The College, the Board of Trustees and College Alumni Association Secretary Patsy Fisher-Harris '81 last week officially denied allegations that changes made to the Alumni Association's constitution in 1990 were done illegally and should be invalidated, College Counsel Cary Clark said.
Seven alumni led by William Tell, Jr. '56 filed a class-action lawsuit in New Hampshire Superior Court against the College and the Trustees in March protesting the constitutional changes.
The constitutional changes ended the practice of allowing any alumni to submit a petition for another candidate to seek a seat on the Board when an Alumni Trustee's five-year term expired. Instead, the changes gave the Boardsole power to renominate Alumni Trustees.
The lawsuit alleges the Alumni Association illegally changed its constitution because it did not notify enough of the association that it was going to vote on the changes.
Clark said the College filed a "response of pleading" last week, where it denied all of the allegations. Clark represents the College in the case and he said there is a separate counsel for the Trustees.
In a press release, the Alumni Association stated the changes were made "in conformance with the applicable provisions of the Constitution of the Alumni Association."
Neil Castaldo '68, who is representing Fisher-Harris, said the Alumni Council was very much involved in the changes made to the constitution. A committee of members from both the Board and the Alumni Association reviewed the changes before ratification.
Chair of the Board of Trustees John Rosenwald said he is pleased with the current system. "The electoral process has turned out to be a home run," he said.
Castaldo and Clark both said they could not predict when the case would be resolved. They both said it would be "unlikely" for the case to be settled in mediation and said it will probably go to trial.
Attorneys are currently working on the "discovery" stage of the lawsuit, Clark said. The plaintiff's council requested documentation, such as Trustee minutes, the history of the process and other information regarding the case.
"Lawyers get into discussions about what's important and what's not," Clark said. He said the defendants' attorneys are determining what is appropriate to give the plaintiffs.
John Harrington, who previously was representing the seven alumni, said he had to drop the case due to a possible conflict of interest because his firm, Sulloway and Hollis, has often worked for the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Wright Danenbarger, who has replaced Harrington as the plaintiffs' attorney, was unavailable for comment.
Castaldo previously told the Valley News that under the former system, contested elections became referendums on College policy and not simply affirmations or negations of a Trustee's ability.
Castaldo said although the seven accusatory alumni filed the suit on behalf of the entire Alumni Association, they do not actually represent all the alumni. Castaldo said none of the seven are officers in the Alumni Association, which incorporates the nearly 50,000 living Dartmouth alumni.
The lawsuit calls for a reversal of the May 1990 alterations, an injunction against the reappointment of Dick Page to his second five-year term as a Trustee and a recognition of the alumni body's right to choose new Trustees.
The Board is comprised of seven "Alumni" Trustees elected by the College's alumni and seven "Charter" Trustees chosen by the Board. The College President and the governor of New Hampshire hold ex-officio seats.
"The new rules in effect eliminate the ability of the alumni to participate in the renomination process," Harrington previously told The Dartmouth.
But Castaldo said, "There was a lot of input from the Board and alumni."
The other petitioners in the case are Robert Fuller '80, William Hooper '77, Douglas Keare '56, Joseph Obering '56, Edward Ross '56 and William Smith '53.
