Monthly Archives: January 2011
Feoffees Additional Summary Judgment Filings
The “Reply” and “Response” documents are probably the most interesting in this set.
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Reply to SC Opposition of Summary Judgment
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Response to Additional Facts
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Opposition to Substitute and Amicus
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Supplemental Record TOC
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Foote Affidavit
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Chalk – Appraisals’ Figures
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Chalk – Discount Rates, etc.
Probate – Feoffees – 110131 – Chalk – Development Approach
Attorney General’s Summary Judgment Memo
Here the Attorney General, having remained publicly silent for years, formalizes the abdication of her duty to protect the Trust and its beneficiaries.
School Committee Memo in Support of Selectmen Switching Sides
Selectmen Summary Judgment Opposition
The most important statement in this document is at the bottom of Page 5: “Based on the information that is currently available to the Selectmen Feoffees, they have serious doubts about whether the sale of the Trust assets is, in fact, the best way to provide a perpetual benefit to the Ipswich Public Schools.” The beneficiaries would be interested to know if there is any information the Selectmen Feoffees have obtained since this filing that have alleviated those doubts.
Amicus Brief
This is the Amicus Brief that gained the support of over 700 citizens in the span of about 10 days before the Summary Judgment hearing. It was later allowed by the court.
School Committee Opposition to Summary Judgment
This is the School Committee’s strongest written opposition to the sale that they have now accepted. Their own pro-formas show the financial advantages of no-sale compared to sale, and they were done assuming that the Trust principal would be wasted over time (note the last line of the pro-formas “Value in 2011 dollars”, which decreases over time). Now that the court has required this value to remain constant, that means there will be even less money available for the schools than these pro-formas show if a sale were to go through. It is also worth noting that these pro-formas only cover 5 years; see specifically paragraphs 40-42 of the opposition for the School Committee’s own dire projections for a sale past the 5 year mark. We tend to think that the opinions in paragraph 42 are overly pessimistic, but even with more “realistic” numbers the sale option – even if it were legal – is, put plainly, an awful deal.
Probate – SC – 110126 – Summary Judgment Opposition
Probate – SC – 110126 – Pro-Formas
It is important to note that no public vote of the School Committee was taken between this scathing indictment of a sale and their acceptance of a sale.
Selectmen Motion to Switch Sides
In this motion, the Selectmen Feoffees ask to be allowed to switch sides and join the School Committee. This motion is largely denied.
Ipswich Citizens for Public Trust 