A superior court judge will release rulings this morning on seven motions for partial summary judgment in the Robertson family's lawsuit against the University.
Though an actual trial date is still months away, this highly anticipated ruling will set the stage for the trial to begin. It has been almost a year since attorneys for both sides argued the motions before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Neil Shuster for two contentious days in November. A ruling was expected months ago.
The lawsuit –– over the $800 million Robertson Foundation endowment that partially funds the Wilson School's graduate program –– dragged into its fifth year in September. The University alone has spent $22 million in legal fees on the case; representatives of the Robertson family could not immediately provide a total cost last night.
Charles '26 and Marie Robertson's children allege that the University has misused the Foundation's funds by ignoring the donors' original intent, which was to support the Wilson School's graduate program and place its graduates in federal government jobs, especially those in foreign policy.
The family wants to change the Foundation's articles of incorporation to allow it to donate its money elsewhere. Additionally, the plaintiffs seek the return of $207 million they say was spent improperly, a claim the University denies.
Five of the motions to be ruled on today were filed by the University; two by the family. A motion for partial summary judgment asks a judge to make a ruling on a specific issue in order to simplify the issues at trial. A judge can also reserve judgment on the issue until the trial.
The University has asked the judge to rule that it is the sole beneficiary of the Foundation and that it may use the Foundation's capital gains, dividends and investments. The University is also asking the judge to rule that some of the events at issue in the Robertsons' claims are past the statute of limitations.
The University has asked Shuster to rule on the controversial issue of whether the Foundation's funds are allowed to be controlled by the Princeton Investment Company (PRINCO), as they have been since 2001. PRINCO also manages the University's own endowment. The family claims that this violated Charles Robertson's strict precept that the two endowments never be "co-mingled"; the University maintains that the money is kept in separate accounts.
The fifth University-filed motion, which is not, strictly speaking, a motion for partial summary judgment, asks the judge to throw out the family's request for a jury trial.
The Robertson family's two motions ask the judge to find that the University cannot offset overcharges to the Foundation through any money that Princeton allegedly did not charge to it. The University says it undercharged the Foundation; the plaintiffs say the University waived the right to reclaim this money later on.
The family's second, more contentious motion asks the court to find that the defendants in the lawsuit — the University and the four Robertson Foundation trustees it appointed — have a fiduciary duty to the Foundation to use its assets only to advance the Foundation's mission. Fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care imposed by law and would require the University to prove the "entire fairness" of all transactions. The University has argued that it should not have to meet this strenuous standard.
Both sides are officially still open to the possibility of a settlement, but with so much money at stake and such stark disagreements on points of law, there is little to no chance that the lawsuit will not go to trial.
"All the efforts during mediation have shown that [a settlement] is not a possibility," Robertson spokeswoman Jennifer Berkowitz said last night, "so I think it's a moot point."
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