## Facts

- Members and officers of an unincorporated group, the Woman’s Memorial Fund Association, sought public subscriptions to fund a life-size statue of Mary M. Hamilton Schuyler, to be labeled the “Typical Philanthropist.”
- The association publicly announced an intent to exhibit the statue at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, alongside a bust of Susan B. Anthony labeled the “Typical Reformer.”
- Mrs. Schuyler was known for private charitable works, did not seek public notoriety, and was not associated with the woman’s rights movement.
- Neither Mrs. Schuyler during her life nor her husband after her death consented to the statue project; her nearest living relatives objected once they learned of it.
- Philip Schuyler, her nephew and stepson, wrote requesting that the association abandon the plan, asserting the portrayal would mischaracterize her and invite public criticism of her memory; the association refused and denied any duty to consult relatives.
- The sculptor engaged to execute the statue was named as a defendant along with association members and officers.
- The plaintiff sued in equity to enjoin solicitation of funds and the making and public exhibition of the statue, alleging a wrongful invasion of Mrs. Schuyler’s private character and the family’s interest in her memory.

## Issues

1. Whether equity may issue injunctive relief to restrain an alleged invasion of personal, non-property interests where legal damages are uncertain or inadequate.
2. Whether nearest living relatives have a protectable interest in the deceased’s name, memory, and character sufficient to restrain unauthorized public depiction and exhibition pending trial.

## Decision

- The court granted the plaintiff’s motion to continue the preliminary injunction.
- The court held that injunctive power is not limited to protecting property rights and may be used to prevent a wrong affecting personal interests when legal remedies are inadequate.
- The court continued restraints against proceeding with the statue project pending final determination.

## Legal Principles

- A court of equity may restrain conduct it treats as wrongful even if the harm is not to property and even if damages at law are not readily available.
- At the preliminary-injunction stage, where an allegedly unauthorized public representation of a deceased person risks irreparable injury to personal or dignitary interests, equity may preserve the status quo until trial.
- The existence of an arguable personal-right invasion can supply an equitable basis for interim relief without proof of measurable pecuniary loss.

## Conclusion

The court continued a preliminary injunction barring an unauthorized fundraising, creation, and planned public exhibition of a statue, reasoning that equity can intervene to prevent non-property personal wrongs and maintain the status quo where a damages remedy would be inadequate and the alleged invasion of a decedent’s character and family interests could not be readily repaired after the fact.


Schuyler v. Curtis, 15 N.Y.S. 787 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1891)