Apartment mogul Mark Broxmeyer is weighing whether to resign as a Hofstra University trustee and withdraw his $1-million pledge to the school in the wake of a lawsuit brought by Hofstra's law school clinic involving a building that the real estate tycoon recently bought.

Broxmeyer, through a spokesman, said that he is "disappointed by the suit," but that he "has not made any decisions with regard to his pledge or whether or not he is resigning" as a trustee, a post he has held since 1993.

The student clinic filed a lawsuit in May on behalf of Latino clients, who live in a 54-unit apartment complex. The lawsuit names as defendants both the Farmingdale Village and Fairfield Farmingdale, a limited liability company affiliated with Fairfield Properties, that Broxmeyer owns and that operates more than 5,000 apartments across Long Island.

Stuart Rabinowitz, Hofstra president, said he has never spoken directly to Broxmeyer about the issue but heard he is "upset" by the suit.

The university president, however, said that Broxmeyer's attorney called him several months ago after the suit was filed, asking "why the university was suing" Broxmeyer, a graduate of the school and a trustee who has recently made a $1-million pledge.

Rabinowitz said he told the lawyer, "The 'university ... is not suing him. Certain tenants are suing him and the tenants are represented by the law clinic." Rabinowitz also told the lawyer that the issue is a matter of "academic freedom" and the university would not interfere with the suit "in any way, shape or form."

Stefan Kreiger, a law professor in charge of the law clinic, said that clinic has represented the apartment dwellers for the past two years, first fighting a previous owner over building neglect, and, more recently, evictions. He said settlement talks that included Fairfield broke down last week.

Kreiger said Fairfield's attorney has never raised Broxmeyer's role as a trustee in any of their talks.

Aaron Twerski, law school dean, said there was never a question that the university would interfere in the suit, saying, "Clearly, it was a decision for the clinic to make and they made it."