Can we use email text instead of send letter to?

[Guest Larry Devenny]

We vote to suspend one member from our organization. We realized that we do not have his address to mail letter. We have no record of it but we do have the email address that he uses frequently. We wonder if we can use the email text to notify him of his suspension from our organization?

[Richard Brown]

14 minutes ago, Guest Larry Devenny said:

We vote to suspend one member from our organization. We realized that we do not have his address to mail letter. We have no record of it but we do have the email address that he uses frequently. We wonder if we can use the email text to notify him of his suspension from our organization?

What address did he use when he joined?  Don't you require some kind of address?  Doesn't somebody know where he lives?  Seems to me you just do the best you can with what you've got... but you make a DILIGENT (as in real, sure 'nuff) effort to see that he gets notified of the action.

Question:  Was he given notice of his pending suspension?   Is notice required by your bylaws or rules?  How was he given that notice?  Did he respond to it?  Do you know if he got it?

Edited to add:  The rules on discipline in RONR, particularly as expressed on page 656, require that before a member may be expelled (or suspended) he must be given notice of the proposed action and afforded an opportunity to defend himself.  Was he given that opportunity?  Do you have rules that supersede those rules in RONR?  Here is the key text from page 656:

A member or officer has the right that allegations against his good name shall not be made except by charges brought on reasonable ground. If thus accused, he has the right to due process—that is, to be informed of the charge and given time to prepare his defense, to appear and defend himself, and to be fairly treated.  (Emphasis added)

Edited January 29, 2019 at 05:37 PM by Richard Brown
Added last two paragraphs

[Josh Martin]

21 minutes ago, Guest Larry Devenny said:

We vote to suspend one member from our organization. We realized that we do not have his address to mail letter. We have no record of it but we do have the email address that he uses frequently. We wonder if we can use the email text to notify him of his suspension from our organization?

First, do your bylaws have their own rules concerning discipline? If so, what do your bylaws say regarding this matter? Additionally, do your bylaws contain any rules regarding the use of mail vs. email?

What RONR says regarding the sending of notice generally is:

“When notice is required to be sent, unless a different standard is specified that requirement is met if written notice is sent to each member either: 
a) by postal mail to the member's last known address; or 
b) by a form of electronic communication, such as e-mail or fax, by which the member has agreed to receive notice.” (RONR, 11th ed,  pg. 89)

Regarding notice of a trial, however, RONR provides: “If the society adopts resolutions ordering trial before the assembly or a committee, the secretary immediately sends to the accused, by a method providing confirmation of delivery to his address (such as registered mail with delivery confirmation), a letter notifying him of the date, hour, and place of the trial, containing an exact copy of the charge(s) and specifications with the date of their adoption, and directing him to appear as cited—even if the accused officer or member was present when the resolutions were adopted... It is the duty of the secretary to have at hand at the trial a photocopy, printout, or other direct reproduction of the letter of notification with the delivery confirmation attached, as proof that it was delivered to the accused's address. ” (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 663)

RONR has no rules regarding informing the accused of the determination of guilt and the penalty following the trial, since the accused is presumed to be present for the trial (although he is required to leave the room after the closing arguments), and is therefore called back into the room and informed of the result in person. “After voting is completed, the accused is called back into the hall and advised of the result.” (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 668) While RONR mentions that the trial proceeds without the accused if he fails to appear, the text does not specify the manner in which the accused is informed of the result in those circumstances.

So I don’t think RONR has a direct answer to the question presented, although the rules cited above may be of assistance. Additionally, if the disciplinary procedures were conducted according to RONR (as opposed to a customized disciplinary procedure in the society’s bylaws), the facts presented call into question what notice has been provided to the accused prior to the suspension, and whether that notice is sufficient.

Edited January 29, 2019 at 05:45 PM by Josh Martin