UC College of Law in San Francisco keeps its name after defending itself in a $1.7 billion lawsuit to overturn its 2023 name change.
Due to concerns about Hastings’ past, including allegations of involvement in the killings of Native Americans to acquire land in Northern California, the law school reviewed its legacy, and in 2022, it chose to remove the Hastings name from the school. A lawsuit followed.
The lawsuit was brought against the state and school officials at UC Law San Francisco in October 2022 by a group of law school alumni and six Hastings descendants.
Legal representation for the plaintiffs argued the name change was a breach of contract and misuse of taxpayer funds, violating the terms of the 1878 agreement between California and the Hastings.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ulmer determined that the plaintiffs did not provide enough factual evidence to support their claims.
Judge Ulmer dismissed the case stating the phrase “shall forever be known as” did not constitute a contract; rather, the phrase was simply a decree that could be amended or repealed by lawmakers.
Judge Ulmer said that while the 1878 law allowed Serranus Hastings, a former California Supreme Court Justice, to establish the law college in his name with a generous $100,000 donation to the state, there was no indication that this payment was meant to ensure his name’s permanence on the school. The judge determined that the 2022 legislation authorizing the name change did not violate the California Constitution.
The attorney for Hastings said the family remains steadfast in pursuing justice despite the recent court decision.
Eduardo Santacana, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, offered pro bono representation to the law school. He stressed the lawsuit’s broader significance, pointing out that the court’s decision supported the idea that public institution governance shouldn’t be influenced by commercial transactions.
For additional information leading up to the court decision to dismiss the lawsuit, read past news from The National Jurist:
https://nationaljurist.com/national-jurist/news/uc-hastings-will-legally-change-school-name/
https://nationaljurist.com/national-jurist/richmond-hastings-sued-over-name-changes/
