Summary of What Exactly the Court Ruled On

The College raised three points in their motion for dismissal. The judge denied all three. Here’s a ‘cliff notes’ version of his decision:

1. The Board’s action in 1891 was legitimate because it was ratified by both the Board and the Association.
2. The Association has established sufficient evidence “to proceed with a claim for an implied in fact contract.”
3. The Association has an established claim in promissory estoppel.

From what little I understand about lawsuits*, this current ruling means that if in the ‘actual trial’ the Association of Alumni can prove that all three of the above points are ‘actually’ true then they are entitled to relief. At this stage the judge has basically assumed that all three points are true; the Association’s job is now to prove that they are, in fact, true.

*Not much.

UPDATE: There’s some confusion on whether the Association will have to prove all three points or just one of them. See first comment.