Motions to recover legal fees from MacGovern twice denied

The motion filed by Dartmouth College on behalf of the Association of Alumni for award of attorneys' fees in the suit brought by John MacGovern has been denied by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. This follows a previous motion for attorneys' fees against MacGovern in the Superior Court, which was also denied. Both motions had charged MacGovern with "vexatious litigation."

MacGovern's suit had sought redress and remedy for alumni he maintained had been effectively restricted from voting in their own Association's elections through unconstitutional and self-serving guidelines, imposed by a previous executive committee of the Association without approval by the Association members. As it was his only legal action against the Association, as he has never sued the College, and as he presented a substantial case in both the original action and the appeal, he argued, the motions filed by the College's attorneys were baseless. "The voting rights of alumni having been achieved, however," MacGovern quipped, "I will be magnanimous and not sue the College for vexatious litigation."