Pacific Home v. County of Los Angeles

SPENCE, J.

This is a companion case to

Pacific Home

v.

County of Los Angeles, ante,

p. 844 [264 P.2d 539], Plaintiff sought here to recover taxes paid under protest for the tax year 1949-1950. The record presents the added consideration of an amendment of plaintiff’s articles of incorporation as related to the requirement of irrevocable dedication. (Rev. & Tax. Code, § 214, subd. [6].) The trial court ultimately ruled against plaintiff and entered judgment for defendants; and from such judgment, plaintiff appeals.

In 1948 and prior to the first Monday of March, 1949 (the tax-lien date), plaintiff’s articles of incorporation were amended. The amendments consisted of eliminating the provision for the annual payment to the retired ministers’ fund and engrafting a limitation upon the disposition of plaintiff’s corporate assets coming under the control of the Southern California-Arizona Annual Conference of the Methodist Church as the result of plaintiff’s dissolution. In such event it is provided that plaintiff’s properties should be “used for the benefit of worthy aged and infirm persons and for such other charitable work as may be consistent with the history and purposes of the [plaintiff] corporation.”

The court first found that on the first Monday of March, 1949, plaintiff and its properties met the requirements of the welfare exemption law. It specifically then concluded that the properties were irrevocably dedicated to religious, hospital or charitable purposes, and upon liquidation, dissolution, or abandonment by plaintiff would not have inured to the benefit of any private person except a fund, foundation or corporation organized and operated for such purposes. Accordingly, judgment for plaintiff was entered on February 18, 1952. Defendants made a motion for a new trial. On April 1, 1952,

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at the conclusion of the hearing of the motion, the court said: “I will deny all motions.” (Motions for a new trial in the three companion cases were heard at the same time.) The clerk made a memorandum to that effect but did not make an entry in the minutes. On April 2, 1952, the trial court instructed the clerk that the motion would stand submitted. Thereupon the clerk made a minute entry dated April 1, 1952, stating that the motion was submitted. On April 15, 1952, the court signed and filed a written order vacating the findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment; ordering judgment for defendants; directing the preparation of new findings, conclusions, and judgment in accord with those in the three companion cases; and denying the motion for a new trial. In the new findings the only significant change is the court’s finding against plaintiff on the issue of irrevocable dedication of its properties. (Rev. & Tax. Code, § 214, subd. [6].) Judgment was then entered for defendants on April 17, 1952, and plaintiff appeals therefrom.