Judge holds first hearing in foundation, Lincoln University lawsuit
Cole County Judge Daniel Green heard from attorneys Thursday morning in the case against the Lincoln University Board of Curators.
The lawsuit was filed by the 62nd and 65th Regiments Legacy Foundation, formerly known as the Lincoln University Foundation, which is seeking to recover its documents and assets, including more than $667,000.
“We view this motion and this lawsuit as something that is of vital importance to the continued existence of the foundation that has been serving Lincoln University and its students for nearly five decades,” said the foundation’s attorney, Gabriel Gore.
The first demand in the foundation lawsuit is the return of administrative tools and financial records that leaders of the foundation said are required for operation.
The second, is for the court to block Lincoln University from keeping a copy of the donor list and records to use on its own.
The third demand is for the court to freeze the $667,000 that was transferred to the college by a foundation board member after the split happened.
Bill Bay, who represents the university, asked the judge to throw out the case, saying the foundation’s money was donated to support the university.
“The university is the beneficiary, is the true owner of the funds and the intended owner of the funds. Every donor gives money to be used by the university, not by the foundation,” said Bay.
Bay said the university is turning over the records and tools as fast as it can and that the foundation already has what it needs to operate.
The university’s lawyer also said the court can’t block the university from using the donor list because it’s a public record thus allowing anyone to use it.
Finally, Bay argued against freezing the $667,000 while the case moves through the courts because it’s all going to the same place anyway.
“That seems rational if the money is going to be spent on what they were going to spend it on, it doesn’t make any difference who writes the checks as long as the proper entities get it,” said Green.
The judge scheduled a status hearing for June 10.
