Another lawsuit challenging the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees' September 2007 decision to expand the Board has been filed in Grafton County (NH) Superior Court. The current suit was filed on November 18, 2008 by seven alumni and seeks to require the College to seat an equal number of trustees nominated and elected by the Board (Charter Trustees) and trustees nominated by alumni and elected by the Board (Alumni Trustees). A similar suit, brought by the executive committee of the Association of Alumni, was dismissed with prejudice earlier this year after an overwhelming majority of alumni voted for a new Association executive committee, which pledged to withdraw the suit.
"This new action is an effort to renew a lawsuit that the Court dismissed with prejudice last summer, barring the plaintiffs from filing it again," said Dartmouth General Counsel Robert B. Donin. "It is disappointing that these seven alumni seek to revive a lawsuit that 60% of voting alumni decided should be dropped. Dartmouth believes that this action, like its predecessor, has no merit. The lawsuit is an unnecessary drain on College resources, particularly in this economic environment, and should be withdrawn."
The College filed its response on February 3, 2009.
Read the response (546 kb PDF file)
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