Corona del Mar couple sue Chapman University to reverse $12 million donation

A 98-year-old Corona del Mar philanthropist and his wife sued Chapman University this month, alleging that the college coerced him into donating $12 million and then failed to follow through on its promises.

James and Catherine Emmi want Chapman to return the $3 million it already collected from them and give up any right to the remaining $9 million, according to the couple’s complaint filed last week in Orange County Superior Court. They also are seeking at least $3 million more from the university.

The Emmis say they have no memory of signing a 2013 document pledging the donation. They are accusing Chapman of taking advantage of James Emmi’s confusion in his old age.

“[Chapman], after noting signs of deterioration and vulnerability in James, preyed on [him] for a multimillion[-dollar] donation,” the lawsuit states.

A representative of the university denied the allegations Thursday.

“Chapman University is deeply saddened by the misstatements in the complaint filed by the Emmis,” spokeswoman Mary Platt said. “Mr. James Emmi has been a close friend of both President James Doti and the university. The allegations do not reflect what occurred and completely mischaracterize the Emmis’ interactions with the university.”

According to their account, the Emmis previously gave smaller donations to the private university in Orange, including a $450,000 gift in 2009 to help build a science building.

James and Catherine Emmi, 84, also have made millions of dollars in donations to Hoag Hospital and the Pacific Symphony.

The Emmis allege that after their gift for the Chapman science center, the university “continued to hound” them for more money, even after they rejected a 2012 proposal for a $5 million donation that would have included putting their names on a technology hall in the center.

In 2013, the complaint alleges, the university approached the Emmis again, this time asking for a $12 million contribution to the science center.

Chapman staff began pushing the couple to make the donation by inviting them to special events, sending them cards and calling them family, according to the lawsuit.

“President Doti intentionally showered the Emmis with compliments and even went as far as requesting a photograph of James [Emmi] to place in his office because James was ‘like a brother to him,’” the lawsuit states.

The complaint alleges that Chapman targeted James Emmi because administrators knew he was “susceptible to inducement and confusion.”

According to the lawsuit, James Emmi finally agreed to the $12 million donation over tea with Doti in September 2013.

The Emmis say the gift came with the understanding that it would be paid over four years, that the money would be used only to construct a technology and engineering building named after the Emmis and that the project would be finished before December 2016. According to the lawsuit, the Emmis also were promised a “full-scale media effort” to recognize the donation.

In October 2013, the university received the first $3 million, the lawsuit says.

The Emmis allege that Chapman then began reneging on the understanding. For instance, the suit says, the university didn’t recognize James Emmi onstage during a 2013 ceremony, instead focusing on a $15 million gift from another donor.

The Emmis also allege that the college never intended to meet the 2016 deadline to finish the building. One year after the gift, “not even one blueprint had been prepared for the Emmi Hall,” the lawsuit states.

The $12 million donation amounts to nearly 60% of James Emmi’s estate, according to the lawsuit.