Legal Rights?

Utah has thrown my name about as the "legal authority" on this board by that off-handed comment in the previous post. I don't know if I deserve such an appointment. Nevertheless, I will attempt to respond.

Apparently there is little or nothing known about the league in question. Specifically, an organization or an individual has existence in the eyes of the law as either a person (a human individual), a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company or an un-incorporated association. An example of the last entity type would simply a group of individuals who banded together to do a certain thing ( host a tournament, stage a fund-raiser, etc.) without forming a formal corporation or something like that (LLC, for example).

In today's highly litigious society not too many people organize an association without some protection against liability. Therefore they band together under a corporation or LLC. And most do so as a not-for-profit corporation.

Someone correctly posted that these types of organizations (corporations, LLCs, etc.) have to file a charter with the Secretary of the State in which they are domicilied. Further a copy may also have to be filed with the Clerk of Court of the County in which the organiaztion selects as its domicile.

These charters are available to the public. They are public records nd must be made available with usually the only charge being a per page copying fee.

But as someone also said, the real nuts and bolts of the group is the by-laws (or for an LLC- the Operating Agreement). These documents detail how the inner operations of the group are to be done - how meetings are legally called and noticed; how board members are elected, etc.

An aside here - you mus understand how corporate structure operates. Corporations are run by a board of directors - the number is stipulated either in the charter or by-laws or both. These "directors" are elected by the general membership at a meeting called for that specific purpose - the usual annual membership meeting at which directors are elected. Then, after the directors are chosen by the general membership, the directors have their board meting and the officers of the group are selected from the directors. Only the directors vote on the officers - Pres, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, etc.

The directors are elected to serve for a stated term - usually one year - could be more or less though. However, if, at the annual election no election is called or held, or there are no persons interested in running for the board as directors, the sitting board remains in place. There are usually provisions in the charter that allow this in order to allow the group to have a continous existence.

This has been a long roundabout way to get to where we are now. The banned coach wants to know what rights she/he has to take some action against the organization or the offending coach or team.

Questions that need to be answered:
1. Is the baned coach a bona fide member of the organization?
2. Were dues paid to gain that membership?
3. Were the offending coaches and players also dues paying members?
4. What is the legal staus of the organization? Corpoartion, LLC, un-incorpoarted association?
5. What is the legal NAME of the entity?
6. Can someone check with the Secretary of State of that state to get a copy of the corporate charter of the group? The by-laws or Operating Agreement are not usually filed with the state or the county - but sometimes they are.
7. Does the organization have a web site? If so, the officers, structure, etc. should be listed there. This could be a source of additional information.
8. The board meeting for which no notice was given MAY or MAY NOT have been noticed properly. If each of the board members signed a waiver of notice for that meeting, no notice had to be given to anyone other than the board members (directors). Remember, the corporation ( if it is one) is run totally by the board of directors.
9. How serious is the banned coach about taking some action - legal or other wise, against the offensing coach, the organization itself, etc.????
10. may times publich notice and shame are enough to breakdown the "powers-that-be" to get what you want - a public hearing before the full board with lots and lots of dues paying parents present. Many times this is far more effective than legal action.
11. As someone suggested, public scruitny, a la newspaper article, or TV human interest story may be more than enough to get he/she re-instated and allow diging into the bottom of the use of illegal players.
12. No one said why the players were illegal - was it age or something that can be traced? Do you have documenatation/ Make copies and distribute them to everyone present at games; tack them up where ever they will be seen by a lot of people - particularly people who attend games and who may raise their voice to right this injustice.
13. Are any public monies used to fund any part of this organization? Does the city or the county provide the ground, the electricity of field lights, etc. If so, you can now involve politicians - better known as elected officials. If those who have been elected are not aware of how strongly voters feel about issues that directly affect their children, they haven't been atround very long. When you go the these officials, whether by writing letters or inviting them to meetings to hear complaints, it is uually a good idea to send a copy to the local newspaper so that the issue may get coverage. The smaller the community the greater chance the issue will get included in the paper. Also, don't forget radio talk shows. We had a weight restrictions in youth football issue get on one of the most powerful radio stations in the USA a couple of years ago, ,and it ran for about a week.

Now back to the "legal rights". If the coach is a dues paying member, she/he may have legal rights especially if the meeting was not properly noticed and/or convened. The very least that could happen wouldbe that the action taken at the "meeting" improperly convened would be thrown out. The process may have to start all over again.

Then, there is the question of the board's power to suspend a coach. Are there written rules in existence that allow this. A Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction might be filed. This, of course, won't come cheap, and no, I probably couldn't take the case. But it is a consideration.

Then there is the possibility of a general league boycott of further games until this question was resolved. Sure its a serious step, but how serious are the league coaches and parents about allowing this type of thing to happen. Where will it go next?

The answer to the question about "legal rights" cannot be answered until you have all the information.

Keep us posted.