On October 22, 2007, Judge Gary Meyer (ret.) accepted the appointment by Rice County District Court Judge Gerald Wolf as Special Master for the St. Olaf Petition. The Special Master was instructed to report his findings and his recommendation to the Court within 60 days of his appointment. However, the Special Master was also instructed that he could request additional time in order to complete the investigation.
On December 17, 2007, Judge Gerald Wolf issued an Order filed by the clerk of court on December 19 and received by SaveWCAL on December 20. The Order extends the deadline for the Special Master to submit his report and recommendations to February 15, 2008.
SaveWCAL is not surprised at this development in light of all the information that has been submitted to and/or discovered by the Special Master since his appointment.
As we reported on November 30, 2007, the Special Master has requested that the attorneys involved (representing the Minnesota Attorney General, St. Olaf College and SaveWCAL) keep the proceedings before him confidential. Therefore, SaveWCAL will not be providing a summary of the conferences with the Special Master or copies of the legal memoranda and documents submitted by the parties until the Special Master's restriction has been lifted.
We once again direct you to the public Order issued by Judge Gerald Wolf on October 16, 2007 in which he instructed the Special Master to "investigate and determine the amount of assets and donations that are attributable to WCAL, including those outlined in the Amended Petition." This instruction refers to the assets of WCAL without any limitation.
After receiving and reviewing the results of the Special Master's investigation, Judge Gerald Wolf will make a ruling regarding the St. Olaf College Petition.
SaveWCAL reminds readers that the current Rice County District Court Petition regarding WCAL charitable trust assets was initiated and filed by St. Olaf College, not SaveWCAL. On March 8, 2007, SaveWCAL attorney Michael McNabb received the permission of the court to participate in the hearing. The Rice County District Court Order of October 16, 2007 confirmed the standing of SaveWCAL as a representative of the WCAL donors.
