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Barack Obama  |
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Rob Kailey is a working schmuck with no ties or affiliations to any governmental or political organizations, save those of sympathy.
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Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 08:51:29 AM MST
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| I have to say, I'm mildly bothered by this ruling. The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the Board of Advisers of the Bair Trust failed to perform their duties when they closed the Bair Museum -- a museum with few visitors in a very low-traffic corner of Montana. Under the terms of the trust, "the trustees [could] sell, transfer or relocate the museum and its property five years after Alberta Bair's death if 'acting on its sole judgment and discretion,' the board determined that the museum no longer served its public and educational purposes."
So the Board of Advisers acted, under its sole discretion, and was slapped down in court.
Why does this bother me?
The Bair Trusts have funded a number of fantastic charitable programs in the state (perhaps a necessary disclosure -- Forward Montana has not requested money from the Trust and has never had any plan to -- this is not a self-interested stance). Some of those programs will likely lose their funding so that a Museum in Martinsdale remain open.
Beyond that, I don't think the fundamental question for the court is whether the Board of Advisers made the right decision. The question is whether they were empowered by the Trust Agreement to make a decision. If they were allowed, after five years, to do something, it seems to me that they did it well within the scope of their authority.
At least one district judge in Billings agrees.
I really don't understand this case. |
| Matt Singer :: Supreme Court Intervenes in Internal Charitable Decision-Making |
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