## Facts

- In 1896, Apollos “Paul” Smith, as president of Paul Smith’s Hotel Company, conveyed Franklin County real property to the Bishop of Ogdensburg in trust for a Catholic congregation.
- The deed limited use to “church purposes only” and provided that if the premises were devoted to any other use, “this conveyance shall be void,” with the grantor having a right to re-enter and take possession.
- A church building (St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church) was built on the property and used for worship for many decades.
- Through a succession plan established by will, the College became the successor to the Hotel Company’s interests; a deed recorded in 1963 transferred to the College the Hotel Company’s “rights of way, easements, reversionary rights, [and] rights of reentry.”
- In 2015, the Bishop issued a canonical decree relegating the property to “profane but not sordid use” and directed removal of sacred objects, ending use of the building for worship.
- In 2017, the College posted no-trespassing signs and brought an RPAPL article 15 action seeking a declaration that it owned the property in fee simple based on reversion triggered by the cessation of church use.
- The Diocese denied that any reversion occurred, asserted fee simple ownership, and argued that recognizing the College’s ownership would unjustly enrich the College unless fixtures were removed or destroyed.

## Issues

1. Whether the 1896 deed created a fee simple determinable (fee on limitation) with a possibility of reverter, or a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent with a right of reentry.
2. Whether ending worship use in 2015 constituted devotion of the premises to a use other than “church purposes,” triggering forfeiture under the deed.
3. Whether the College, as successor to the Hotel Company’s retained interest, acquired title upon breach without needing to exercise a right of reentry.
4. Whether equity (unjust enrichment/fixtures) limited the College’s ability to take title as a result of forfeiture.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to the Diocese.
- The court held the 1896 deed created a fee on limitation in the Diocese and a possibility of reverter in the grantor.
- The court held the 2015 cessation of worship and secularization of the premises breached the deed’s “church purposes only” limitation.
- The court held the Diocese’s estate terminated automatically upon breach and title vested in the holder of the possibility of reverter; no reentry was required.
- The court rejected the Diocese’s unjust enrichment/fixtures argument as a basis to condition or deny recognition of the College’s title.
- The court directed judgment declaring the College held fee simple title and denied the Diocese’s request for judgment on its ownership counterclaim.

## Legal Principles

- Language stating that a conveyance “shall be void” upon occurrence of a specified event generally indicates a fee simple determinable (fee on limitation) that ends automatically upon the limiting event.
- A reference to a grantor’s “right to re-enter” does not necessarily convert an otherwise determinable estate into a condition subsequent when the deed also uses automatic-forfeiture language.
- When a determinable limitation is violated, the grantee’s estate ends by operation of law and title vests in the holder of the possibility of reverter without affirmative action.
- A possibility of reverter is a future interest distinct from a mere right of reentry; characterization of the interest controls consequences for transfer and enforcement.
- Equitable unjust enrichment claims generally do not override express deed terms allocating the risk of forfeiture through a defeasible estate.

## Conclusion

The court held that the deed’s “church purposes only” limitation created a fee simple determinable, and when worship use ended in 2015 the Diocese’s estate terminated automatically and fee simple title vested in the College as successor to the grantor’s possibility of reverter.


Paul Smith’s Coll. of Arts & Scis. v. Roman Cath. Diocese of Ogdensburg, 186 A.D.3d 1817 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep’t 2020)