In barring the Fisk-Crystal Bridges agreement on eight different points, including the sale and lending provisions, Lyle found Fisk was in dire straits and no longer financially able to maintain and exhibit the Stieglitz Collection. In that regard, she ordered the school and state of Tennessee to present plans for removing the collection from Fisk's responsibility in a way that most closely aligned with O'Keeffe’s intentions. The state is to report to the court by early September. Fisk has until early October to respond.
In making its argument that it was legally "impracticable" for Fisk to continue honoring the terms of its agreement with O'Keeffe, the school gave the court a bleak picture of its finances. It said it regularly runs an annual deficit of approximately $2 million. In addition, it said all buildings on its small campus have been mortgaged, academic programs have been eliminated, its tiny endowment has lost $500,000 in value over the past two years, faculty and administration salaries have been cut and most students at the tuition-driven school have seem their financial aid cut or discontinued. Enrollment continues to decline and is now less than 700 students, Fisk said.
Lyle used those disclosures by the school to endorse Fisk's argument that it was no longer financially able to carry responsibilities for the collection on its own.
Fisk, which started its new academic year this week, said the court ruling would have "no immediate impact" on its daily operations.
