[Ansteorra] information about the lawsuit settlement

[Kingdom Seneschal]

 Here are some basic facts from the statement issued by the BoD regarding
the settlement of the lawsuit.
For all the information, please visit
http://www.sca.org/BOD/announcements/settlement.html.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me privately.
**
*Mistress Gwyneth Blackrose OL, OP*
*Seneschal Ansteorra*
**
**
**
*What was the lawsuit about?*



Actually, there are two lawsuits, one filed against the SCA and one filed
by the SCA to protect its interests and enforce its insurance policies.



Several years ago, a former SCA member named Ben Schragger was convicted of
the sexual abuse of multiple children that he allegedly met through the SCA
from 1999-2001. He was sentenced and is currently serving a 62-year prison
sentence. The Board, of course, permanently revoked his SCA membership.



After an initial civil lawsuit was filed and dismissed in 2007 against the
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (“SCA”), a second civil lawsuit was
filed in 2009 claiming that the SCA should be held liable for Mr.
Schragger’s wrongdoing.  The lawsuit also asked that the SCA be held liable
for allegedly not having effective policies in place at that time to
protect these children. Three SCA participants who were local officers
during this time were also named as defendants in the lawsuit, and as
officers of the corporation, had the right to be indemnified against any
ensuing legal costs. The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit demanded Seven Million
Dollars ($7,000,000.00) in damages from the SCA.



The SCA immediately tendered the lawsuit to its insurance companies and one
insurer agreed to cover the SCA’s attorney’s fees incurred in defending the
lawsuit.  All other insurers refused to cover defense fees or indemnify the
SCA in the event of a settlement or judgment.

(snip)



The insurance carriers have offered a number of different reasons for their
position that the 2009 lawsuit should be excluded from coverage under the
policies. The SCA does not believe that any of these reasons have any merit
and is continuing its suit against the non-paying insurance carrier.  A
trial date has been set in May, 2012.





*If the SCA is not guilty of any wrong-doing, why are we settling the 2009
lawsuit instead of continuing to fight the charges?*


The simple answer is that we cannot afford it.  (snip) The SCA is not
admitting to any wrong-doing by settling the 2009 lawsuit, and the
settlement and release agreement clearly state that fact.  Settling the
lawsuit now, for a fraction of the original demand, will allow the SCA to
move forward and to concentrate on rebuilding our finances and developing
initiatives that can make the SCA a healthier organization with which to
support our mutual dreams.