Rider U.'s Malpractice Suit Over Lost Princeton Campus Returns To Court This Month

PRINCETON, NJ — A legal malpractice lawsuit tied to Rider University's years-long fight over the former Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton returns to court July 17.

Rider filed the lawsuit in March 2025 against a now-defunct law firm that represented the university in its 1992 merger acquisition of the 23-acre Princeton campus at 101 Walnut Lane, as well as a second firm retained in 2017 when Rider began exploring a sale of the property.

Rider's attorney alleged the original firm failed to properly draft the sale documents, calling it an "egregious act of malpractice" that ultimately cost the university ownership decades later.

The campus has been the subject of extensive litigation for years. Rider moved Westminster Choir College's operations to its main Lawrenceville campus in 2019, prompting a lawsuit from students opposing the move. Separately, Princeton Theological Seminary sued, citing a 1935 donation agreement under which the property was gifted for the "training of Ministers of Music of Evangelical Churches" — with the land reverting to the seminary if that purpose ended.

Meanwhile, Princeton's Municipal Council voted in September 2024 to move ahead with acquiring the campus "by negotiation, purchase, condemnation or eminent domain," with Council President Mia Sacks calling it a chance for residents to control the site's future. The council's attorney said at the time that the municipality's right to acquire the property was unaffected by the pending litigation.

A judge ultimately ruled in the seminary's favor in 2023 on the ownership question. That dispute became moot when Princeton acquired the site through eminent domain last year for $42 million. Rider then settled with the seminary, agreeing to receive $13 million while the seminary received $29 million.

In its malpractice suit, Rider is now seeking the full $42 million value of the property, along with legal costs and expenses for upgrades made to the campus while it believed it held ownership. Defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on June 4, arguing neither firm had a role in the original 1992 purchase. That motion will be argued at the July 17 hearing before Judge Thomas J. Walls.

Rider has faced broader financial strain in recent years and was placed on probation last fall by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, though the university says it is not at risk of losing accreditation.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com