Society for the Preservation of St. Louis Lodge 20, AF & AM v. Masonic Temple Ass'n of St. Louis

CARL R. GAERTNER, Judge.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment in favor of defendant, Masonic Temple Association of St. Louis (Association), in an action for declaratory judgment brought by plaintiff, the Society for the Preservation of St. Louis Lodge #20, AF & AM (Lodge). The trial court held that Lodge’s lawsuit was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. We affirm.

Lodge and various other masonic lodges and chapters in the St. Louis area formed the Association as a not-for-profit corporation by pro forma decree in 1917. The corporate purpose was to “finance, locate, erect, build,…