<p>Princeton</a> University - Settlement retains Princeton's control, use of Robertson funds</p>
<p>Princeton</a> and Robertson Family Settle Titanic Donor-Intent*Lawsuit - Chronicle.com</p>
<p>Much to Princetons relief and satisfaction, the members of the Robertson family who initiated a lawsuit against the University over six years ago have finally given up and agreed to a settlement substantially similar to one that Princeton had previously offered to them. The lawsuit has finally come to an end. The billion dollar Robertson Foundation fund will be transferred entirely to Princeton and be under its sole control. The Robertson family members, who, since the 1960s, had held seats on the Robertson board, will no longer have any say in the management and distribution of the funds.</p>
<p>The Robertson family had sued Princeton in an effort to take sole control of the billion dollar foundation that supports the Woodrow Wilson Schools graduate program and then redirect its resources to a different university. The family members, descendents of the original donors of the gift which had been made back in the 1960s, had claimed that Princeton had misused the proceeds from the Foundation. They wished to remove Princeton as the primary beneficiary of the fund and redirect the funds resources to another public policy program at some other university. About a year ago, the court handling the case made preliminary rulings that were very much in Princetons favor. (see: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/390189-washington-post-schools-await-princeton-donor-ruling.html?highlight=robertson+princeton%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/390189-washington-post-schools-await-princeton-donor-ruling.html?highlight=robertson+princeton</a> ) It appears that given the likelihood that Princeton would prevail at trial, the family members have given up and agreed to a settlement.</p>
<p>The settlement is still generous on Princetons part. The family members had funded their legal expenses by drawing on the endowment of a different charitable foundation that they control. This had always seemed inappropriate in that money intended for charitable causes had been used by the family to wage a legal battle against Princeton. In the settlement, the Robertson Foundation funds, which have never been part of the Universitys endowment, will now be given over to Princeton in their entirety. Prior to turning them over to the University, the endowment that the Robertson family had drawn from to pay its legal expenses will be reimbursed so that it can continue its charitable work. Also, Princeton will use the proceeds from the Robertson funds to create a new fund of approximately fifty million dollars that will be controlled entirely by the Robertson family and will be used by them to support other public policy programs of their choosing. (Given the vindictiveness of these family members, you can bet that these programs wont be at Princeton!) The fifty million dollars to create that fund will be paid out from the original Robertson endowment over a period of ten years, so the impact on Princeton is slight.</p>
<p>The key elements of the settlement are major wins for Princeton and vindication for its assertion that it had been a good steward of the original $35 million dollars placed in the fund by an alumnus and his wife back in the 1960s. The family members who initiated the lawsuit six years ago have already begun spinning the settlement as a victory for them but it is very obvious that it was a major defeat. Had Princeton gone to court it is likely that the additional legal costs would have amounted to tens of millions of additional dollars that would then not have been available for educational or charitable uses. It is also likely that the court would have allowed the plaintiffs, even had they lost, to recover their legal fees from the Robertson Foundation prior to turning it over to Princeton, so there was little gain for the University in going to court.</p>
<p>This is an excellent outcome for Princeton which now gains total control of this enormous fund. Had Princeton lost this case, the results would have been devastating for the Woodrow Wilson School which relies heavily on proceeds from the Robertson Foundation.</p>