Alameda County Superior Court Orders Mills College to Hand Over Financial Documents to Alumnae Trustee
Extends Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Mills from Making Any Decisions About the School’s Future
August 16, 2021
The court order allows Mills College Alumnae Trustee Dr. Viji Nakka-Cammauf access to financial data, term sheets and planning documents about the current financial state of Mills College and the proposed merger with Northeastern University.
Judge Stephen M. Pulido also extended the temporary restraining order blocking Mills College from making any decisions about the school’s future until September 3, 2021.
Oakland, California – On Monday, August 16, 2021, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stephen Pulido ordered Mills College to grant Dr. Viji Nakka-Cammauf, a voting member of the College’s Board of Trustees and President of the Alumnae Association of Mills College Board of Governors, access to financial data, term sheets, planning documents and other information about the College’s current financial situation and pending merger with Northeastern University. The college must turn over these documents electronically no later than close of business on August 18, 2021. The ruling allows Dr. Nakka-Cammauf to view the documents with the assistance of financial analysts and legal counsel. Additionally, Judge Pulido extended the previously granted temporary restraining order blocking Mills College from making any decisions about the school’s future until September 3, 2021.
Up until Monday’s ruling, despite being a voting member of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Nakka-Cammauf has thus far been denied reasonable access to this information, which she needs to fulfill her fiduciary duty as a Trustee and her obligation to help chart a future for Mills that honors its 169-year legacy.
“Thankfully, the Alameda County Superior Court has intervened and ruled in favor of truth and transparency about the future of Mills College, which otherwise would continue moving forward with a merger that’s been shrouded in secrecy,” said Alexa Pagonas, Vice President of the Alumnae Association of Mills College Board of Governors. “I’m thankful the Court realized the important and historic nature of this decision and will allow Dr. Nakka-Cammauf time to review thousands of pages of documents and make an informed decision about how we will best protect Mills’ 169-year legacy of empowering creative, independent women in a safe environment.”
On March 17, the Mills College administration announced that the College would stop enrolling new first-year undergraduate students after Fall 2021 and would stop granting degrees, most likely after 2023. However, the Board of Trustees had merely approved at its March 4 meeting at most the development of plans regarding the College’s future that would be brought back to the Trustees for further review and consideration.
Since then, Plaintiffs have been requesting information relating to the College’s financial health to ensure that Mills College’s future is charted based on an honest assessment of the College’s financial health. Without this information, the Plaintiffs cannot fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to the College and their obligation to the students, staff, faculty, and alumnae of Mills.
Late July, the College administration said it would allow Dr. Nakka-Cammauf the opportunity to review thousands of pages of relevant information only under the following conditions:
She would come to the meeting alone without counsel or financial analysts.She could only review hard copies of hundreds of relevant documents containing thousands of pages; the College specifically denied her request to review electronic versions of the documents.She could not make any copies of the information without the College’s approval.
In response, Plaintiffs petitioned the Court to require that these documents be made available to her in an accessible way, while still protecting their confidentiality. On August 5, 2021, the Alameda County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order until the August 16, 2021 hearing, during which Plaintiffs were granted their emergency motions to view the relevant financial documents and extend the restraining order.
Press Contact: Adam Sechrist, asechrist@mercuryllc.com