PU, Robertsons slated to appear in court

Superior Court judge will hear oral arguments in lawsuit over endowment.

By: Jake Uitti
   Officials representing Princeton University and the Robertson family, the two parties fighting for control of a $650 million endowment given to Princeton University by Charles and Marie Robertson, are scheduled to appear in court today and Wednesday to present oral arguments in front of New Jersey Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster.
   Members of the Robertson family, led by William Robertson, heir to the A&P supermarket fortune, are seeking to wrest control of the endowment from Princeton on the ground that the university’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs has not spent the money as the Robertsons intended.
   Under the terms of the endowment, started in 1961, the Woodrow Wilson School was to use the money to train graduate students for careers in government service. The Robertson family is alleging that the university has not trained enough students to become U.S. government employees through the school’s public and international affairs programs. The Robertsons also claim the school redirected money to other programs and purposes.
   University officials contend they have managed the endowment responsibly.
   "In essence, the plaintiffs seek to violate the principle of academic freedom," said Douglas S. Eakeley, an attorney representing the university, "substituting their judgment for that of the university as to how best to educate its students, recruit and retain faculty, design curriculum, sponsor research and promote an array of other activities — all of which contribute ultimately to a robust, productive intellectual community."
   The procedural motions that will be argued over the next two days were filed with the court earlier this year by both parties, Princeton University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt said.
   Princeton is seeking to retain its role as the sole beneficiary of the Robertson Foundation, an organization separate from the university.
   Members of the Robertson family have asked the court to amend the foundation’s bylaws to remove the university from any control or involvement with the foundation, and to remove the university from its position of being the sole charitable organization that can be supported by the foundation.
   "The request by the Robertsons’ son, William, and the other plaintiffs to remove Princeton from any control or involvement would be a violation of the agreement between the university and the founders of the Robertson Foundation," Mr. Eakeley said.
   Seth Lapidow, an attorney representing the Robertsons, said, "I expect that the issues will be clarified for the judge so that we can move forward to trial in an orderly manner."
   He added that the Robertsons would be ready to move to trial in the spring.
   The university is asking the court to declare that the decision of the foundation’s university-designated trustees to retain PRINCO, the Princeton University Investment Co., to manage the foundation’s investment portfolio is permitted by the bylaws.
   The judge will also hear arguments regarding a motion by the university asking the court to declare that it was allowable for the foundation to spend realized capital gains as well as other income.
   In addition, the judge will hear a university motion asking the court to rule that a six-year statute of limitations precludes judicial review at trial of five categories of pre-1996 expenditures that were "plainly known" to the plaintiffs and went unrequested by them for decades.
   The Robertsons are asking for a jury trial, while university officials said they want a judge to hear the case.
   "Princeton University and its designated representatives look forward to the ultimate resolution of the litigation, so that the university and foundation can focus exclusively on the foundation’s true and sole purpose of supporting the Woodrow Wilson School graduate program," Mr. Eakeley said.
   According to a university news release, the Robertson Foundation’s assets, under the stewardship of its investment committee, led by university-designated trustee John J.F. Sherrerd, have grown from $35 million in 1961 to a current market value of $752 million — with $200 million of this growth occurring during the past three years.