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‘Special Fiduciary’ to replace Jaffna College Trustees: US court
View(s):A Massachusetts Court issued an interim order on Wednesday directing that an independent lawyer called a ‘Special Fiduciary’ be appointed to replace the Trustees of Jaffna College (JC), to administer the bulk of its Trust funds, following a Legal dispute.
The Court directive was issued consequent on the Board of Directors of JC filing a case in the Norfolk Probate Court in Massachusetts, against the Trustees of JC.
Trustees of Jaffna College Funds is a public charity based in Boston, Massachusetts, US which provides funds to the school. The Trustees strongly resisted the Board’s application for interim relief, and requested the Court to dismiss the Board’s case. They also argued that the appointment of an interim SF should be reserved for the most egregious cases. The Judge’s order rejected the Trustees’ motion to dismiss, in addition to granting interim relief, effectively replacing the Trustees with the SF in relation to the bulk of the funds.
Noting that JC will continue to function next year, Chairman of Board of Directors, Bishop Daniel S. Thiagarajah said the Court order was issued amidst an immediate threat posed to the life of the school by the Trustees’ decision to cut 100% of the funding for JC from the beginning of 2019.
“All funds raised by the Trustees of the JC Funds prior to 1963, which form almost all of the Trust Funds, will now be administered solely by the SF, and the Trustees will have no control of those funds pending litigation,” the Chairpman noted in a statement.