⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears John Pollock's dispute with American Endowment Foundation over advisory rights in a charitable fund. In his application for a donor-advised fund, Herbert Bennett named himself as donor advisor and Pollock as financial advisor. Shortly after that application, Bennett sent a letter saying Pollock could make grants on his behalf. Pollock says that letter made him a donor advisor too, not merely an investment professional. After Bennett died, the foundation would not recognize Pollock's claimed grant-advisory role. Pollock says he stopped serving as financial advisor, but the foundation still would not consider his grant recommendations. The dispute is about his claimed advisory role, not ownership of the charitable money. The foundation disputes that Bennett's letter changed Pollock's rights under the fund agreement. The district court considered the letter, but dismissed Pollock's second amended complaint because he had not plausibly alleged the foundation's acceptance of a contractual change. It ultimately refused to reopen the case for another amendment. Pollock's lawyer will argue that the letter, communications with the foundation, and additional allegations support his advisory role and justify another opportunity to proceed. The foundation's lawyer will rely on the fund agreement and question whether Pollock has an injury that federal courts can remedy. Listen for the distinction between a court's authority to hear a suit, a person's rights under a contract, and whether revised pleadings could fix the claimed defects.

Pollock v. American Endowment Foundation (No. 26-40011) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued November 3, 2026.