Academic Boycott – American Studies Association, Bronner, et al. v. Duggan, et al.

The Memorandum Opinion addresses a specific, narrow issue: The impact of District of Columbia which shields directors of charitable corporations from damages except in specific circumstances, on the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction.

While the issue here is narrow, the underlying lawsuit to which this issue relates arose from a much broader dispute over the extent to which an exclusively academic organization should involve itself in political issues. Plaintiff’s are current and former members of the American Studies Association, a nonprofit, charitable, corporation dedicated to the promotion of the study of American culture. They have sued the ASA and several of its current and former leaders, including Defendants Lisa Duggan, Curtis Marex, Avery Gordon, Neferti Tadiar, Sunaina Maira, Chandan Reddy, Jasbir Puar, J. Kehaulani, Kauanui, Steven Salaita, and John Stephens, alleging that the Individual Defendants improperly introduced and implemented a resolution calling for the academic boycott of Israel.