This from today's WSJ article
People close to Duke told the Journal last week that news of the claim caught members of the university’s fundraising office by surprise
http://www.wsj.com/articles/duke-wit...ate-1472509797
If sources "close to" the fundraising office wanted the story out that they were not aware this was going to happen, either the fundraising office did not have a seat at the table when the Duke office of counsel submitted the filing of the claim to President Brodhead for approval or the claim was filed without that level of approval.
Either scenario is not a best practice for maintaining major donor relationships.