh was bound to indemnify him.
We think it was competent for the court to give his administrator, in whose name the suit was revived after his decease, leave to file an amended bill, to set out with more fulness, and greater particularity, those securities, and an account of advances which he had made for the church, and to correct any mistakes which may have been made by the original bill in the description of those securities, and the grounds of his liability therefor, and to such reimbursement from the church for the moneys he had advanced for it, and to relieve his estate from those liabilities, and to place them upon the church for whose benefit he, as its officer and agent, had incurred
The Methodist Episcopal church at Winchester, though not a corporation, and incapable of incorporation under the constitution of the state, was an association of individuals, recognized by the constitution as a body capable of taking and holding land, under such limitations as might be prescribed by law, and entitled to be secured in the enjoyment of its property.
By the law, it is authorized to have a board of trustees, who may sue and be sued, in whom the title to its land or other property may be vested. But it is limited in the
The Methodist Episcopal church at Winchester, an association of individuals, had adopted the book of discipline of the Methodist Episcopal church as the law of their society. In chap. 3, §2 of said book of discipline, p. 264, it is provided that if the trustees, or any of them, have advanced money, or are, or shall be, responsible for any sum or sums of money on account of the said premises (that is, for houses of worship or dwellings for the preachers) which they are obliged to pay, they are authorized to raise the said sum or sums of money by a mortgage or sale of the premises. The decree in favor of Joseph S. Carson is for advances and liabilities incurred in the erection of a house of worship for the society upon a lot which the trustees had purchased for that purpose. These advances were made and liabilities incurred for the benefit of the society, and with’ their approval. And it must be considered that they were made and incurred upon the faith of the assurance contained in the book of discipline just referred to, which he relied on for his security. It was in fact a contract between him and that society that if he would advance the money he advanced, and assume the responsibilities he did, to raise the money to complete the church building, so as to provide for them a place of worship, the property should be mortgaged, or sold, if necessary to reimburse and indemnify him.
And why may not this contract be enforced by a court of equity, just as it might if it had been made with an individual or any other unincorporated association of individuals? There being no inhibition or restriction at common law of such alienations or incumbrances of their property by churches or religious societies—and we have seen that there are none by statute—an affirmative answer
It is true that the section of the book of discipline referred to provides the mode of proceedure by which the sale may be effected by the society itself) and Carson did not proceed in that way, but resorted to a court of equity. How else could he have enforced the obligation of the society, which it was bound in good faith to fulfil—when under its new organization, through its new board of trustees, it refused, though receiving the benefit of his advances, and though he had incurred heavy liabilities—the fruits of which it was enjoying—to fulfil its obligations to him ? His right to sue the trustees is expressly given by the statute. Upon the whole we are of opinion to affirm the decree of the circuit court.
Decree affirmed.