legal

Reese and her supporters lose in court, again

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On September 17, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou made two more rulings in favor of the new leadership at Pacifica, the nonprofit that owns KPFA, following a series that began in May.

Petrou granted a demurrer against the lawsuit brought by Pacifica Directors for Good Governance (PDGG), a group of Pacifica National Board members who supported terminated executive Summer Reese‘s attempt to seize Pacifica’s national office by force. The ruling gave PDGG 10 days to fix the legal deficiencies in their lawsuit, or have it thrown out. The 10 days are now up, so their lawsuit is basically dead.

The board members behind the PDGG’s lawsuit were Janet Coleman (WBAI), Carolyn Birden (WBAI), Manijeh Saba (WBAI), Luzette King (WPFW), Richard Uzzell (KPFT), Kim Kaufman (KPFK), Janet Kobren (KPFA), Heather Gray (affiliate station) and Janis Lane-Ewert (affiliate station).

Along the way, court filings regarding a falling out that the PDGG had with their attorney, Amy Sommer-Anderson, indicated that they ran their lawsuit much the way they had run the Pacifica network when they were in charge of it — by running up large bills they had no plans to pay. Sommer-Anderson filed to have herself removed as counsel because PDGG owed her more than $20,000 in overdue costs and attorneys’ fees.

Judge Petrou also rejected a demurrer from Summer Reese in the action that Pacifica brought to get a court order forcing her to abandon the offices inside which she had barricaded herself.  The court also rejected a motion from Reese, representing herself, to disqualify Judge Petrou from hearing the case — on unspecified charges of prejudice.

Pacifica board votes 11-5 to censure Gray and Uzzell for role in secret contract

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gotethicsThe Pacifica National Board (PNB) voted 11-5 on August 14 to censure members Heather Gray (affiliates rep) and Richard Uzzell (KPFT) “for the illegal, unauthorized, and irresponsible act of signing a secret contract with the former Interim Executive Director Summer Reese, which they dated January 30, 2014 and in which they made promises that exceeded the terms approved by the PNB, and which a judge has affirmed is invalid. Their action, the ill will and controversy it caused, and the continuing costs to defend against a lawsuit in which the false contract was used have caused serious damage to the Foundation.” | BACKGROUND on the secret contract here

During discussion of the motion made by board member Adriana Casenave (KPFT), SaveKPFA member and elected Pacifica financial chair Brian Edwards-Tiekert (KPFA) called their actions “an astonishing abdication of any commitment to the well-being” of Pacifica. The five members who voted against the censure motion were Heather Gray (affiliates), Richard Uzzell (KPFT), Janet Coleman (WBAI), Janet Kobren (KPFA) and Kim Kaufman (KPFK). | LISTEN to audio of Edwards-Tiekert (1:30 min); the entire board discussion is near the end this recording.

Uzzell is currently facing an effort to recall him from the Pacifica National Board at his home station of KPFT in Houston. Gray will face re-election in December, when the same board that voted to censure her will decide whether she can continue to represent Pacifica’s affiliate stations.

RELATED STORIES:  Pacifica: putting the pieces back together (includes financial report) | Lawyer representing board minority jumps ship | Finally, local control at KPFA

Lawyer representing board minority jumps ship

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Members of the Pacifica board minority, who sued over the termination of former executive Summer Reese, have lost on every issue they have brought into Alameda Superior Court before Judge Ioana Petrou. The judge last week also issued a tentative ruling denying the group’s attempt to disqualify SaveKPFA activist and attorney Dan Siegel from defending Pacifica Radio. | READ the legal background, Judge Petrou’s 17-page decision, Siegel’s declaration, list of who’s on which side

Now, the lawyer for the so-called “Pacifica Directors for Good Governance” (PDGG) has asked the court allow her to quit the case, in heavily-redacted public papers filed June 19. Sources close to the case tell SaveKPFA that the attorney is tired of footing the PDGG plaintiff’s growing legal bill, as well as with members of the PDGG group giving her conflicting “instructions” that are illegal.

This is the same group that is circulating a petition falsely accusing the new board majority of “dismantling” the network. “The new Pacifica board majority is working overtime to undo the deep financial damage that Reese and her followers have caused to Pacifica,” said Sasha Futran, a SaveKPFA activist and former KPFA LSB member. “We hope to find a way for us to all work together in rebuilding Pacifica and ensuring a long future for KPFA,” she added.