Dispute Over Princeton U. Gift Reaches the Courts

A long legal battle between Princeton University and the heirs of major donors to the university has now reached the courtroom, reports The Times, in Trenton, N.J.

The case, which will open today in New Jersey Superior Court, is being watched closely by nonprofit institutions because it could set a precedent for how disputes between charities and their major donors are handled.

The family of Charles S. and Marie H. Robertson, heirs to the A&P supermarket fortune who bequeathed money now worth $653-million, said in a 2002 lawsuit that the university had not fulfilled its promise to use the money to train graduate students to become U.S. government employees, and that university officials diverted the money earmarked for this goal to other purposes.

Princeton officials argue that the university has been a responsible steward of the money, and has followed the donors’ intentions.

(Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s article on a poll of donor attitudes taken by the Robertson family and its coverage
of this battle and other contests between charities and donors.)