Covenant Presbytery, Appellant Cross-Appellee v. First Baptist Church, Osceola, Arkansas, Appellee Cross-Appellant…

Summary

The court held that Carpenter's will created a noncharitable testamentary trust with vested remainder interests in First Presbyterian and First Baptist, so First Presbyterian's interest vested at Carpenter's death and could be assigned to Covenant Presbytery. Because no charitable purpose was identified in the will, the cy pres doctrine was unavailable, and the circuit court's contrary ruling was reversed. The cross-appeal concerning SunTrust's fiduciary duty was dismissed as moot. Justice Danielson, joined by Justice Goodson, dissented and would have treated the arrangement as a charitable trust and affirmed the circuit court's application of cy pres.