Hermitage Methodist Homes v. Dominion Trust Co.
Supreme Court of Virginia
387 S.E.2d 740 (V1990)
Jack Adams's 1968 will left trust income to Prince Edward School Foundation (Prince Edward) (defendant) "so long as" it admitted only "members of the White Race," with the income shifting to a chain of successively named schools (defendants) upon any school's admission of a non-white student, all subject to the same racial condition, and ultimately to Hermitage Methodist Homes (Hermitage) (defendant) with no contingency at all. By 1987, every school in the chain had admitted a non-white student, and the trustee, Dominion Trust Company (plaintiff), sued to interpret the will; Prince Edward argued the discriminatory language should be voided while preserving the underlying charitable gift to itself, while Hermitage argued the racial condition's fulfillment (for each school) meant it was now entitled to all future income. The trial court voided the racial conditions but ruled Prince Edward should still receive the income.
Whether racially restrictive "so long as" language in a will creates a special limitation (which fails entirely and cannot be severed) or a mere condition subsequent (which can be struck while preserving the underlying gift).