On Wednesday’s (4/28) Bloomberg.com, Philip Boroff reports, “Jazz at Lincoln Center, the world’s largest performing-arts center for jazz, said it’s discussing a settlement with Pennsylvania insurance executive Andre V. Duggin over $327,500 in promised donations. On April 15, Jazz at Lincoln Center sued Duggin, chief executive officer of AV International, one of the largest minority-controlled U.S. insurance companies, claiming he reneged midway through a five-year commitment to donate $500,000. … The tussle recalls a larger spat at the neighboring Metropolitan Opera, when money manager Alberto Vilar didn’t fulfill more than $20 million in pledges and his name was removed from the Met’s Grand Tier in 2003. Vilar was convicted of fraud in November 2008. In recognition of Duggin’s pledge to Jazz at Lincoln Center, it dedicated a plaque with his name on the wall of Frederick P. Rose Hall, the suit says. … Duggin agreed to pay $100,000 each year for five years, with the first payment due by Dec. 31, 2005. The suit says he made that payment on time, with shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer by sales. Duggin missed the Dec. 31, 2006, second deadline, meeting the payment four months later, again with UnitedHealth shares, the suit says.”
Posted May 4, 2009
