Niemann v. Vaughn Community Church

Because the trial court erred in ruling that RCW 49.60.224 prevents this kind of charitable gift to a church and also erred in applying equitable principles to effectively dissolve the trust, I dissent.

The trial court ruled that the trust provisions of the deed violate RCW 49.60.224, apparently reasoning that the perpetual gift language was intended as a discriminatory restriction on transfer of the property to “individuals of a specified .. . creed.” RCW 49.60.224. The court, accordingly, struck the deed language that Vaughn Community Church (VCC) held the property “for the perpetual use of…