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Gary Null and Associates motion and letters for 7-8-03 hearing |
• 7-8-03 Hearing document index • settlement agreement • 6-19-03 bylaws drafts ------------------------------------ GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC. July 2, 2003 BY PRIORITY MAIL
The Honorable Ronald Sabraw
Re: People v. Pacifica Foundation
Dear Judge Sabraw: I am the General Counsel for Gary Null & Associates, Inc., the producer of one of the longest running and most successful shows on the Pacifica Radio Network, I submit this letter brief as a friend of the court, and to request additional time on behalf of former board member Ken Ford, as well as other former board members, to secure local counsel in Alameda County and submit their own briefs, if appropriate, with respect to the pending motions. My client's principal, Gary Null, is aligned with Ken Ford and some other prior board members who believe that the Pacifica Foundation has become totally unmanageable. I've been advised that Mr. Ford and some of these other former board members are parties to this and Other related actions and have standing to make their own motions. These parties wish to argue to the Court that the Pacifica Foundation violated specific provisions of the Court Ordered Settlement Agreement, dated December 12, 2001, by engaging in excessive terminations of employees, and by failing to adopt legal bylaws for the Foundation. Some of these violations of the Court's Order were documented in a letter from me to Leslie Cagan, the Chairman of the Pacifica Board of Directors, dated June 27, 2002 (copy attached). Based on the Pacifica Foundation's failure to faithfully follow this Court's Order, as embodied by the settlement, we view the Pacifica Foundation as in Contempt of Court, Accordingly, we believe it is appropriate for the Court, either on motion or sua sponte, to appoint a receiver to take over the affairs of the Foundation, to remedy the Foundation's excessive terminations of employees, to implement new legal bylaws, and to select a new board of directors, if necessary.
GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
-------------------- GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Letter to Leslie Cagan
Mr, Null, Mr. Ford, and some other aggrieved parties are currently discussing hiring local counsel in Alameda County to appear at the Court Hearing of the ex parte motion, currently scheduled for July 8, 2003, at 11:00 am, I understand that it is their position that there should be no further extensions for the Foundation to adopt bylaws and that the Court should immediately appoint a receiver to manage the Foundation. The facts will show that many of the Pacifica Board members refused to follow their own attorneys' advice that certain proposed bylaws were unlawful in that they discriminated on the basis of race and sex. It did not matter to these board members that their own attorney advised them that such bylaws were illegal. They were willing to adopt such bylaws, knowing full well that they were illegal and that they would face lawsuits about them. In sum, there appears sufficient justification for the Court to intervene to assure that the Foundation ceases from adopting unlawful bylaws. Additionally, we request that the Court remedy the Foundation's flagrant violations of the Court ordered prohibitions against excessive terminations. Instead of granting an extension to the Foundation for its time to adopt unlawful or questionable bylaws, we respectfully suggest that the Court should immediately appoint a Receiver to govern the affairs of the Foundation, to remedy past violations of the Court's Order, and to implement legal bylaws. If necessary, we would like to request additional time from the Court solely for the purpose of making the motion to have a receiver appointed and for the type of relief outlined in this letter. Thank you for your time and kind consideration. A copy of this letter is being submitted to all known attorneys of record. Respectfully submitted,
David M. Slater
cc: See Attached Affirmation of Service --------------------------------- GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Ms. Leslie Cagan, Chairman
Re: Unlawful actions of Pacific Foundation Dear Ms. Cagan: I am General Counsel to Gary Null & Associates, Inc., and a personal attorney for Gary Null, Ph.D. We are writing to you because we are very concerned about the large number of employees and producers that were terminated at WBAI and the other Pacifica stations over the last few months. Many of these individuals have approached Gary personally based on his stature and long relationship with the Pacifica Foundation, his proven abilities to raise significant funds for Pacifica, and his prior attempts to moderate conflicts at the Foundation. As you know, the board faction know as the "Dissidents" took control of the Pacifica Board of Directors pursuant to a Court Ordered Settlement Agreement, dated December 12, 2001, in the case of People v, Pacifica Foundation, Case No. 831252-3 (Alameda County Superior Court, State of California) (the "Consent Order"), Subsequent to the Dissidents taking control of the Pacifica Board at the end of last year, there have been far more terminations of employees in a far shorter period of time than had ever occurred under the prior control of the board by the "Majority" faction. We have been advised that since the Dissidents gained control of the Pacifica Board, the following employees, producers and talk show hosts were summarily terminated or forced to leave under duress:
Edgar Boldar, Jazz Show, WPFW, Washington, D,C
GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
------------------------------------------------ GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Letter to Leslie Cagan
These terminations and forced departures are staggering in their sheer number, were all caused by Pacifica subsequent to its control by the Dissidents, and are a direct violation of the Consent Order. Pursuant to Clause 3(g) of the Consent Order, the Interim Board is required to exercise its power with the caveat that it use restraint in terminating other employees." We understand that this was a critical requirement that had been specifically negotiated by the prior Majority in order to avoid large purges upon the transfer of control to the Dissidents. Moreover, the Court specifically directed the attorneys for the Dissident faction that there should be no large-scale terminations of employees as a result of the transfer of power. It is beyond dispute that the massive number of layoffs that have since occurred under the leadership of the Dissidents has violated the Consent Order, and has squarely placed the Pacifica Foundation and its management in contempt of Court. Accordingly, at a minimum, we would strongly advise you, for the sake of the Pacifica Foundation, to cease any further unnecessary terminations of employees, producers or other personnel associated with Pacifica, as such additional terminations would also be unlawful, in violation of the Consent Order, and in contempt of Court. We would also advise you to immediately seek independent legal counsel in connection with any of the foregoing employees, producers or other personnel that were wrongfully terminated or forced to leave in violation of the Consent Order, and suggest that you rectify any such wrongful actions as soon as possible. --------------------------------- GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Letter to Leslie Cagan
We are concerned about the potentially devastating liability that the Pacifica Foundation is facing as a result of its wrongful terminations in violation of the Consent Order, especially if such terminations are not actively corrected or dealt with in a responsible and forthright manner. We've also been advised of the following additional ongoing systemic problems at the Pacifica Foundation which have not been addressed: (i) management's inability and refusal to investigate or properly respond to serious charges of sexual and physical assaults by station employees; (ii) the rapid decline in professional broadcasting standards and the uncontrolled spewing of anti-semitic and racist comments in violation of federal broadcasting statutes; (iii) financial misrepresentations and overstatements of amounts collected on pledge drives; (iv) the exclusive promotion of extreme, radical, and totalitarian viewpoints, and the suppression of other diverse and progressive viewpoints in contrast to founder Lew Hill's original vision for the Foundation; (v) the alienation and large flight of Pacifica's core audience, including liberals and progressives; (vi) inappropriate programming control exercised by undemocratic local advisory boards in violation of the Consent Order, the Foundation's Bylaws, and CPB funding requirements; and (vii) the failure of the Foundation to respond in an appropriate manner to various complaints of Unfair Labor Practices brought by AFTRA and its members. Additionally, some former Pacifica employees and Board members have reported to us that they were illegally intimidated, harassed, or threatened into either quitting or entering into the Consent Order that ceded control of the Board to the Dissidents, For instance, it was reported to us that Valerie Chambers, Andrea Cisko, Bessie Wash, Michael Palmer, and David Acosta, because they were not aligned with the Dissidents, all received physical threats personally and/or to their families, had their houses and places of employment picketed, and their livelihoods threatened. Ken Ford, a former Board member reported that his place of employment, the National Association of Homebuilders, had its computer network illegally hacked and flooded with over 800,000 spam E-mails to all its members threatening a boycott if Ford did not resign from the Board. Similarly, we were told that Andrea Cisko's computer was illegally hacked, her clients' names and addresses downloaded, and her clients threatened that if they continued to do business with Ms. Cisco, they would be boycotted. According to John Murdoch, the CEO of one of his law firm's major clients was contacted and threatened with a boycott if Murdoch did not resign from the Board. These are just a few illustrative examples of the type of unlawful harassment and intimidation that was reported to us by former board members and employees of Pacifica. To date, the Foundation has done nothing to redress or correct the unlawful harassment and intimidation that these individuals suffered as a result of their service to the Foundation. As we are very concerned about these vexing and troublesome problems at Pacifica, we are sending a copy of this letter to the current Board of Directors. Gary and I both hope that you and the staff at Pacifica will be proactive in solving these problems in a meaningful and responsible manner. Of course, we are prepared to provide you with any assistance that you may need. However, we do believe that real action is necessary, and very soon, to correct these very-: serious problems. ------------------------------------------------- GARY NULL & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Letter to Leslie Cagan
Thank you for your time and attention on this urgent matter. Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely,
David M. Slater
cc:
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