Fairbairn v. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: Plaintiffs’ Day in Court Still Possible, But Will Victory be Pyrrhic?

The litigation between Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn (Fairbairns) and Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (Fidelity) remains ongoing after the recent disposition of motions for summary judgment made by both litigants.¹ The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied Fidelity’s motion for partial summary judgment, while granting the Fairbairns’ motion for summary judgment on Fidelity’s affirmative defenses of waiver, estoppel and unclean hands.²