Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Dead, Not Drunk

— When beer magnate Pete Coors was pulled over in May by a Colorado cop for drunk driving, officials at UCSD probably weren't too sympathetic. Coors and his hard-partying siblings, heirs to the beer empire bearing their name, are said to be persona non grata around the seaside campus, thanks to a nasty legal run-in they had with the university over a deathbed bequest made by their dad, family patriarch Joe Coors Sr., a longtime resident of Rancho Santa Fe.

Coors Sr., who died in his sleep at his desert estate in Rancho Mirage in March 2003, had a reputation as a giver to ultraconservative political causes like the Heritage Foundation and the Mountain States Legal Foundation. The 85-year-old also was an early financial backer of Ronald Reagan's political career. Joe's elder brother Bill, no liberal himself, once called him "far right to Attila the Hun."

Sponsored
Sponsored

But Joe apparently had developed a soft spot for UCSD and in the weeks before his death agreed to donate 30,000 shares of stock in Adolph Coors Company to the UC San Diego Foundation. The stock never arrived, and in October 2003, the foundation filed a "creditor's claim for recovery" of the shares against Joe's sons Joseph Jr., Peter, and Jeff. In May 2004, according to a suit the foundation filed here in January of last year, the brothers rejected the claim.

The foundation argued in its court case that Joe's stock pledge "was part of a publicly announced fundraising campaign for the Cardio Vascular Center at the University of California-San Diego." Coors had been a university "trustee" and had taken "a leading role in the advancement of the Cardio Vascular Center," the complaint continued. "Using his position as Trustee, Decedent actively worked to gain commitments from potential donors," the suit said. "The subscription agreement Decedent signed on March 7, 2003, was to be a focal point of Cardiovascular Center's fundraising campaign. Decedent specifically requested that his subscription be used as part of this campaign.

"During Decedent's life, a dinner was planned for 700-800 potential donors. Decedent was to attend and be honored for his subscription at this event. The dinner took place on March 15, 2003, the day of Decedent's death. Decedent's subscription was announced to the potential donors." In its suit, the foundation maintained that "injustice can be avoided only by enforcing Decedent's promise in its entirety."

The Coors brothers never filed an answer, but the complaint was withdrawn by the foundation "with prejudice" -- meaning it cannot be refiled -- on April 26 of last year, indicating that an out-of-court settlement may have been reached. A university spokeswoman declined to comment.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?

— When beer magnate Pete Coors was pulled over in May by a Colorado cop for drunk driving, officials at UCSD probably weren't too sympathetic. Coors and his hard-partying siblings, heirs to the beer empire bearing their name, are said to be persona non grata around the seaside campus, thanks to a nasty legal run-in they had with the university over a deathbed bequest made by their dad, family patriarch Joe Coors Sr., a longtime resident of Rancho Santa Fe.

Coors Sr., who died in his sleep at his desert estate in Rancho Mirage in March 2003, had a reputation as a giver to ultraconservative political causes like the Heritage Foundation and the Mountain States Legal Foundation. The 85-year-old also was an early financial backer of Ronald Reagan's political career. Joe's elder brother Bill, no liberal himself, once called him "far right to Attila the Hun."

Sponsored
Sponsored

But Joe apparently had developed a soft spot for UCSD and in the weeks before his death agreed to donate 30,000 shares of stock in Adolph Coors Company to the UC San Diego Foundation. The stock never arrived, and in October 2003, the foundation filed a "creditor's claim for recovery" of the shares against Joe's sons Joseph Jr., Peter, and Jeff. In May 2004, according to a suit the foundation filed here in January of last year, the brothers rejected the claim.

The foundation argued in its court case that Joe's stock pledge "was part of a publicly announced fundraising campaign for the Cardio Vascular Center at the University of California-San Diego." Coors had been a university "trustee" and had taken "a leading role in the advancement of the Cardio Vascular Center," the complaint continued. "Using his position as Trustee, Decedent actively worked to gain commitments from potential donors," the suit said. "The subscription agreement Decedent signed on March 7, 2003, was to be a focal point of Cardiovascular Center's fundraising campaign. Decedent specifically requested that his subscription be used as part of this campaign.

"During Decedent's life, a dinner was planned for 700-800 potential donors. Decedent was to attend and be honored for his subscription at this event. The dinner took place on March 15, 2003, the day of Decedent's death. Decedent's subscription was announced to the potential donors." In its suit, the foundation maintained that "injustice can be avoided only by enforcing Decedent's promise in its entirety."

The Coors brothers never filed an answer, but the complaint was withdrawn by the foundation "with prejudice" -- meaning it cannot be refiled -- on April 26 of last year, indicating that an out-of-court settlement may have been reached. A university spokeswoman declined to comment.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.