Grosvenor v. United Society of Believers
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Two ACTIONS OE CONTBACT to recover for services rendered to the defendant society, a religious community, commonly known as Shakers, of which the plaintiffs were members, from May 6,1819, to August 1, 1869, when “ the said society through their duly constituted officers under the rules of said society, expelled ” the plaintiffs therefrom, and for damages sustained by the failure of the society to support the plaintiffs since their expulsion.
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Two ACTIONS OE CONTBACT to recover for services rendered to the defendant society, a religious community, commonly known as Shakers, of which the plaintiffs were members, from May 6,1819, to August 1, 1869, when “ the said society through their duly constituted officers under the rules of said society, expelled ” the plaintiffs therefrom, and for damages sustained by the failure of the society to support the plaintiffs since their expulsion. The declaration also contained a count in tort. The answers alleged that the plaintiffs did not keep the covenants contained in the constitution of the…
1Opinion of the CourtWells, J.
In each of these cases, the plaintiff, after arriving at full age, signed the instrument styled “ Covenant or Constitution,” by which the “ United Society of Believers ” were bound together as one body in all their religious, social and pecuniary interests. Her rights must therefore be determined by the provisions of that instrument.
1. She cannot recover for her services, either upon the written agreement or upon an implied assumpsit; because all such right is expressly and explicitly renounced.
2, She cannot recover for the expenses of her support since her separation from the community;…
2Cited by18 opinions
- Eustace v. DickeyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1921
- Karcher v. Supreme Lodge Knights of HonorMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1884
- Antioch Temple, Inc. v. ParekhMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1981
- Chamberlain v. LincolnMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1880
- Moustakis v. Hellenic Orthodox SocietyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1928
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