Can I Object to the Minutes of the Last Meeting Being Accepted in this Situation?

[Guest M McGuirt]

In my professional organization, it is written into our by-laws that only members can attend meetings. At the previous AGM, a non-member was in the room for the entire meeting. Can I object to the minutes being voted on, thus becoming part of our organizations permanent records, at the next AGM as that previous meeting was not held according to our by-laws?

[Hieu H. Huynh]

The minutes are a record of what was done at the meeting. Approving the minutes does not relate to the validity of the actions taken.

I think that having a nonmember in the room would not invalidate any business conducted.

[Chris Harrison]

Well you can object but even assuming (which I am not) the presence of this non-member were to render everything that occurred at that meeting null and void the minutes are merely a record of what happened there.  If you want to attack the validity of everything that occurred at the meeting you can do so but the record of that the assembly decided to do X,Y, and Z at that meeting were factual at the time the record was made (even if it were determined at a future time all those decisions are invalid). 

[Richard Brown]

There is nothing in RONR about motions adopted at a meeting being invalid on the ground that a non member was present in violation of the bylaws.  And, as the others have said, the minutes are a record of what motions were adopted at the meeting, regardless of whether they are are somehow declared invalid in the future.  I cannot imagine such being the case.  Now, if a motion passed by only one vote and it is discovered that the non member voted, that would present a different situation and would form the basis of a challenge to that particular motion.  But, I cannot conceive of the mere presence of a non member invalidating action taken.

[jstackpo]

The time and place to "object"  --  raise a point of order, actually  --  was at that previous meeting when the non-member was seen in the meeting.  It is way too late now.  See p. 250 about the timeliness requirement for such a point.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

5 hours ago, Guest M McGuirt said:

In my professional organization, it is written into our by-laws that only members can attend meetings.

At the previous AGM, a non-member was in the room for the entire meeting.

Can I object to the minutes being voted on, thus becoming part of our organizations permanent records, at the next AGM as that previous meeting was not held according to our by-laws?

No.

The rule you cited carries no penalty when violated.

Whether a nonmember attends or not, that kind of "error" does not carry over into the business transacted.

(That kind of rule is administrative in nature, not parliamentary in nature.)

***

There are countless rules which go into a convention or annual meeting.

Examples: (a.) wearing badges; (b.) sitting in designated areas.

Q. Would you argue that if one delegate was not wearing his/her badge, then 100% of the business transacted ought to be declared invalid?

(I hope not. That argument would a foolish to make.)

[Guest M McGuirt]

Thank you, everyone, for your help.

 

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 4/25/2016 at 10:10 PM, Guest M McGuirt said:

. . . Can I object to the minutes being voted on, thus becoming part of our organizations permanent records, at the next AGM . . .

You can object to the minutes being voted on (although it would probably be a waste of time to do so) because (1) it is inadvisable for the minutes of one annual meeting to be held for action until the next one a year later (see RONR, 11th ed., pp. 94-95 and 474-75), and (2) minutes are approved without being voted on (see pp. 354-55).