U of L Foundation committee weighs lawsuit during closed-door me - WDRB 41 Louisville News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A special committee formed to address a scathing report on the nonprofit University of Louisville Foundation plans to meet again Thursday after spending nearly 2 ½ hours behind closed doors on Monday to discuss a potential lawsuit.

The committee, chaired by foundation board member Earl Reed, took no action on Monday after holding an executive session that was closed to the public. Reed told reporters after the meeting that the panel continues to review the audit by the Alvarez & Marsal consulting firm of Chicago and “the potential of litigation.”

Under the direction of former U of L President James Ramsey, the foundation raided the university’s endowment to pay for excessive spending on compensation, real estate and football tickets, auditors found in their report released in June through a $2 million contract with the university.

In order to decide what action to take, Reed said the committee wants to “get to an ultimate understanding of the facts and the actions taken in the past.”

The university’s board of trustees also has been weighing legal action against former officers to recoup some of the roughly $100 million in losses that occurred through mismanagement of the foundation.

In early August, trustees chairman J. David Grissom said the board would make a decision on whether to sue within a month, but no decision has been reached.

Also last month, a state legislative panel denied U of L’s request to spend $2.5 million on outside attorneys in its two-year budget, including $600,000 more for lawyers working on a potential lawsuit. But after the university appealed, the state Finance Cabinet approved the request, a spokesman said.

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