Lowrey v. Hawaii

Background

A religious Mission arranged in 1849 to transfer a seminary to the Hawaiian government. The Mission said the school, founded to promote literature and Christianity and to train ministers, came with a confession of faith and conditions that no teaching contrary to its doctrines be allowed. The government accepted a modified deal that included an option to pay $15,000 instead of returning the property if it failed the conditions. The record shows the Mission had long supported the school and spent about $77,000 on it.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the agreement allowed the government to run the school as a narrow, secular technical institution or required continued religious instruction as the Mission intended. The Court found the words of the agreement ambiguous and allowed the parties’ correspondence and decades of actual practice to explain the deal. That evidence showed the school’s religious purpose was known when the transfer occurred, the government rebuilt and continued the school after an 1862 fire, and religious instruction continued until about September 1, 1903. The Court concluded that long-continued practice and the surrounding circumstances show the parties intended ongoing religious teaching.

Real world impact

The Court reversed the lower court and sent the case back to follow the opinion’s guidance. The ruling means the government cannot simply abandon the religious purpose attached to the gift; if it fails the conditions, the property can revert or the $15,000 alternative may apply. The decision also affirms that historical practice and correspondence can be used to interpret ambiguous transfer agreements.