Fairbairn v. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: Case Decided But Policy Issues of Donor-Advised Funds Will Remain in SpotlightFairbairn v. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: Case Decided But Policy Issues of Donor-Advised Funds Will Remain in Spotlight

In an eagerly awaited decision, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in Fairbairn v. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift  Fund (Case No. 18-cv-04881-JSC (Feb. 26, 2021)) that Malcolm and Emily Fairbairn didn’t prove that Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund (Fidelity Charitable) broke its promises or engaged in negligent trading with regard to its contribution to Fidelity Charitable’s donor-advised fund (DAF). The Fairbairns had claimed that Fidelity Charitable induced their donation to its DAF with false promises to employ state-of-the-art techniques of share liquidation and not trade more than 10% of the gifted stock (Energous), as well as to defer trading until the year after contribution. None of these prom...