New York Court of Appeals
The Equitable Trust Company of New York, as Trustee Under a Deed of Trust of John D. Rockefeller, Respondent, v…
December 31, 1928250 N.Y. 1
Summary
The Court affirmed the lower court, holding that a trustee's allocation of stock dividends to principal under a 1917 trust does not constitute an unlawful accumulation, and that the 1922 and 1926 statutory amendments do not retroactively affect trusts created earlier. The decision rests on the founder's presumable intention rather than a prohibition on accumulation.