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<H1>UI Foundation sues firms, lawyers; $25 million suit alleges legal
malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty</H1><!--End Headline--><BR><!--Start Byline-->
<ADDRESS>By DEAN A. FERGUSON<BR>of the Tribune</ADDRESS><!--End Byline-->
<P><A name=story><!--Start Story--></A>The University of Idaho Foundation blames
its Boise attorneys for $25 million the foundation lost to a botched real estate
deal, infamously known as Idaho Place.
<P>On Friday, the foundation filed a lawsuit against four lawyers and two Boise
law firms: Givens Pursley LLP and Elam & Burke, Professional Association.
The foundation seeks more than $25 million, as well as interest and legal fees.
<P>"The foundation instituted an action ... charging the firms with legal
malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty while guiding the foundation's
involvement in development of the University Place project over a four-year
period from 1999 to 2003," reads a foundation press release.
<P>The 58-page lawsuit alleges both law firms failed to properly advise the
foundation as it got deeper into the failed project, which was originally
planned as a $136 million satellite campus.
<P>UI President Robert Hoover and chief financial officer Jerry Wallace both
pushed the project, called the "Boise Initiative," according to the lawsuit.
Both men have since resigned.
<P>Former UI Foundation vice president and Givens Pursley lawyer Roy Eiguren
figures prominently in the lawsuit's allegations.
<P>Eiguren, along with fellow Givens Pursley attorneys L. Edward Miller and
Franklin G. Lee, represented the UI, the UI Foundation and University Place
developer Civic Partners.
<P>As a foundation director, Eiguren lobbied the State Board of Education to
approve a supplemental $600,000 compensation package for former UI President
Robert Hoover, notes the lawsuit.
<P>"Because of the strong relationship between Hoover and Eiguren, and the fact
that Eiguren and (L. Edward) Miller gained Hoover's trust, Hoover offered Givens
Pursley the opportunity of leading the Boise Initiative effort," the lawsuit
reads.
<P>Even though Givens Pursley filed waivers of conflict of interest, the
foundation lawsuit alleges poor representation. At times, the university, the
foundation, or Civic Partners had adversarial relationships that should have
required an independent party, alleges the lawsuit.
<P>Among the myriad allegations, the foundation accuses Eiguren of advising the
foundation "it had no option but to pay" Civic Partners a $2.5 million
contribution for a parking garage.
<P>"This information was materially inaccurate, because no contractual
obligation then existed," reads the lawsuit.
<P>Attorney Ryan Armbruster and his law firm Elam & Burke of Boise, who
functioned as the foundation's primary attorneys, also violated a "standard of
care owing to the foundation," according to the lawsuit.
<P>Armbruster also represented the Capital City Development Corporation, which
is Boise's urban renewal agency. The development corporation had an interest in
seeing the foundation keep paying developers, according to the lawsuit.
<P>Armbruster allegedly advised Wallace to agree to a $5.7 million note "without
the Foundation Board's prior knowledge or ratification," reads the lawsuit.
<P>"Armbruster's loyalty to CCDC (the development corporation) prevented him
from providing the independent and prudent legal advice the foundation required
to assess the (loan agreements)," reads the lawsuit.
<P>Armbruster has already admitted he violated Idaho Bar Association rules and
has been issued a public reprimand.
<P>Eiguren and Miller also face conflict of interest complaints filed in April
by the bar association.
<P>The Tribune could not reach any of the attorneys or their law firms Saturday
evening for comment.
<P>Eiguren has represented the Lewiston Tribune through his work for the Idaho
Allied Dailies newspaper group.
<P>------
<P><B>Ferguson may be contacted at dferguson@lmtribune.com.</B>
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