Paul Smith's College Of Arts & Sciences v. Roman Catholic Diocese Of Ogdensburg

186 A.D.3d 1817 (2020)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 1896, the president of the Paul Smith's Hotel Company, Paul' Smith, executed a deed by which the Hotel Company transferred property to D. The deed stated that the property was to be used 'as and for church purposes only, . . . and in case the said premises shall be devoted to any other use than for church purposes, . . . this conveyance shall be void and the parties of the first part shall have the right to re-enter and take possession of said premises and every part thereof.' St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church was erected on the property. The last surviving son of Apollos Smith, Phelps Smith, died in 1937. His will directed the creation of P as an entity and the transfer of the Hotel Company's assets to P. The parties stipulated that this transfer included a deed later recorded in 1963, which transferred to P 'rights of way, easements, reversionary rights, and rights of reentry' held by the Hotel Company. In 2015, the Bishop of Ogdensburg issued a decree that relegated the property 'to profane but not sordid use,' and directed the removal of sacred objects. P placed no-trespassing signs on the property in 2017, and thereafter commenced this action seeking a determination that it owned the subject property in fee simple. D answered and counterclaimed that it owned the property in fee simple. D moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and seeking judgment upon its counterclaim, and P cross-moved for summary judgment. The Court found that the Hotel Company had conveyed to D a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent and had reserved a right of reentry, but that right of reentry had been extinguished by the attempted transfer in the 1963 deed. The court granted D's motion dismissing P's complaint. P appealed.