DATELINE: July 27, 2009, Chicago
While we were out of the country the dispute between the Georgia O’Keefe Foundation and Fisk University over the sale of two paintings from the Fisk University collection reared its ugly head again. This one just won’t go away, which is why our headline suggests that every donor read the Tennessee Appeals Court opinion before donating property or money to an institution on a restricted or conditional basis. Neither the lower court nor the appeals court do a very good job distinguishing between a conditional and a restricted gift.
Recall that Fisk University is experiencing financial difficulties, sparking the attempted sale of the two paintings. The lawsuit was commenced in 2005. It is now 2009, meaning that for four years the litigation has been producing fees and work for lawyers, but not a dime of financial relief for Fisk University. Most people would not want to wait more than four minutes for a paramedic to show up to administer CPR, let alone four years, but that is the predicament that Fisk University has faced.
The appeals court changed the landscape significantly with its July 14th, 2009 ruling. It ...