...You want the truth........

You can't handle the truth!
I've abandoned my music lyrics for this blip following tonight's important meeting.
This is Tom, Chairman of our fishing club and tonight he chaired a meeting based on a legal document called a Tomlin Order...and I had to sit beside him and minute the meeting and make sure Tom followed legal procedure.

The meeting was to decide, after a four year dispute, who actually runs the club.

Four years ago a member was banned for a year for wrongly purchasing a Disabled (reduced cost)membership. He had the right of appeal, but several of his cronies tried to hijack the Annual General Meeting when the committee are elected etc for the appeal to be heard. The Chairman at the time ruled this out of order, the meeting turned ugly and had to be abandoned.

A few weeks later the banned member and his friends called an Extraordinary General Meeting and elected themselves to the positions of authority. We laughed it off, but they somehow managed to persuade the bank to cancel the club's mandate and set up a new one in their names and hijacked the account with several thousand pounds in it! We went to the bank and complained, the Bank denied any fault on their part and froze the account. The rebels all were then expelled from the club and given life time bans.

Since then it's been through the hands of the Banking Ombudsman and two lawyers and has dragged on for 4 years. Last year the solicitors for us and them came up with a way to solve the dispute... a Tomlin Order which requires both Claimants(us) and Defendants(them) to attend a meeting, offer their constitutions for voting on, and their committee members and solve the dispute without resort to a hearing.

When the EGM for the Tomlin Order came round it was clear that they would lose the vote so they constantly raised spurious points of order and questions in an attempt at jerrymandering, getting the meeting timed out before a vote could take place. Eventually Tom ruled on a vote and they left the meeting...the votes were taken the results sent to the two lawyers and a demand for the return of the money issued. They ignored this and eventually it ended up in court where the judge ruled the meeting had not been conducted correctly and ordered a second meeting.

We took advice from a Justice of the Peace who explained the Tomlin Order in detail and advised on the Agenda and the meeting was called for tonight. The "rebels" refused to agree the agenda, refused to nominate people for election, and protested that the meeting was being held 10 days before the deadline, but they turned up tonight anyway with their constitution. The meeting opened, they interrupted the opening address by Tom, claimed the meeting was not following the Order and when Tom over ruled and proceeded to the vote they got up and left. Under my advice Tom carried on and conducted all the votes, counting their absentee votes as against us and for them and our constitution, committee and date for the return of the monies were voted for by overwhelming majorites.

So, now we send my minutes to the judge, who rules on the next step....she could award the decision to us ..... or she could call it back to court. The JP thinks if it goes back to court I should act on behalf of the club!

Hence the quote from "A Few Good Men"!

On another note I missed the quiz Cup quarter final for this meeting, but got to the pub in time for the last few rounds....we lost....by a single point! 50-51! Phil, the captain, threw it away by jumpimg in too early with an answer that cost the team 8 points!

To quote another Tom Cruise movie...." I feel the need...the need for speed", but I guess I'll just settle for a beer.

More coursework marking tomorrow and then tomorrow night I'll have to type up the minutes in ship shape legal format and forward them on.

Sorry for the long winded tale but I did warn you I'd tell you what the big meeting was about.

Das vidanya moy padruga.