University wins first battle in lawsuit with A&P heirs

   Princeton University has won a minor skirmish in its lawsuit with the Robertson family over control of a $550 million endowment fund.
   New Jersey Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster ruled last week that the university does not have to turn over records of the Robertson Foundation to the family’s lawyers until after motions to dismiss the suit are heard June 4.
   The judge ruled Princeton did not have to turn over university staff salaries, Social Security numbers and information about returns on the university’s investments.
   The family of the late Charles S. and Marie H. Robertson, heirs to the A&P grocery fortune, claim Princeton misused the Robertson Foundation funds by not limiting spending to support of a graduate program for students of international affairs preparing for jobs with the government.
   The family claims the university co-mingled its funds with Princeton’s general endowment and spent money on projects that are not part of the foundation’s mission.
   The foundation began in 1961 with $35 million in A&P stock donated by Mr. Robertson, a Princeton alumnus.
   Princeton officials have denied any wrongdoing and have asked Judge Shuster to throw out the case.