The plaintiffs, a congregation that broke away from the British Methodist Episcopal Church ("BMEC") and a new incorporated church, brought a motion seeking an order conveying title to a historic 1866 church property — established by freed slaves who arrived via the Underground Railroad — to the trustees of the new church.
They also sought to add the Director of Titles as a party on the basis that the BMEC had filed a fraudulent Application to Change Name on the land titles register, and argued the BMEC's proprietary claim was statute-barred under the Real Property Limitations Act.
The court dismissed the motion to convey title, finding the plaintiffs failed to establish by evidence or legal principle that they were the present-day successors of the original Bethel Congregation trustees, and that the BMEC Act, 1913 conclusively vested the property in the BMEC.
The court further held that a vesting order application is not an action to "recover" land within the meaning of the Real Property Limitations Act, and that the BMEC's unregistered statutory interest was not extinguished.
The Application to Change Name was found not to be a fraudulent instrument but was ordered deleted from the register as made in error through an incorrect process.
