Judge reverses course, rules for CLU in one phase of Gallegly suit

A judge reversed his earlier decision this month and ruled in favor of California Lutheran University in one phase of the lawsuit brought against the school by former U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly and his wife, Janice.

The Galleglys sued CLU in 2021 for not living up to what the couple said was an agreement to fully establish the Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement at the Thousand Oaks campus.

When the Simi Valley Republican retired from Congress in 2012, he donated his papers to CLU, and the university established a guest speaker series and scholarship program in his name. The university also set up a replica of his congressional office in its library.

The university removed the replica office after a few years. The scholarships haven’t been awarded since the 2021-22 school year, and the speaker series stopped in 2018 after one guest.

Gallegly is suing the university for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, unfair business practices and other claims. The case has been moving slowly toward trial for more than three years and appears likely to go before a jury sometime in 2025.

In September, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh issued a “statement of intended decision” that indicated he would rule in the Gallegys’ favor on the question of whether they had an enforceable contract with the university to maintain the replica office.

CLU objected to that preliminary decision, and on Dec. 13, Walsh issued his final ruling. In a three-page decision, the judge reversed course, calling his initial ruling “erroneous,” and said CLU was correct in arguing that this phase of the trial should only address whether the parties had set up a charitable trust.

In his final decision, Walsh wrote that the written and oral communications between the Galleglys and CLU did not meet the legal standard for establishing a trust.

The Galleglys and CLU announced jointly that they would not comment on the judge’s decision.

The rest of the trial is likely to be decided by a jury. The next hearing, set for Jan. 25, is a conference in which the judge and attorneys will discuss the schedule for moving toward a jury trial.

Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Judge reverses course, rules for CLU in one phase of Gallegly suit

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