Central Delaware County Authority v. Greyhound Corp.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
588 A.2d 485 (Pa. 1991)
Baldwin Locomotive (defendant) conveyed land to the Central Delaware County Authority (plaintiff) subject to a restriction requiring public use, with a right for Baldwin to repurchase if the land ever ceased being used for public purposes; after the Authority's sewage treatment plant operations on the land ceased, it sued to quiet title, arguing the repurchase restriction was void under the rule against perpetuities. The trial court upheld the restriction, the Superior Court found it violated the rule but preserved it anyway due to its public benefits, and the Authority appealed.
Whether a repurchase right conditioned on a property ceasing its required public use, which could vest at an indefinitely remote future time, violates the rule against perpetuities, and whether public policy benefits can preserve such a restriction despite that violation.