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A recent case involving a gift to endow professorships shows the tension between principles of trust and contract in bequests and how the difference can have unanticipated and important effects on how disputes are resolved. The Missouri Supreme Court case,
State ex rel. Board of Curators of University of Missouri v. Green, 576 S.W.3d 183 (Mo. 2019), focused on the enforcement mechanism of a restricted charitable bequest to the University of Missouri, showing this tension in the context of donor intent.
Background of the Case
The case centered on the will of Sherlock Hibbs. Hibbs was an investment banker and graduate of the University of Missouri who rose to managing partner at Kidder, Peabody & Company. Hibbs was an adherent of free market economics, specifically Ludwig von Mises’ Austrian School of Economics.