22 N.J. Eq. 583 | N.J. | 1871
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The complainants in this suit arc members of “The Baptist Church of Camden.” One of them was, at the time of the commencement of these proceedings, the pastor, and four of the others were trustees of this church. The bill is exhibited in behalf of the complainants, and such other members as may choose to come in. Of the defendants, five claim to be trustees, the rest being members of the congregation. On the 3d of June, 1869, those of the defendants who claim to be trustees met at the church building, on a call of the board, and passed a resolution, wherein, after referring to a certain resignation of the pastor, and reciting that “whereas, as well 'before as since such resignation, feelings of discontent touching the said pastor threatened and do threaten to disturb the peace of the church, which may lead to violence among its members,” it was declared that, “in order to avoid all disorderly or unchristian proceedings, at times of public worship or business, this board deem it prudent, and therefore order, that the church edifice be closed against any meetings for public worship or business until after the first day of July next, and the further order of this board," &c. In conformity with this resolution, the church was closed, and the eongre
The claim of these appellants to a dissolution of this injunction must, in my opinion, rest entirely on the foundation that they possess, as the trustees of the church in question, the authority to decide when, and under what circumstances, the church edifice is to bo used by the congregation. Upon the argument the case of the appellants was properly put upon this ground, and it was strenuously urged that the control of the trustees over the meeting-house was unlimited, except to the extent that they were bound to exercise a fair and honest judgment upon the subject. This same position is assumed in the answer, and the substantial question therefore to be solved, is as to the extent of the power of these trustees over this place of worship.
“The Baptist Church of Camden,” has been duly incorporated by force of the provisions of the act of the legislature of this state, entitled “an act to incorporate trustees of religious societies.” Nix. Dig. 802. As the present defendants do not pretend that they have any authority except that which they derive from this statutory source, the language and meaning of this law is the primary subject of interest in this investigation.
The title of this statute appears to me very clearly to indicate its purpose, which is expressed to be “ to incorporate trustees of religious societies.” It is not its office to incorporate the society itself, but to confer certain definite franchises on a select body of such society. With this view, the first section of the act provides that every “religious society or
The language here used is altogether certain and unambiguous. The legislative intent is plainly stated. The provision is, in substance, this: the temporalities of the church are put in trust, without limitations, for the use of the congregation. This being the clear intent, the only inquiry is as to the legal effect of such a disposition of property. If the learned counsel of the appellants had not expressed, on the argument, the views which they did, I should have thought that this was a subject concerning which, among lawyers, a difference of opinion could not exist. But notwithstanding all the respect which I entertain for the views thus presented, on account of the source whence they proceeded, my reflections on the subject have served but to confirm my original impressions, that such views are unfounded in principle and irreconcilable with all authority. That this statute, proprio vigore, creates merely
Nor have I found anything in the adjudged cases, nor any dictum contained in such cases, which conflicts, in any respect, with this conclusion. Indeed, in the opinion read in the case of Den v. Pilling, 4 Zab. 661, a construction is. put upon this statute precisely similar to that above expressed. Its words, upon this point, are these: “ It cannot be doubted, however, that the trustees of all religious, societies hold the property subject to its appropriate use, and have no legal right to determine when the religious meetings shall be held, or who shall officiate, unless such power is given to them by the rules and discipline of the denomination to which they belong, and that they may be compelled, by proper proceedings at law or in equity, to fulfill their duty.” It is true that this expression of opinion, coming into the case as a side remark, has not the force of a direct adjudication, but it has peculiar weight from the circumstance that, from the forcible language used, it is obvious, that it- did not occur to the judicial mind, that this act was susceptible of any other interpretation.
The cases of Van Horn v. Talmage, 4 Halst. Ch. 108, and Doremus v. The Dutch Reformed Church, 2 Green’s Ch. 332, rest upon the same basis as that of the case to which reference has just been made; for they each involve the question as to the authority of trustees who are also the consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church, which, emanating as it does from the statute and the church polity, is, it must be admitted, unqualified and absolute. These cases, therefore, do not favor the contention of the counsel of the appellants. With respect to the New York decisions which were cited, they can throw but little light on the subject, from the circumstance that the statute of that state bears but a general resemblance to our own. So far, however, as such adjudications are applicable to the present topic of consideration, they are in aid of the conclusion that the authority of the religions society is supreme, except to the extent that such authority is taken away by the force of the legislative act.
My conclusion is that the trustees, who are appellants in this case, did not acquire, by the mere act of incorporation, the authority which they claim, to close the church building at their discretion. Nor can it be claimed that they are invested with such power by reason of the usages or discipline of the church which, in some respects, they represent. As this case is now presented to this court, it is clear that it is for the pastor and congregation to decide when the church shall be opened and when it shall be closed. An affidavit annexed to the bill states that the pastor and the society are the depositaries of this authority, according to the “ customs, rules, and discipline of said church,” and this affidavit stands in full force, without any attempt at contradiction or refutation. The plea advanced in the answer, that the act of the trustees in closing the meeting-house had the approval of
The result to which I bave thus come, dispenses with tbe necessity of discussing the question whether, admitting the legal power of these appellants, as trustees, to close the cburcb at tbeir will, such authority was fairly exercised in this particular instance. I assume, for present purposes, that these officers were actuated by proper motives, and on that assumption I arrive at the conclusion already expressed, that they had no legal competency to do tbe act now in controversy. This view disposes of tbe merits of this litigation in its present stage.
But the case of tbe appellants was, in tbe next place, rested on an objection to tbe form of tbe complainants’proceedings. In tbe answer it is alleged that tbe corporate body, “Tbe Baptist Church of Camden,” is a necessary party to this suit, and that tbe omission of sucb party invalidates tbe order which was granted, directing an injunction to issue. Upon reflection, it seems to me that tbe corporation is a party indispensable to tbe legal propriety of this procedure. The act which is complained of, and which forms tbe gravamen of tbe bill, was done by tbe appellants colore officii. Tbe defence is placed upon tbe claim that the cburcb was closed by a regular order of tbe corporate authority, and one of tbe principal questions in tbe controversy, therefore, is as to tbe existence of sucb corporate authority. If tbe corporation can be interested in any question, it must of necessity be so in this question. It has, certainly, a right to be beard in its own proper person, when tbe extent of its authority is the matter to be adjudged. Without its presence in the suit, the decree, if adverse, will not bind it; nor, if in its favor, can it claim for such decree that quality of conclusiveness which,
Upon the argument it was assumed that if this defect existed, the injunction must fall. But this is a fallacy. The general principle undeniably is, that a decree or order will not be made, affecting the rights of an absent party. But this rule, like most general rules, is liable to the control of the equities of the particular case, for it is but seldom that, in a court of equity, a mere form can defeat the ends of justice. The non-joinder of an essential party does not of necessity lead to the dissolution of an injunction; the general rule is that it will have that effect, but such rule is not universal. ' Even where a bill is demurred to on the ground of the want of proper parties, and such demurrer is sustained, the injunction does not inevitably fall, for in some cases the court will give leave to amend without prejudice to the injunction. Several cases to this effect are cited in Mr. Kerr’s Treatise on Injunctions, p. 635. So it is correctly said in the same work, page 208, that “where there is a case for an injunction, and the injunction will operate for the benefit of parties not before the court, the absence of those parties, though a ground of demurrer to the bill, will not prevent the court from interfering.” I think the true principle is, that when the injunction will have the .effect of injuring, in any material respect, the rights of absent persons, the court will not, unless in case of special necessity, interfere with such rights, but that when the absence of persons as parties constitutes, so far as the granting or refusing of the injunction is concerned, a formal rather than a substantial defect, there is no ground arising from such fact for a refusal of the temporary aid of the court, if such aid appears, under the circumstances, to be equitable. The present case is a strong illustration of the propriety of these limitations on the usual rule
There was a point made on the part of tlie respondents in the argument before us, that the injunction order in this case was not a proper subject of appeal. This objection under the view heretofore expressed, has become of no importance in this inquiry; but as a matter of practice it is of moment, and on that account has been considered by the court, and our unanimous opinion is that an appeal will lie from an order of this character. We consider the general rule, settled by the practice and recognized in the decisions, is that all orders either granting, refusing, sustaining or dissolving injunctions are appealable, unless in those few and exceptional cases where an order is so temporary in its operation, or so slightly affects the interest of the party on whom it operates, that such party cannot be said to be aggrieved by such order. This class of excepted cases belongs to the category of interlocutory orders in the cause, or orders resting in the discretion of the Chancellor. Of this latter kind, Chancellor Green appears to have considered the denial of the motion for an injunction in the case of the Attorney-General v. The City of
The order appealed from should be affirmed, with costs.
The whole court concurred.