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Lawyer asks judge to rule on who's to run Giveaway House

Two groups of people, each claiming to be the legitimate governing board of the Community Giveaway House are taking their case to court.

The defendants in the lawsuit about the Community Giveaway House have retained attorney Robert Kempfer of Great Falls, after previously filing a reply and counterclaim and motion to dismiss on their own. Kampfer has asked the court to put a stay on the case until the court determines which group is the governing board.

Kempfer, who is representing the board comprising Chair Roberta Beute, Sheila Forshee, Rebecca Wolcott, Jacob Wolcott, Ursula Brese, Vickie Neideregger and Kelly Ann Damson, asked state District Judge Dan Boucher to require Missoula attorney Tyler Gernant, who is representing the plaintiffs, to produce proof that the plaintiffs are legally able to act as the charity’s board and that they have officially retained his services.

The defendants, after Kempfer filed the motion, again filed counterclaims on their own, saying Gernant does not represent the Community Give-A-Way House Inc. and requesting the judge award them all money and property belonging to the charity in the possession of the plaintiffs.

They previously had filed similar actions in the lawsuit with Beute acting as attorney.

In April, Gernant filed the lawsuit on behalf of the board comprising Sue Markley, Janet Tams, Jim Howendobler, Jolene Ophus and Paula Case.

Both parties filed complaints being investigated by the Montana Attorney General’s office, in which they say the other is acting in a false practice of law.

Beute filed a complaint saying Gernant is presenting himself as representing the Giveaway House board when he does not, while Gernant alleges Beute was illegally representing other individuals and a corporation when she is not a practicing attorney, as is required by law.

The lawsuit was filed after several months of infighting between members of the previous board, with Markley, vice president of that board, forming a committee to remove Forshee, the treasurer, and Damson, the president, and alleging Forshee had failed in her position. Markley said Forshee had allowed the charity’s federal nonprofit status and vehicle and property liability insurance to lapse, as well as failing to stay current on property taxes.

According to minutes of the meeting, the majority of the committee agreed that Forshee, granddaughter of charity co-founder Ruth Nystrom, was dealing with the issues raised, then Markley resigned.

Beute then wrote in a letter that she was helping Forshee, “granddaughter and heir” of the nonprofit corporation, reorganize its board.

Feb. 8, the directors of that board — Damson, Forshee and Markley had been listed as officers but not voting directors of the board — removed Damson and Forshee from office and appointed new directors, including Markley, whom they also installed as president.

After Markley filed an annual report with the Montana Secretary of State in February, Forshee in March filed an addendum to the report, listing the reorganized board on which she serves as treasurer and as a director.

In the complaint, Gernant argued that the actions of the committee in its January meeting were not valid because the directors of the board had not appointed the committee, and that the directors had legally removed Damson and Forshee and reorganized the board in February, filing the documents detailing their actions in the complaint.

The March annual report addendum was filed illegally by Forshee, and is a “false report,” the complaint says.

The complaint asks the judge to rule that Markley’s board is the legal governing body of the charity and that it has been properly running the organization as a charity and that all intellectual and physical property of the charity belongs to that board.

 

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