Golden Gate University’s shuttered law school will remain closed after a judge on Monday denied, opens new tab an injunction to reopen it, as a group of former students and alumni had asked.
It’s “unlikely” that the plaintiffs will be able to secure a court order to reopen the 123-year-old San Francisco school following California Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer’s latest ruling, said Golden Gate Law alum Ryan Griffith, who is representing the plaintiffs.
A Golden Gate spokesperson said on Wednesday that the university is “satisfied” with the ruling and that nearly all of its former law students are completing their studies at other American Bar Association-accredited law schools.
The plaintiffs sued for breach of contract in February after university officials announced in November that the 2023-24 academic year would be the last that the school founded in 1901 offered juris doctor degrees. The university cited enrollment declines, a sluggish employment market and low bar exam pass rates in closing the San Francisco school.
Golden Gate is at least the eighth ABA-accredited law school to shut down in the past decade amid similar challenges, and two other California law schools opted in recent years to end their ABA accreditation and become accredited by the State Bar of California instead.
The lawsuit alleged that students were kept in the dark about the law school’s bleak finances and that administrators had not provided adequate transfer options for students left in the lurch.
Ulmer on Monday found the plaintiff’s breach of contract claims were too vague and that waiting three months to sue after the closure announcement hurt their case.
Moreover, most former Golden Gate students are now finishing their studies at the University of San Francisco School of Law or Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Forcing Golden Gate to immediately hire faculty, administrators and support staff would be disruptive, Ulmer wrote.
While the school won’t reopen, Griffith said the plaintiffs can still seek monetary damages for several other claims including breach of contract, unlawful business practice and false advertising. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22 to see if the case will move forward.
“Discovery can occur, and more evidence can be uncovered to prove what happened at Golden Gate,” said Griffith.
