$1.7 billion for a name change? Lawsuit claims hefty pricetag to rename U.C. Hastings law school

Shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the renaming of the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, the descendants of its namesake have sued the school — and the potential payout is a whopper, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

That’s because the family of Serranus Hastings, California’s first chief justice, claims in the suit that his original 1878 agreement to create and fund the school promised him $100,000, plus interest, if his name was ever stripped from it and that 144 years later, the bill is $1.7 billion, the Chronicle reported.

Hastings’ trustees voted last year to change the name because of Serranus Hastings’ role in the slaughter of Native Americans in efforts to expand his cattle empire.

Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, co-authored Assembly Bill 1936, which changes the school’s name to UC College of the Law, San Francisco next year. Newsom signed it into law on Sept. 23. Ting told the newspaper the suit shocked him.

His bill also requires that the school formally apologize to tribes, provide academic support for indigenous students who want to study law, and fund dozens of restorative justice programs.

In a statement, school officials said they intend to go ahead with the change.

The bill’s “passage was the result of a lengthy, deliberate and transparent process at the college that included years of research, several public hearings and input from a wide range of community stakeholders,” the statement said.