Summary
holding that those not beneficially interested in a trust "lack standing to challenge the actions of its trustee"
Summary of this case from U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. PolhemusOpinion
Argued March 20, 1979
Decided April 24, 1979
Appeal from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Second Judicial Department, BERNARD M. BLOOM, S.
Arthur J. Powers and Edward S. Andrews for appellants. Terrence P. O'Reilly for respondents.
MEMORANDUM.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, with costs.
Inasmuch as appellants and their predecessors in interest were not beneficially interested in the trust created in the will of John J. McManus, who died in 1935, they lack standing to challenge the actions of its trustee (Cashman v Petrie, 14 N.Y.2d 426, 430). Accordingly, their allegation that a breach of trust occurred in 1941, when the trustee transferred the corpus of the trust, was properly rejected.
Given this disposition of the matter, we need not decide whether the conduct of the trustee comported with the terms of the trust, but if we were to reach the question, because of the special situation presented here, we state that we would affirm for the reasons stated in the opinion of Mr. Justice JAMES D. HOPKINS at the Appellate Division.
Chief Judge COOKE and Judges JASEN, GABRIELLI, JONES, WACHTLER and FUCHSBERG concur in memorandum.
Order affirmed.