King v. Trustees of Boston University

A jury determined that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made a charitable pledge to Boston University (BU) of certain papers he had deposited with BU. The plaintiff, Coretta Scott King, in her capacity as administratrix of the estate of her late husband, and in her individual capacity, appeals from that judgment. The plaintiff sued BU for conversion, alleging that the estate and not BU held title to Dr. King’s papers, which have been housed in BU’s library’s special collection since they were delivered to BU at Dr. King’s request in July, 1964.

The case was submitted to the jury on theories of…