US socialist group wins $5.2 million inheritance in legal battle

A legal victory has awarded the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) control over a $5.2 million retirement account, a decision that could provide a substantial financial injection to the U.S. socialist movement. The ruling, made by a U.S. District Court judge, came about after a legal battle over the pension of the late David Greenberg, a New York University sociology professor who passed away in 2024.

The core of the dispute centered on the beneficiary designation for Greenberg's pension. His will initially named his parents, but stipulated that if they predeceased him, the funds would go to the New American Movement or its successor. After his parents died before him, the DSA stepped forward, asserting its status as the successor organization to the New American Movement, which merged with the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee in 1982 to form the DSA.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled in favor of the DSA on July 27, 2026, in the case Hecht v. New York University. The judge found that the evidence supported the DSA's claim, concluding that the organization had effectively taken over the positions, assets, and liabilities of the groups that formed it. He also determined that the term "successor" in Greenberg's documents did not require a formal legal or administrative entity, but rather a general understanding of an organization that followed and replaced the New American Movement.

The lawsuit was initially filed in April 2025 by Martin Hecht, Greenberg's nephew, who questioned whether the DSA truly qualified as the legal successor. The family also accused NYU of failing in its fiduciary duty, suggesting the university should have periodically ensured that beneficiaries designated decades earlier still aligned with Greenberg's wishes as he neared death. However, the court found no evidence of negligence on NYU's part, stating the university had no legal obligation to proactively contact Greenberg about his pension beneficiary designations.