Wood v. Board of County Commissioners of Fremont County

The Woods (plaintiffs) had conveyed land to Fremont County (defendant) 'for the purpose of constructing and maintaining thereon a County Hospital.' The county ran a hospital there for 35 years before selling the land and hospital to a private company, which operated it briefly before putting it up for sale. The Woods sued, arguing their original conveyance created either a fee simple determinable or a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent that should revert to them once the land stopped serving as a hospital. The lower court ruled for the county.

Whether language conveying land 'for the purpose of' a particular activity is sufficient to create a reversionary interest in the conveyor.