Stanford sued over refusal to renew Sigma Chi's lease, citing breach of founding grant terms.

A Stanford alumni group, the Alpha Omega House Corporation, is suing the university for $50 million, claiming Stanford violated its founding grant by not renewing the Sigma Chi fraternity’s lease at 550 Lasuen Mall in 2023. The group argues a 1976 agreement, renewed in 2021, guaranteed indefinite lease renewal and required Stanford to use “best efforts” to find an alternative location. They say the decision breaches Jane Stanford’s original wishes, protected by the founding documents, and that altering those terms requires court approval, which was not obtained. Stanford maintains it was not obligated to renew the lease, especially after the fraternity’s 2018 suspension over alleged drug incidents, and emphasizes its fair housing allocation process for 24 Greek organizations. The lawsuit centers on whether the university breached its legal and fiduciary duties under the founding grant.