Lawsuits:
R-CALF USA has filed two lawsuits (unrelated to cattle industry issues) with producer dollars and without producer authorization. Attorneys fees to R-CALF are estimated to have exceeded $100,000 to date and are still accumulating.
R-CALF Litigation Summary
R-CALF, in what has been described as a fit of paranoia, commences lawsuits against former founders, directors, and members:
I. R-CALF v. Matthew A. Lane, Action #DV 07-0581, filed in Billings, Montana, on April 30, 2007, sues a loyal supporter. Matt Lane, one of R-CALF's most avid supporters, who along with his wife Jamie created the Cattlemen's Journal, suddenly found himself a defendant in this lawsuit.
R-CALF spent thousands of dollars recovering what no one wanted, and that's the right to use the name "Cattlemen's Journal." This caused enormous economic harm to Matt and his family. Several months after the case was filed, it was settled and R-CALF spent an estimated $10,000 to obtain what they could have received with a ten-cent phone call. We say estimated because R-CALF continues to refuse to release the exact amount. Thus, cattle producers financed a lawsuit that had no legitimate purpose. Maybe someone will ask R-CALF to provide the billing records so we won't have to estimate the actual costs. R-CALF's contributions at work!
II. R-CALF v. Chuck Kiker, Jon Wooster, Dennis McDonald, et al. On the same date as R-CALF v. Lane was filed, R-CALF filed a second lawsuit against former R-CALF president Chuck Kiker, former director Jon Wooster, and former director and founder Dennis McDonald. This second lawsuit is known as Action # DV 07-0582 and was also filed in Billings, Montana.
This lawsuit has also been described as being filed in a fit of paranoia and a vendetta. This action has cost R-CALF an estimated $100,000 with no end in sight. The only thing R-CALF has to show for this effort and the expenditure has been the return of a worthless and broken laptop computer, which could have been recovered with a simple phone call to Chuck Kiker. Judge Todd Baugh has compared the legal significance of the computer to a couple of pencils.
A. Allegations of R-CALF: R-CALF in their complaint alleges that the three defendants used the R-CALF membership list to build the United States Cattlemen's Association. R-CALF after spending this $100,000 now knows there is no evidence to support this allegation.
B. R-CALF alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to R-CALF. After taking seven depositions and spending this $100,000 they now know there is no evidence to support this allegation.
C. R-CALF alleged that the defendants have violated Montana's Trade Secret Act and now know how utterly ridiculous this allegation is.
D. R-CALF has alleged that the defendants distributed confidential documents. After expending $100,000, they have no evidence of any such conduct by any of the three defendants.
People with paranoia and a vendetta- saying someone else is doing something because of paranoia and a vendetta :roll: :wink: :lol: :lol: 