In Re Wilson

59 N.Y.2d 461, 452 N.E.2d 1228, 465 N.Y.S.2d 900 (1983)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In Matter of Wilson, Wilson's will provided that the residuary of his estate be held in trust and that the income 'be applied to defraying the education and other expenses of the first year at college of five (5) young men who shall have graduated from the Canastota High School, three (3) of whom shall have attained the highest grades in the study of science and two (2) of whom shall have attained the highest grades in the study of chemistry, as may be certified to by the then Superintendent of Schools for the Canastota Central School District.' The Wilson Trust was administered according to its terms. The Civil Rights Office of the United States Department of Education received a complaint alleging that the superintendent's acts in connection with the Wilson Trust violated title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits gender discrimination in Federally financed education programs. The school district agreed to refrain from again providing names of students to the trustee. The trustee, Key Bank of Central New York (P), initiated this proceeding for a determination of the effect and validity of the trust provision of the will. The court ordered the trustee to continue administering the trust. The Appellate Division, Third Department, modified the Surrogate's decree. The court then exercised its cy pres power to reform the trust by striking the clause in the will providing for the school superintendent's certification of the names of qualified candidates for the scholarships. The candidates were permitted to apply directly to the trustee.

Matter of Johnson also involves a call for judicial construction of a testamentary trust created for the exclusive benefit of male students. In accordance with the terms of the trust, the board of education, acting as trustee, announced that applications from male students would be accepted on or before May 1, 1979. Before any scholarships were awarded, the National Organization for Women, filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Office of the United States Department of Education. This complaint alleged that the school district's involvement in the Johnson Trust constituted illegal gender-based discrimination. A stipulation was entered into between the executrix of the will, the president of the board of education, and the Attorney-General. It provided that 'all interested parties agree to the deletion of the word 'men' in Article Sixth of the Will and the insertion of the word 'persons' in its place.' The Attorney-General (P) then brought this proceeding by petition to the Surrogate's Court to construe article sixth of the will. The court declined to reform the trust by giving effect to the stipulation. The court wanted to replace the school district with a private trustee. The Appellate Division, reversed, holding that under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a court cannot reform a trust that, by its own terms, would deny equal protection of law.