Monday, November 08, 2010

"That’s the problem when you chase your tail trying to ascertain a dead donor’s intent."

The Charity Governance Blog's Jack Siegel is not impressed with Judge Lyle's latest ruling in the Fisk case: "[T]he reader sees a judge’s heavy hand at work unsupported by the law or facts. Toto has pulled the curtain back and we see that the Wizard of Oz is just a mere mortal." He calls the decision "a compromise that achieves less than nothing. She should have just made the hard choice. Give Fisk the money or give the collection to the Frist Center." And though the decision notes that "the case is in its last phase," he "suspect[s] the appeals court will take a new approach, resulting in a remand with instructions and an entirely new round of proceedings."

Cristina del Rivero isn't a fan of the decision either: "The problem of donor intent is a recurring theme in this kind of litigation but this week's ruling apportioning actual percentages between the donor's intended beneficiaries is pure guess work."