Two Claremont Colleges entities have reached an impasse over an attempted real estate deal and it looks like the case is headed to court.

In an effort to “protects its most valuable physical asset—its 16.4-acre campus—Claremont School of Theology (CST) initiated legal action against the Claremont University Consortium, after good faith negotiations failed,” the press release states.

The complaint, which was filed Wednesday, August 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court, is centered around the acquisition of 10.5 acres of CST’s 16.4 acre campus. CST states that the CUC is attempting to take “unilateral action to acquire [the land], at far below market value.”

“Our board of trustees authorized the filing of this legal action with great reluctance,” said CST’s president Rev. Dr. Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan. “We engaged in a good faith effort to try to negotiate the sale of the land to the consortium at a fair market price. After those negotiations broke down, the consortium notified us that it would take action to assert a dubious claim to purchase the property at a price below what they offered. That is simply unacceptable.”

The decision to file suit did not come easy, according to the college.

 “This was a very difficult decision,” Mr. Kuan. “Claremont School of Theology and Claremont University Consortium have been good neighbors and partners for many years. We are both part of the wonderful community of Claremont and work hard to be good and valuable neighbors in the community. Still, our board of trustees has a fiduciary responsibility to always act in the best interests of the seminary.”

See the Friday, September 9 COURIER for the full story.