Newcomb College Case to be Appealed to Louisiana Supreme Court
New Orleans, La. – Susan Henderson Montgomery, a descendant and successor of Josephine Louise LeMonnier Newcomb, the founding benefactor of Newcomb College, announced plans today to ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear an appeal in Montgomery v. Tulane (Susan Henderson Montgomery v. Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund), which seeks to reverse Tulane University’s 2005 decision to close the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College.
The application for Writ of Certiorari and Review, filed today, describes how the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal’s seven-page majority opinion is internally inconsistent, misapplies and misinterprets applicable laws, and ignores the facts that Mrs. Newcomb gave several donations to establish and maintain Newcomb College during the course of her lifetime, not just a final donation at the time of her death, and that the gifts were made to the Tulane Board, not to Tulane University.
The application addresses several errors that are alleged to have been made in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal majority opinion:
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misstatement of facts;
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incorrect review of extrinsic evidence;
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erroneous reliance on Hutchinson v. Tulane;
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failure to address the legal meaning of a “charge”;
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faulty interpretation of Mrs. Newcomb’s will;
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failure to grant special favor to donations; and,
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failure of the lower courts and the current Tulane Board to recognize that all prior Tulane Board’s acknowledged Mrs. Newcomb’s donations were subject to a charge.
Click here to view the dissent
The Future of Newcomb College (TFoNC), the organization of alumnae and friends of the college who are supporting the lawsuit, praised Ms. Henderson Montgomery’s decision to ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear her case, saying:
“As the application explains, this is a significant, high profile case with a rich history involving cherished Louisiana institutions that presents the Louisiana Supreme Court with significant issues of law in the nationally significant area of donor intent. As Judges Max Tobias and Dennis Bagneris stated in their dissent, ‘the majority’s opinion sets a very bad precedent that if allowed to stand will discourage future donations to all charitable entities.’ We are hopeful that because this case involves such important public policy considerations, the Louisiana Supreme Court will agree to hear the case. The stakes are very high. If the courts do not affirm the principle of donor intent, the Tulane Board’s decision to dissolve Newcomb College could cause Louisiana charities, and the citizens of Louisiana, irreparable harm.”
Special thanks to Sue Bentch (Professor, retired, St. Mary’s University School of Law) for bringing this update to my attention.