Lead Stories

Court Says Suit Against Donors Violates Anti-SLAPP Law

Community members sought to stop Foundation from regranting gift to university for “commercial” project

A suit by a community association and two taxpayers against two donors and the Foundation of the University of California at Los Angeles seeking to stop a commercial development project by the university has been found to violate the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Policy (SLAPP) law in California, in part because there was no showing that the plaintiffs had a chance of winning on the merits.  (Save Westwood Village v.

Court Denies Member’s Request To Deliver Copies of Records

Statutes provide a right to inspect and copy but don’t require corporation to provide copies

A member of a nonprofit condominium association has a right to inspect the books and records of the association but not the right to have the association deliver copies of the records to the member’s office, an appellate court in Illinois has ruled.  It has reversed a trial court decision granting the member’s demands.  (Oviedo v. 1270 S. Blue Island Condominium, App. Ct., IL, First Dist., Third Div., No. 1-13-3460, 8/27/14.)

What Is Value of Sorority Membership To Students and Their Mothers?

Plaintiffs must each claim damages of more than $75,000 to sue in federal court over denial of daughters’ admission

What are the potential damages to two Howard University students denied admission to the famed Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority chapter on campus, and their mothers who are graduate members of AKA who have dreamed for years of seeing their daughters join the Sorority? 

Trustee for Charity Must Invest Income-Only Fund for Growth

Failure to diversify investments beyond bonds constitutes breach of fiduciary duty

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has held that a trustee holding a fund to provide long-term income to a charity must invest with an eye toward growth of the fund so that the value of the income is not eroded by inflation over time.  It has ruled that a trustee that invested funds almost entirely in fixed income assets for more than 50 years and failed to grow the value of the fund has breached its fiduciary duty because the value of the income has not kept pace with inflation.  (

Delaware AG Is Not Indispensable Party In Suit Over Florida Trust for Delaware Residents

Florida court refuses to reopen litigation to allow Delaware Attorney General to intervene 10 years after judgment

It has been a long trail of litigation since Alfred L. DuPont, a resident of Florida, left a testamentary trust, that he required to be administered under Florida law, to establish The Nemours Foundation to provide care for “crippled children” who are residents of Delaware.