St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Hales

Twelve plaintiffs seek to have a restrictive covenant removed from their property deeds which, when platted in 1922, read as follows: “No buildings erected on said tracts shall ever be used for business purposes of any kind.”

The defendants are the remaining owners of property within the platted area, designated as Country Homes Estates, which contains approximately 500 separate lots. The plaintiffs’ properties are located adjacent to Division Street, approximately one-half mile north of the city limits of Spokane, although they are not abutting one another. Some of the plaintiffs, without…