Cases & Developments

Opinion and Order Denying in Part Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff, Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Inc., brought claims against Northwestern University for fraudulent concealment and for breach of contract or, alternatively, equitable accounting, after it donated several million dollars to fund a multi-year research project conducted under the direction of a specific professor, and subsequently learned that, due to the professor’s strained relationship with the university, the professor would be leaving the university. The court held plaintiff had pled sufficient facts to survive a motion to dismiss on its fraudulent concealment claim, finding that a  special relationship existed between the parties that gave rise to a duty to disclose the fact that prior litigation between the professor and the university could impact his availability to oversee the research. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim, finding that although the university had failed to provide annual reports about the use of the funds as required by their agreement, the plaintiff had failed to allege that it suffered any damages as a result.  However, the court allowed the plaintiff’s equitable accounting claim to proceed because the plaintiff had adequately alleged facts demonstrating that it did not have “an adequate remedy at law” for the university’s failure to provide the report and because a fiduciary relationship existed between the parties.