CEO Breaks Silence Regarding Director Shake-up;
Extends Olive Branch to End Lawsuits
Contact: Shae Dodson, Communications Coordinator
During the next 18 months, R-CALF USA worked to reinstate its member-established position that the OTM Rule must be stopped, in part because the agency brazenly failed to disclose its true intentions. In July 2008, a federal court agreed and ordered USDA to open a new rulemaking to disclose the agency's true intentions.
While R-CALF USA fought to stop the OTM Rule, departed directors and committee chairs formed a new organization to compete against R-CALF USA. One committee chair also claimed ownership of R-CALF USA's magazine. When R-CALF USA learned about a plan to use the organization's confidential membership list to solicit members away from R-CALF USA, and when confidential employee documents surfaced on the Internet, the R-CALF USA board of directors - in fulfilling its fiduciary duties to the organization - was compelled to file two lawsuits in state court to protect the proprietary information of its members and its organization.
The lawsuits initially worked. R-CALF USA's rights to its magazine were restored, confidential employee documents were removed from the Internet, and R-CALF USA's confidential membership list was protected by a court order prohibiting any unauthorized use. Recent decisions by the state court would make it difficult for R-CALF USA to obtain any further relief without pursuing a protracted appeal that could take years to resolve.
Upon obtaining the July 2008 federal court decision on the OTM Rule that corrected the departed directors' efforts to undermine R-CALF USA's member-established policy, R-CALF USA had achieved the most important purposes of its pending lawsuit against its former directors. And, R-CALF USA remains well positioned in its ongoing legal challenge of the OTM Rule.
R-CALF USA has now offered to settle its lawsuit against the departed directors in full if the departed directors merely agree to return, destroy or otherwise not use R-CALF USA's confidential documents, including its membership lists, for any purpose.
As a result of this experience, the R-CALF USA board of directors enacted new policies to ensure the protection of its members' and employees' confidential information, as well as its confidential information concerning specific legal strategies."
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
Imagine
In response to the R-CALF CEO breaking silence on director shake-up, we asked them once again (see following email), the same questions we asked near a year ago.
How much money did R-CALF spend on these lawsuits?
How much did the former directors have to spend responding?
What monies did plaintiffs and defendants use to handle said lawsuits?
In order to squelch any further speculation, we recommend R-CALF fully disclose all financials to their members.
Since about spring of `07, R-CALF has behaved as though NCBA had a rope around it as characterized by corporate takeovers in the pin-stripe world.
Now I’m not suggesting that this is what happened, but, when some established business (like an NCBA) are threatened by a credible new business (like an R-CALF), they will busy themselves executing dramatic actions (including lawsuits) to destroy or steal the new. They do this rather than build a better product.
Cow-calf producers have NAIS, COOL, trade and a myriad of critical issues demanding our collective focus, monies, talent and industrious work.
Herein lays a perfect opportunity for past and present R-CALF directors to start anew and take those necessary conciliatory steps in grace and re-connection with other cow-calf producer groups...including US Cattlemen’s.
Imagine: Combining those tremendous talents and energy into one big o’ formidable force named: “The United States Cattlemen’s UNITED!”
Imagine: Our elected officials seeing this united force marching into their offices.
Imagine: A fair price for your product.
Imagine: Stopping unacceptable, unfair and costly mandate burdens.
Imagine: Keeping land in production agriculture.
Imagine: Getting just compensation for environmentalist damages.
Imagine: Consumers knowing they’re getting the best beef in the world when they buy beef labeled - “Born and Raised in the U.S.A.”
Imagine...then do.
Roni
----- Original Message -----
From: Charles Sylvester
To: r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
Cc: barsreversen@earthlink.net
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: CEO Breaks Silence Regarding Director Shake-up; Extends Olive Branch to End LawsuitsDear R-CALF,
We're glad resolve appears on the horizon.
Are you now ready to answer these questions we asked of you over a year ago?
How much money did R-CALF spend on these lawsuits?
How much did the former directors have to spend responding?
What monies did plaintiffs and defendants use to handle said lawsuits?
Thank you,
Chuck & Roni Sylvester
RESPONSE TO IMAGINE
What a concept;
Unify an industry that:
1) the central bank's
2) the environmental lobby
3) the anti property rights extreme left
4) the third world and all their non performing debt
...all want to see dead and shipped to the third world by any means necessary.
What a conceptRobert T Fanning Jr.
P.O. Box 7 Pray, Montana 59065
Phone 406-333-4121
E-mail: rtfanning@worldnet.att.net
Good Neighbor Committee
P.O. Box 155 - La Salle, CO 80645
info@goodneighborlaw.com
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