PU twists facts on endowment says family in court papers

Robertson family seeks return of $550 million for Woodrow Wilson School.

By: Jeff Milgram
   The Robertson family says Princeton University’s November motion to dismiss the family’s lawsuit, which seeks to reclaim a $550 million endowment for the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, contained factual errors and asked a judge in Trenton to allow the suit to continue.
   The family claimed in court papers that there was no basis for dismissal of the lawsuit and argued that there were factual errors in the motion.
   "Defendants’ motion shows that they have lost sight of their moral and legal obligations as the stewards of the Robertsons’ extraordinary gift," the family argued. The family further claimed that the university unfairly dismissed "Charles and Marie Robertson’s ‘expressions of donative intent’ as ‘legally insignificant.’"
   The central issue is control of the Robertson Foundation, created in 1961 with a gift of $35 million of A&P Co. stock to support graduate studies at the Woodrow Wilson School.
   The value of the gift is now estimated at $550 million.
   In bringing the suit last July, the Robertsons claimed the university was misusing the money. They argued that few Wilson School graduates were going on to public service careers, especially in international relations, as had been stipulated, and the school was failing to live up to the mission of the foundation.
   They also alleged that a change in the investment company that manages the money threatens the independence of the foundation from the rest of the university’s $8.1 billion endowment.
   In a preliminary written statement Tuesday responding to these papers, university lawyer Douglas Eakeley said the Robertson family was misguided and argued that the university-designated trustees of the foundation have acted appropriately and made every attempt to meet its goals.
   "The shrillness of (the plaintiffs’) papers is indicative of the lack of merit of their arguments," he said. Furthermore, he said the lawsuit was the result of a "fundamental misconception" that the university was trying to control the separate endowment.
   The university and the other defendants, including President Shirley M. Tilghman, filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the lawsuit Nov. 4. A tentative hearing was scheduled on the matter for Dec. 6, but the plaintiffs received an extension until Tuesday to file papers opposing the motion.
   The family wants to move the money to another university.
   Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster has given the university until March 14 to respond to the Robertson motion.