A municipality brought an ex parte application seeking to dispense with service on deceased trustees and to vest title to a parcel of land in the municipality free of a historic trust.
The land had been transferred in 1923 to trustees to hold in trust for use as a public hall for the community.
The court held that the arrangement constituted a valid charitable purpose trust that did not lapse merely because the trustees were deceased or the trust had been poorly administered.
Where the charitable purpose may have become impracticable, the proper approach is a cy‑pres scheme, and the Public Guardian and Trustee must be served under the Charities Accounting Act.
The requested vesting order could not be granted and the application was dismissed without prejudice to a renewed application with proper notice.
