Lead Stories

An attorney suing a nonprofit agency for the wrongful discharge of his client may not send a claim notice to the entire board of the agency asserting that they could be personally liable for a “false and libelous” counterclaim filed “with malice” against his client.  An appellate court in Connecticut has affirmed a protective order issued by the trial judge preventing the lawyer from having further contact with the directors without the consent of their lawyer.  (

A group of trustees elected by Penn State alumni has the right to review the background data developed by Louis B.

The host parents of a foreign exchange student are not liable for damages arising from the skiing death of the student, even if they committed ordinary negligence in failing to warn about risks on the mountain, a federal District Court in Montana has held.  They are protected against liability by both the federal and state Volunteer Protection Acts.  (Waschle v. Winter Sports, D. MT, No. CV 13-309, 9/4/15.) 

An appellate court in Utah has ruled that a nonprofit homeowners’ association is not required to provide anything more than the names and addresses of other members upon request of a member and is not required to give email addresses or telephone numbers held by the association.  (Walker I Investments v. Sunpeak Association, Ct. of App., UT, No. 20140085-CA, 8/27/15.) 

A federal District Court in Michigan has refused to consider a claim that current and former board chairs of a Catholic healthcare system had negligently adopted healthcare policies that caused a woman to receive improper treatment and information regarding her miscarriage prior to childbirth.  The Court said it would not question the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives because to do so would involve an impermissible intrusion on ecclesiastical matters.  (Means v.

Overturning a 1965 decision holding that extrinsic evidence was inadmissible to reform a will that is unambiguous on its face, a unanimous Supreme Court of California has held that an unambiguous will may be reformed to conform to the testator’s intent if the claimants establish by clear and convincing evidence that the will contains a mistake of intent and also establish the testator’s actual specific intent at the time the will was drafted.  The Court says it is joining a small but growing number of states that are modernizing their rules to more accurately fulfill the testator’s int