Los Angeles lawyers contribute to precedential California Supreme Court victory

Lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright's Los Angeles office served pro bono as counsel for amici curiae in a California Supreme Court case (Turner v. Victoria et al.) protecting nonprofit whistleblowers.

On August 4, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion that ratified an April 2019 appellate opinion in favor of Norton Rose Fulbright pro bono client Margaret Summers, a director of the nonprofit animal sanctuary Wildlife Waystation, who was dismissed from her position after she began investigating allegations of self-dealing activity and other breaches of fiduciary duty by Waystation's founder and filed a lawsuit to recover funds Colette diverted from the Waystation without complying with California nonprofit laws. Summers v. Colette, 34 Cal. App. 4th 361 (2019).

In Turner v. Victoria et al., Turner, who served as a director and officer for The Conrad Prebys Foundation, claimed that she witnessed other directors divert US$15mn toward a noncharitable purpose in violation of the terms of the foundation's trust. Turner challenged the wrongdoing in an attempt to restore the lost funds but was expelled from the board in retaliation during the foundation's next election. Due to her removal, the lower courts dismissed Turner's case for lack of standing, with a different division of the California Court of Appeal disagreeing with the Summers opinion.

The case was appealed to the California Supreme Court, with widespread support for Turner's position from amici curiae, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The court sided with Turner, affirmed the opinion in Summers and reversed the lower courts' opinions, affirming essential whistleblower protections for more than 110,000 charities in the state of California.

Norton Rose Fulbright Los Angeles lawyers Jeff Margulies and Kelly Dahan drafted the amicus brief on behalf of UCLA Professor Jill Horwitz and University of Utah Professor Nancy McLaughlin, who are the Reporter and Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute Restatement of the Law, Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, as well as the California Association of Nonprofits, in support of Turner's appeal.