Yesterday, we posted about seemingly-endless litigation concerning the Hawaiian telescope.* Today, from Reuters, comes word that the legal battle regarding changing the name of UC-Hastings may go on for awhile:
A lawsuit that aims to block the renaming of the University of California Hastings College of Law violates the San Francisco school’s free speech rights, school officials told the state court judge overseeing the case on Wednesday. Hastings' motion to dismiss the lawsuit is the latest development in a five-year debate over the school’s name, which honors Serranus Hastings, a former California Supreme Court justice. Hastings, who founded the school in 1878, is accused by historians of orchestrating killings of Native Americans in order to remove them from ranch land he purchased in Northern California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 30 signed a bill authorizing the school to be renamed as the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. The following week, six Hastings descendants and a group of alumni sued, claiming he was not involved in killings and that any name change breaches an agreement California made with Hastings when he gave $100,000 in gold to establish a school named after him.
The law school invoked California’s “anti-SLAPP” law in its filing on Wednesday. “Plaintiffs’ claims against the College Defendants arise from classic protected activity,” it said, asserting that all of the school’s public actions pertaining to the name change and its interactions with state lawmakers are protected under free speech laws.
Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer with the Dhillon Law Group who is representing the plaintiffs, said Thursday that her clients will oppose the school’s motion in court and that a hearing is expected in December... The law school is represented by a team of lawyers from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, headed by partner Theodore Boutrous...
Full story at https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/californias-hastings-law-school-says-free-speech-bars-lawsuit-over-name-change-2022-11-03/.
Note from yours truly: "A team of lawyers from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, headed by partner Theodore Boutrous" does not come cheaply. UC seems to be expecting a big battle. Here is an excerpt from Boutrous' profile at the Federalist Society:
Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., a partner in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is Co-Chair of the firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law Group, its Crisis Management Group, and the Transnational Litigation and Foreign Judgments Group. He is a member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees.
Mr. Boutrous has represented clients in the federal and state appellate courts throughout the nation in a wide spectrum of cases, including punitive damages, class action, securities, employment, environmental, insurance, product liability, antitrust, business torts, privacy, arbitration, criminal and constitutional litigation. He is responsible for the nationwide appellate strategy for several major companies, and has successfully persuaded courts to overturn some of the largest jury verdicts and class actions in history...
Full profile at https://fedsoc.org/contributors/theodore-boutrous.
Boutrous, it might be noted, is the lead defense attorney for the City of Santa Monica in a lawsuit regarding an attempt to require the City to have district rather than at-large elections. He is defending the City's at-large system. That case, currently at the California Supreme Court, has involved many millions of dollars in legal fees, although the City will not reveal the costs.
The Federalist Society also provides a profile of Harmeet Dhillon:
Harmeet Dhillon is a nationally recognized lawyer, trusted boardroom advisor, and passionate advocate for individual, corporate and institutional clients across numerous industries and walks of life. Her focus is in commercial litigation, employment law, First Amendmentrights, and election law matters...
Ms. Dhillon has developed a niche practice in representing clients across California in election and campaign law matters, ranging from general compliance and ethics representation for partisan and non-partisan contenders to ballot description contests and intellectual property matters pertaining to campaign communications. She is regularly retained by candidates and campaigns for advice on complex legal issues...
Full profile at https://fedsoc.org/contributors/harmeet-dhillon.
You will see Dhillon's name from time to time in connection with conservative issues including quite recently:
Facing a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee, former president Donald Trump has signed a new lawyer to represent him: Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican lawyer whose California-based practice caters to right-wing clients, especially high-profile culture war provocateurs... In his choice of Dhillon, Trump has signed up a lawyer with legal skill, connections to major GOP figures and serious MAGA bona fides. Her firm has experience representing other top Trumpworld figures regarding Jan. 6 committee demands. And Dhillon has lengthy credentials in right-wing activism and name recognition in conservative circles...
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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/11/back-to-court.html.
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