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Latest Cases & Developments
Date:
Savannah State Univ. Found. v. Lewis (Ga. App. Nov. 17, 2023)
Opinion reversing denial of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendants are the Savannah State University Foundation, Inc. and the Savannah State University Foundation Real Estate Ventures, LLC, of which the Foundation is the sole member. The LLC leases the “University Village,” an apartment facility built on land leased to it by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, to Savannah State University (SSU) for use as student housing. Plaintiff brought premises liability, nuisance, and related claims against the Foundation and the LLC after her son was shot and killed while visiting friends at the University Village. Defendants moved for summary judgment, asserting that neither was in control or possession of the property at the time. The trial court denied the motion, but the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed, holding that neither restrictions in the lease on how SSU may use the property nor rights to enter and inspect the property, which were reserved to protect the LLC’s ownership interests rather than any possessory interests, were sufficient to raise issues of material fact regarding whether the LLC retained possession or control of the property.
Topics:
Foundations & Affiliated Entities | Governance | Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration | Tort LitigationDate:
Fla. Atl. Univ. Bd. of Trs. v. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Inst. Found. (Fla. App. Sep. 20, 2023)
Opinion affirming the judgment of the trial court. In 2007, Florida Atlantic University and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, Inc. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) providing that the Foundation would become a direct-support organization (DSO) of FAU. The MOU provided that FAU would appoint two members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors and that the Board would retain discretion over distribution of funds from the Foundation. The Florida Board of Governors subsequently changed its regulations on approval of DSO budgets, and the Florida Legislature amended the statute on DSOs and DSO board appointments. In affirming the judgment of the trial court, the Florida Court of Appeals held that the amended DSO statute unconstitutionally impaired the MOU and that FAU had not sufficiently asserted a public policy interest in DSO oversight that was not already addressed by the two Board appointments provided for in the MOU. It also affirmed the trial court’s holding that the MOU was silent as to budgetary approval and that the amended regulation would not impair the Board’s discretion on distribution of Foundation funds.
Topics:
Foundations & Affiliated Entities | GovernanceDate:
In re Robert T. Keeler Maint. Fund for the Hanover Country Club at Dartmouth Coll. (N.H. July 13, 2023)
Opinion affirming denial of motion to intervene. The last will and testament of Robert T. Keeler left Dartmouth College 50% of his residuary estate “for the sole purpose of upgrading and maintaining its golf course,” which upon his death established the $1.8 million “Robert T. Keeler 1936 Maintenance Fund for the Hanover Country Club at Dartmouth College.” In July 2020, Dartmouth closed the Hanover Country Club golf course and applied under the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) to modify the restrictions on permissible use of the Fund. The Robert T. Keeler Foundation, as fiduciary for the Estate, moved to intervene, seeking to direct the Fund to the Foundation at the behest of the Estate. The trial court denied the motion and granted Dartmouth’s application. In affirming, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire held that the Fund was a completed charitable gift and that the Foundation, as a former contingent beneficiary, lacked special standing to intervene.
Topics:
Foundations & Affiliated Entities | GovernanceDate:
IRS Office of Chief Counsel Memo re: Whether NIL Collectives Further Exempt Purposes (May 23, 2023)
U.S. Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel Memorandum on Whether Operation of an NIL Collective Furthers an Exempt Purpose Under Section 501(c)(3). The memo concludes that “many organizations that develop paid NIL opportunities for student-athletes are not tax exempt as described in section 501(c)(3) because the private benefits they provide to student-athletes are not incidental both qualitatively and quantitatively to any exempt purpose furthered by that activity.” The memo notes that many NIL collectives may already have received favorable determination letters and that these may be candidates for section 7805(b) relief from retroactive enforcement upon reconsideration of their exempt status.
Topics:
Foundations & Affiliated Entities | Governance | Student Athlete Issues | Students | Taxes & FinancesDate:
Bethune-Cookman Univ. v. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Nat’l Alumni Ass’n (11th Cir. May 30, 2023)
Opinion affirming denial of a preliminary injunction. Plaintiff, Bethune-Cookman University, Inc., brought trademark infringement, false designation of origin, dilution, and unlawful trade practices claims against the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association, formerly known as the National Alumni Association of Bethune-Cookman University, Inc., after the University ended its cooperative relationship with the Alumni Association and sent a cease-and-desist demand. The district court denied the University’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, because nearly 6 months had elapsed from the time the University filed the complaint until the University moved for preliminary injunctive relief. Though the University argued it was entitled to the presumption of irreparable harm based on the likelihood of success on the merits, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, finding no clear error in the conclusion that the filing delay undermined the University’s assertion of imminent irreparable harm.
Topics:
Foundations & Affiliated Entities | Governance | Intellectual Property | Trademarks
NACUA Annual Conference
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