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Conflict of Interest - 'disqualification'


Guest Janny J

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A non profit membership organization is being sued by one of its members. Club has services of attorney. As the organization is small, many of the board members have had past 'business relationships' or transactions with the plaintiff.

The attorney periodically briefs the BOD on status of litigation. BOD may be asked to approve various courses of action, and eventually possibly a settlement. Some members of the BOD believes they can pass a motion 'recusing' another member from being present at the attorney's briefing and that the motion would in some manner remove that member from any participation in BOD discussion/deliberation/votes regarding the litigation.

RONR notes that 'no member should vote on a question in which he has a direct personal or pecuinary interest not common to other members of the organization. ... and notes that no member can be compeled to refrain from voting in such circumstances.

Is there any action which could be taken to preclude the member from attending meetings and participating in discussions with the club attorney? That would certainly seem improper, as the member should be able to hear the information on which vote is to be made.

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Somewhere, (and I thought it was RONR) I read there was a statement about discipline procedures which allowed either complaintant or defendant to object to an individual sitting on Trial Board, and a provision for the assembly to 'disqualify' a member from deliberating??

Thanks,

JJ

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Is there any action which could be taken to preclude the member from attending meetings and participating in discussions with the club attorney? That would certainly seem improper, as the member should be able to hear the information on which vote is to be made.

Not if the attorney is briefing the Board. Nothing can stop some group (or a formally appointed committee) from discussing with the attorney outside the Board meetings, but at Board meetings, every member has the right to be present at all times and to vote on all motions.

Somewhere, (and I thought it was RONR) I read there was a statement about discipline procedures which allowed either complaintant or defendant to object to an individual sitting on Trial Board, and a provision for the assembly to 'disqualify' a member from deliberating??

Thanks,

JJ

The Trial Board must be a construct of your own rules, as it is not found in RONR. In the trial process under chapter XX of RONR (which only apply if your bylaws do not specify how discipline is to be handled), a meeting of the organization's full assembly (a general meeting) appoints a trial committee if it so desires, and there is no procedure to 'disqualify' a member since the assembly can simply choose not to appoint them.

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