Maryland’s Cancer Foundation moves toward fulfilling $75M pledge to Johns Hopkins Hospital

CHESTERTOWN, Md. - April 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Sixteen Years ago, CFI, a Maryland 501(C)3 charity received a pledge of $80M, of which it planned to donate $75M to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD to fund research toward the goal of successfully treating pancreatic cancer. Ten years later, after three years of investigation, when monies were not forthcoming, CFI filed a lawsuit in Illinois State Court against Cerberus Capital Management, Gordon Brothers Capital (now a subsidiary of Bank of America) and others, alleging that these companies engaged in actions that prevented the donor from fulfilling its pledge.

In May, 2011, after many delaying tactics by the defendants, the Appellate Court in Illinois reversed a decision by a lower court which allowed the now-$2 Billion lawsuit to proceed.

In February, 2013, it was announced that the two New Orleans law firms of Fishman Haygood Phelps Walmsley Willis & Swanson LLP, and Jones, Swanson, Huddle & Garrison, LLC joined the legal team.

According to CFI President, Barry L. Dahne, who is both a Maryland CPA and attorney, due to the tactics of the defendants utilizing technical grounds to delay the lawsuit and the defendants losing each defense, CFI has decided to sell some of its shares in VRHD, the Company that consolidated the damages inflicted by the defendants on 2,500 entities.

"By selling some of our shares at market now, we will be able to donate the net funds to Johns Hopkins Hospital to further its research on the treatment of pancreatic cancer, rather than when the litigation is completed," Dahne said, “CFI estimates that its 25 million shares, if the litigation is 100 % successful, will be worth a net of $150 million or $6.00 per share.”