The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, October 19, 2026, declined to hear a challenge from the descendants of Serranus Hastings regarding the renaming of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. The decision leaves in place the renaming of the institution, which was formerly known as the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
The legal dispute followed a 2022 announcement by the school that it would remove Hastings' name. The decision was based on a review and findings by historians that Hastings, a former California Supreme Court judge, orchestrated the killings of Native Americans on land he purchased in Northern California. Hastings founded the school in 1878 with a $100,000 donation.
Six descendants and a group of alumni filed a lawsuit in October 2022 to block the change, arguing that the 1878 agreement to use the Hastings name was a binding contract. A San Francisco judge dismissed the suit in 2024, ruling the original legislation was not a contract and the 2022 name-change legislation did not violate the California Constitution. That ruling was later upheld by a California appellate court in 2025 and the California Supreme Court in January 2026.
For the students and faculty at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, the ruling ensures that the new designation will remain the identity of the school. The transition began following a legislative process to rename the institution.
The finality of this legal chapter means the school will no longer face litigation regarding its namesake's legacy, which Dean David Faigman stated followed a robust process. Attorney Gregory Michael, representing the descendants, noted the plaintiffs' disappointment and maintained that the renaming exceeded constitutional limits. With the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to take up the case on October 19, 2026, no further appeals remain.