[Vision2020] Lose/Lose Situation--Moscow School Board Won't Negotiate

Wed Jul 25 16:23:36 PDT 2007

Bruce,

  It appears that no matter how this goes down, the taxpayer loses because it will have to pay the legal fees for MSD. The only way the taxpayer could win is if MSD would negotiate. But since MSD is not spending its own money, it gets it from the taxpayer with no work or effort, it has no incentive to negotiate. The administrators also cannot get fired or get a salary cut, they just fire others to fit the budget, so it appears they don't personally have reasons to negotiate either. 

  Thanks for legal assessment of the situation.

  Donovan

Bruce and Jean Livingston <jeanlivingston at turbonet.com> wrote:
          The typical situation under the "American Rule" is that each party bears the cost of its own attorney's fees.  Under the "English Rule," the losing party bears the cost of its own attorney fees, PLUS the cost of the prevailing party's legal fees.  The only typical circumstances in the USA where one party bears the cost of the prevailing party's attorney fees is when a contract or statute authorizes an exception to the so-called American Rule and affirmatively imposes the prevailing party's attorney fees upon the loser.  An example of statutes that authorize the shifting of attorney fees are employment discrimination statutes for age, sex, race and religious discrimination, (known as the ADEA and Title VII), and for violation of one's constitutional rights, (42 U.S.C. sec. 1983).  I believe there are some environemntal laws that also provide for fee shifting.  But the typical situation is that each party bears their own legal fees.

  To my knowledge, there is no contract between Dr. Weitz and the MSD that is the basis for this action and would provide for a fee-shifting arrangement.  Likewise, the state statutes governing school district levies and elections have no provision, so far as I know, that switches the burden of both sides attorney's fees to the losing party.  

  So in this case, probably both parties are going to be bearing the cost of their own attorney's fees.  And probably both will be "paying big time."

  Bruce Livingston
    ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tom Ivie 
  To: Moscow Vision 2020 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:47 PM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Moscow School Board Won't Negotiate

Can't the "winning" side ask the court for attorney's fees to be paid by the "losing" party?  If so, regardless of who loses, someone could end up paying big time.  

Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:   Dedicated to the Moscow School Board.

In the words of Joan Baez . . .

"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round"
http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/AGLN_Baez.mp3

>From today's (July 25, 2007) Moscow-Pullman Daily News -

"'This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that
voted for it,' she [Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman] said.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Moscow school board won't negotiate
MSD wants courts to decide outcome of levy lawsuit; next hearing postponed
until Oct. 

By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM

The Moscow School Board will return to court in October for the next hearing
in its $7.6 million lawsuit despite listening to appeals Tuesday night from
patrons who want the district to seek a settlement.

"The delay makes things difficult, but we're not afraid of the ultimate
decision of the court," said Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman. "We
certainly believe in the law. We want to do the right thing and we believe
that is abiding by the will of the electorate."

Voters approved a $1.9 million increase to the district's indefinite
supplemental levy March 27. The increase brought the total amount of the
levy to $7.6 million.

Moscow dentist Gerald Weitz challenged that election with a lawsuit he filed
on May 4. He also threatened the full levy amount because his lawsuit
alleged the district failed to follow state law.

The district lost an attempt to dismiss the case at its last court hearing
June 29. The same day, the district's attorneys filed a motion for summary
judgement and received a hearing date for Aug. 24, when the judge would hear
the facts of the case and issue a ruling.

MSD attorney Amy White sent a notice to the district Monday with information
that Weitz's attorneys have filed a similar motion. The legal procedure
extended the deadlines and required the hearing date to be pushed back. With
Second District Judge John Bradbury unavailable for a hearing in September,
the earliest date available for the hearing is Oct. 5.

"The district continues to remain optimistic that they will prevail on this
matter and firmly believes that they complied with all the legalities for
this election," White wrote.

About 14 people attended Tuesday's meeting and many participated in a heated
exchange that brought people out of their seats as they argued for and
against the possibility of negotiating a settlement.

The board's decision to stay within the court system upset Moscow resident
Don Harter, who spoke in favor of his plan for conciliation. His proposal
would require the district to rerun its levy as an ordinary supplemental
levy that would need to be repeated annually or biannually in exchange for a
legal agreement from Weitz to drop his lawsuit.

"You have more options and more control than your opponent," he said.

Harter predicted a winning outcome would lead to a worse situation because
he believes Weitz would appeal and carry the process out another 18 months.

"If you win, you'll immediately go into prayer," he said.

Harter also predicted that if Weitz won, the district would have to pursue
its option to appeal, which he equated to "you shoot yourself in the foot by
keeping in turmoil another 18 months." He warned that staying within the
court system could keep escalating the case.

"Good luck with your legal expenses to see it all the way through the
Supreme Court," he said.

Moscow property owner Isabel Bond spoke about her concerns with the levy
while she offered her support for Weitz's agenda to have more
professional-technical education in the district.

"I'd like to see some negotiation," she said. "I'd like to see the taxpayers
have a real say in what's going on."

Bond didn't think voters understood the election and she questioned the
election because she said there was a low voter turnout.

Moscow resident and former teacher Bob Weisel stood up to support the
election results.

"I voted in that levy. I knew what I was voting for," he said. "Anybody that
didn't understand what they were voting for should've asked somebody."

He also spoke to comments Bond raised about Weitz's educational philosophy.

"For some strange reason, we've got somebody who feels he knows more about
education than the people we hire to run" the district, he said.

Moscow parent Michael Jennings was concerned that negotiating with Weitz
would cause instability in funding that would eventually "deconstruct" the
schools.

"I want to encourage the board to stay with the law, to move forward within
the legal system," he said.

Jennings brought up Weitz's tumultuous history with the district, including
both his time on the board and his resignations from it at times of
disagreement.

"He's a bully," Jennings said. "He's held our children hostage to blackmail,
to wanting to do it his way."

Board chairwoman Dawn Fazio had to call the room to order as the comments
from opposing sides intensified. She pointed to the arguments as an example
of why "we can't resolve this here."

At the end of the night, Dibble said the district followed its legal counsel
and held "a perfectly good, democratic election."

"This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that
voted for it," she said.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful
private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption."

- Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)

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Tom & Liz Ivie     
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