Legal Jeopardy
USGenWeb Faces Distressing Prospect
Has a new age dawned for USGenWeb?
An organization can not misbehave indefinitely without consequences. The abuse by USGenWeb's leadership in violating members' rights is an old problem. Daryl Litton is the first member to protect his rights using Civil law. He will not be the last to file a suit unless the AB complies with its responsibilities to protect members' rights.
Until now, the AB smugly ignored possible legal ramifications. They mistakenly believed they could not be sued since they are not incorported. Instead of addressing legitimate grievances, the GC and AB circumvented them. The current RAL's solution was name-calling. Another AB Member once said they can not sue me because they can't find me. The law has improved. Legal notices can be served by email. A legal notice can be placed in any newspaper, or it can be posted on the courthouse bulletin board and that person is legally served under the laws of Nevada and many other states even if the defendant lives in another state.
This situation was caused by blatant denial of rights. The AB made the Chairman of the Grievance Committee the most powerful person in USGenWeb. The GC Chairman can, based solely on whim, deny to hear a grievance. A current EC Chairman can decide to ignore a grievance previously accepted by a prior EC Chairman. As in Iran, just ignore the vote if the wrong person is elected, just ignore the grievance in USGenWeb.
Members have a right to have their grievances heard and ruled upon failry. Rulings must be based on the Bylaws and Sturgis. The very fact that the GC Chairman can refuse to process a grievance is a violation of member's rights. Rights can not be removed by waiving an administrative magic-wand.
Win or not, USGenWeb is now operating under a new set of variables. The next suit may be a block-buster.
More later