Plaintiff responds in Giveaway House case

The attorney for the board that filed a lawsuit against another board disputing who is in charge of a local charity is filing responses to requests that the defendants made in a counterclaim for money and that the complaint be dismissed.

The issue is who is the controlling board of directors of Community Giveaway House Inc., a charity founded in the early 1970s and incorporated in 1989.

After board Vice President Sue Markley and board Treasurer Sheila Forshee clashed late last year and at the beginning of this year with contentions made by each that the other was mismanaging and improperly operating the charity, the directors of the board reorganized the board in February, including removing Forshee from her position, and Markley then filed an annual corporate report with the Montana Secretary of State.

In January, Roberta Beute reported the existing board had been disbanded and would be reorganized. Forshee filed a new annual report with the Secretary of State in March.

Each group contends the other is not the board of the charity, and that the report the other group filed is invalid.

In April, Missoula attorney Tyler Gernant filed a complaint alleging that the group including Forshee and Beute had no authority to form a new board, that the report Forshee filed was a false report, and requesting the court to declare the board he represents is the official board of the Giveaway House.

Beute, saying she represented the board and that Gernant did not represent the board of the charity, filed a response, which said the report on file with the Secretary of State showed that the board she represented is the charity’s board and that Forshee is an authorized agent of the board, able to file the reports.

May 14, she filed a counterclaim and motion to dismiss, requesting a judgment against the plaintiffs to include awarding Giveaway House money moved to anothr account by the plaintiffs after they formed their board, legal costs and that “all injury to person and properties be compensated for loss and damages, and punitive.”

She cited Montana law regarding dismissing lawsuits against corporations in the motion to dismiss.

In responses Gernant said he mailed Thursday to the state District Court in Havre, the documents say the motion to dismiss cites Montana law dealing with a director or former director of a corporate board, or shareholders, filing a lawsuit against a board or members of a board “because a corporation has failed to take suitable action.” Under that law, the court can appoint a group of independent corporate directors or other independent people to determine if the lawsuit is not in the best interests of the corporation.

The response says that Beute’s group is not the board of the corporation and the nature of the lawsuit would not be covered under the statute cited if they were, the motion to dismiss should be denied.

“Simply put, the Defendants cannot take a vote and decide they don’t want to be defendants,” the response says. “While this certainly would streamline the justice process and clear court calendars, it would be a gross miscarriage of justice.”

The reply to the counterclaim says the plaintiff denies that Tyler Gernant does not represent the charity’s board and that he is the attorney of record for the charity, and that the plaintiff denies any money was converted or that the defendants have experienced loss or damages.

Gernant told the Havre Daily News that he plans to soon file a request for a summary judgment by the court based on what has been filed.