In the Matter of the Application of Lewis Nixon, Sr.
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
288 N.Y.S. 382 (1936)
- Written by Robert Cane, JD
Facts
Emma Gary died in 1934, leaving a last will and testament. Article 21 of the will bequeathed Gary’s china dinner service, jewels, lace and embroideries, and paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If the Metropolitan Museum refused, then two other museums were to be offered Gary’s property. The residue of Gary’s estate was to be used to create an endowment fund for maintenance of Gary’s bequest with any surplus to be used by the institution that accepted Gary’s bequest. However, at the time of Gary’s death, her estate had no funds for the establishment of an endowment fund. As a result, none of the museums listed in Gary’s will accepted her property. The Metropolitan Museum offered a plan to sell Gary’s jewelry and use the funds raised to establish an endowment fund. The executors of Gary’s estate approved. The lower court also approved the plan, finding that the doctrine of cy pres applied. This finding was appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
Dissent (Martin, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
