RK Mellon Foundation sues its N.Y. counterpart
Pittsburgh’s largest foundation is suing its counterpart in New York over the use of one of Pittsburgh’s most famous names.
The Richard King Mellon Foundation has asked a federal judge to force the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to abandon its effort to ditch the “Andrew” and just call itself the Mellon Foundation.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, is seeking an injunction under U.S. trademark law because it says the new name will create confusion.
The AW Mellon Foundation said in a recent press release that it was dropping the “Andrew W.” from its name.
RK Mellon said in its suit that the name change makes it appear as if AW Mellon “were the only legitimate foundation with ‘Mellon’ in its name.”
“Defendant’s move creates a likelihood of confusion or mistake as to whether Defendant is the only ‘Mellon’ foundation, whether RK Mellon Foundation is approved by Defendant, and whether RK Mellon Foundation — despite its charitable history of 75 years — is now illegitimate,” the suit says.
RK Mellon said the new name poses “substantial and irreparable” harm to its legacy and fundraising efforts.
This name fight features two of the largest and wealthiest foundations in the U.S., both rooted in Pittsburgh’s moneyed past.
RK Mellon Foundation, founded in 1947, is based in Pittsburgh. AW Mellon Foundation, founded in 1969, is based in New York City.
RK Mellon Foundation was created by Richard King Mellon, grandson of Mellon family and fortune patriarch Thomas Mellon, and invests in the “future of Southwestern Pennsylvania and in the protection and restoration of America’s environmental heritage.”
The foundation says it has made grants for more than 30 years, helped protect 4.5 million acres of land in all 50 states and disbursed grants to colleges across the U.S.
In 2021, the foundation had year-end assets of $3.4 billion and disbursed grants and program-related investments of $152 million.
Richard King Mellon, along with his sister, Sarah Mellon Scaife, and two cousins, Ailsa Mellon Bruce and Paul Mellon, were heirs to the Mellon fortune in Pittsburgh, which included holdings in Mellon Bank, Alcoa and Gulf Oil.
In the 1950s, Fortune magazine estimated that RK Mellon, his sister and two cousins each had between $400 million and $700 million, placing them among the richest people in America. RK Mellon had been president and chairman of Mellon Bank and had served as a trustee of the University of Pittsburgh.
The AW Mellon Foundation, named for one of Thomas Mellon’s sons, had an endowment of $8.16 billion as of December 2020 and awarded grants that year of $417 million, according to its website.
Andrew W. Mellon was a banker, businessman, art collector and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932.
The AW Mellon Foundation was formed from the Avalon Foundation and the Old Dominion Foundation. The Avalon Foundation had been established in 1940 by Andrew’s daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, and Old Dominion in 1941 by Paul Mellon, Andrew’s son.
They combined the two into the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to honor their father.
According to the suit, the RK and AW Mellon foundations have coexisted peacefully since 1969.
But that changed on March 28, when the AW Mellon Foundation issued a press release announcing the new name without discussing it with the RK Mellon Foundation.
Last month, the foundation filed a trademark application for the Mellon Foundation name and in recent weeks said it was offering its services under that name.
The AW Mellon Foundation did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.