Challenges to coed decision dismissed

After listening to about three hours of arguments, a Lynchburg judge on Tuesday dismissed two lawsuits aimed at overturning a decision by Randolph-Macon Woman’s College to admit men.

The action by Lynchburg Circuit Judge Leyburn Mosby Jr. is a huge setback for R-MWC students and alumnae who had hoped the suits would lead to a reversal of a September decision by the school’s board of trustees to begin admitting men this fall.

Attorneys for the students who filed the suits said after Tuesday’s court hearing that they are “seriously considering” an appeal.

For R-MWC officials, it was the legal green light they had been expecting all along.

“We felt very confident in our legal position,” said Ed Fuhr, a Richmond-based attorney representing the college. “We have said from the beginning we felt there was no legal merit to the plaintiffs’ legal claims.

“We were glad and pleased the court agreed with us today.”

The first lawsuit, filed by nine students in October, alleged the school had breached its contract with the students by adopting coeducation and a new curriculum.

The students were seeking an injunction that would force the board of trustees to stop implementing the strategic plan until at least 2010, when currently enrolled students would have graduated.

The students’ attorney, Wyatt Durrette of Richmond-based DurretteBradshaw, argued before a room of about 50 people that the students chose to attend R-MWC specifically to obtain a four-year liberal arts degree from a single-sex institution.

Using the college’s acceptance letters and handouts as evidence, Durrette further argued that when the students enrolled at the school, an implied contract was formed that included two specific promises: a liberal arts education and an all-women’s college.

Fuhr argued that no contract was signed between the college and the students promising four years of single-sex education.

Mosby said in a contract case, a specific contract must be brought forward, otherwise there can be no claim of breach of contract. He dismissed the complaint after about an hour.

The second suit, filed by seven of the original nine students and two donors in November, claimed the board of trustees may not use the school’s assets once it admits men because as a “non-stock charitable corporation,” R-MWC accepted donations from alumnae and friends who gave to the college at a time when the school was primarily for women.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that under Virginia trust law, none of the assets could be used to support going coed.

“Respectfully, his theory here doesn’t work,” said Fuhr during the hearing.

Fuhr argued that the assets the plaintiffs contributed to the college were not restricted, so they could be used for such purposes the college deemed appropriate. The responsibility for managing and directing Virginia colleges and other charitable organizations belong under Virginia law exclusively with the board of directors, or, in this case, the board of trustees.

Mosby dismissed the second motion after listening to more than two hours of arguments.

Durrette said the judge’s ruling surprised him.

“In Virginia, at this stage in a case, demurrers are far less frequently granted. Where you think you have put enough to proceed with a case - it’s always a surprise when a judge disagrees with you.”

R-MWC interim president Ginger Worden, who was present at the hearing, said she was heartened by the judge’s ruling. Although the school has been moving forward with implementing its strategic plan, Worden said it is good to have the “cloud of litigation lifted.”

R-MWC currently has received 70 completed applications from men, spanning 16 states and four different countries. So far, more than 600 applications have been received from women.

College officials have said that their decision to move toward coeducation would boost student enrollment and help the college better achieve financial stability.