Court Confers on Wells Assets

Henry Wells is depicted holding a copy of the New York Times; he was an early investor in the paper.

We hoped for some media coverage of the court conferences to date (held on July 2, August 14, and September 2), but none has appeared yet. 

Meanwhile, for those following the legal disposition of the assets, archives and artifacts of Wells College, here are links to some documents of interest:

— The Associate Attorney General’s objection to the transfer of  any “restricted funds, Wells College records or ‘legacy items’, unless and until all donors who want to be heard have been given adequate notice of the required hearing and an opportunity to address the Court,” filed on August 27.

— The AAG’s statement in the first court conference that anyone wishing to be heard regarding these planned transfers of assets must file with the court through their attorneys.

— A January 2025 letter to the AAG from the WLS outlining the Village of Aurora’s interest in the Wells archives, followed a month later by an email from our attorneys.

— A motion to intervene from the Village, asserting its status as an interested party and filed on the evening of August 27.

— A memorandum from the college’s lead attorney, Frank Payti, asking that the Judge deny the Village’s request to be heard in court, filed immediately after the Septembe 2 conference.

We understand the next conference will be at 10 AM on September 30, in the Cayuga County Supreme Court (152 Genesee St., Auburn NY). All of the documents on file with the court that pertain to the ongoing process may be found here. To date, there  is still no indication that a buyer has been found  for the campus.