BritinUSA
-
Posts
7,651 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Profiles
Events
Store
Posts posted by BritinUSA
-
-
47 minutes ago, GJM said:
..however, if I was a board member, on a personal level, I would be very concerned about the allegation that I was trying to skirt a state firearm law.
It's not just trying to skirt the law, they were telling members it was okay to do so because the sheriff would not pursue the issue.
-
6 minutes ago, Rob Boudrie said:
There is one small problem with that. Out of court settlements generally have two requirements imposed by the paying party:
- - Terms are confidential
- - No admission of wrongdoing on the part of the paying party
I do not expect Joe Rutowski to acquiesce to either of these terms.
Fair comment.
-
Just now, GJM said:
This isn't good, but seems highly unlikely to tank the organization.
Likely correct; However, I expect that this will impact revenue/membership moving forward.
There is also the issue of the org's 501(c)(3) status if the corporate standing is delinquent. There may be significant tax issues.
If the IRS gets wind of this then the org may be liable for additional tax payments for the past five years. That could also have a significant impact on the finances, which are not in a good place anyway.
-
I don't see a date yet and would not expect to see one for some time. USPSA will need to respond to the court. They will probably ask for a summary judgement to dismiss the case, or a continuance to give them more time to respond or to seek a settlement.
If it goes to court it may not happen until next year, depending on court availability and time to gather their defense.
Personally, I think a settlement is the most likely outcome.
-
Thanks for the clarification, Rob. I've never understood why 3.3.1 was not used more frequently, it could certainly have been used for Cameo.
Though just downloading the magazines is not an option under CO law, purchasing some 15 rounds magazines would not have broken the bank for anyone either.
I know that some CO lawmakers were trying to get an exception to the magazine law for sportsman but once that failed to get out of committee, USPSA should have moved Nationals. Instead they doubled-down on a bad decision, and made it much worse.
It's hard to see how USPSA is going to defend themselves against this.
I'm willing to bet they will settle out of court with provisions to restore the original bylaws, cancel all the recent suspensions, and the retirement of all the defendants from the BOD.
Anything less than complete surrender from USPSA and this will go to trial, although nothing is certain in any court, my money is on them losing big time. Their position on Cameo alone is indefensible.
-
I'm not a lawyer, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn a few times so I think this qualifies:
The lawsuit alleges that Joe's suspension was void because his rights as a member were terminated following the Cameo debacle. Further it declares that the BOD had no authority under Delaware Corporate law to change the USPSA bylaws.
They allege that changes to the bylaws must be voted on by the members and that they had been changed in the past without voting.
If corporate law prevents bylaws being changed without membership approvals,then all actions taken under the provisions of the new bylaws are null and void.
The exhibits contain examples of the Magazine, tax filings etc. Of particular interest is the slew of emails to and from Joe/USPSA concerning the Nationals that was scheduled for cameo.
What is damning to the organization is the clear inference that USPSA was encouraging members to violate/ignore CO state law.
This is not going to play well in court as it clearly indicates disreputable behavior by the organizarion.
Note: Regarding the delinquency of the org due to non-payment of taxes, just a reminder that the Director of Finances was being paid over $10,000 per month to perform his duties.
-
I'm not sure if a financial review would include a check of tax returns (specifically those applicable to Delaware). I think it was more of an internal review than a full-fledged audit.
-
Additionally, I think that an active corporation in good standing is required for 501(c)(3) compliance. If correct then the orgs charitable status may have been in question since 2018.
This in turn would impact any charitable donations (and tax payments) to/from the org over the last five years.
I'm hoping the BOD will convene an emergency meeting to address the concerns over the corporate and charitable status of the organization and issue a prompt response.
-
-
The doc that @mveto posted is from the Secretary of State while the @Dutchman195 doc is the results of a search on the Corporate Entity.
Both clearly show that the org is delinquent, I'm not sure of the full ramifications of this but I'm fairly certain they do need to be registered as a corporation to get their 501(c)(3) status.
-
I suspect that the lawyer found the org was delinquent when forming the lawsuit. If it's true that the status is due to tax payments then that may be indicative of a bigger issue.
USPSA had a dedicated Financial Officer at that time, so there is no excuse. This is not the first tax issue though, the completed form 990 was supposed to be posted on the USPSA website each year but it was only done when the org was called out on it.
If it goes to trial then the BOD will have to fully explain why the membership was terminated; This will open up the can of worms regarding the internal emails that were flying around at the time concerning the magazine issue.
No matter the final verdict, this will be a huge black eye for the organization.
-
Link to Instagram story just published; LINK
Joe Rutkowski is suing USPSA over his suspension. Part of the lawsuit indicates that USPSA is currently a voided Delaware corporation due to unpaid taxes.
There's a policy here of not discussing politics, but I thought everyone should know. I suspect this will get closed if it does turn political.
-
For anyone considering Life Membership, I would suggest you look first at the latest financials. If things continue the way things are going the org might be out of money in 2-3 years.
-
7 hours ago, rowdyb said:
Now that I'm in my 50s I more and more want things "the way they used to be" and I guess this is one of them
Agreed. Not everything in the past was a bed of roses, but some things truly were.
-
Do they still have match reports in USPSA magazine ?
-
33 minutes ago, Joe4d said:
I absolutely LOATH videos , blah blah blah , blah blah blah... usually 5 minutes before they even get to the point then blah blah blah everystep of the way... I think it is all about add revenue or something,, see how long they can get you to watch.
I think the concept being suggested is more for stage runs etc.. When I was doing LiveShots there was no preamble, just "Standby.... beep". -
1 hour ago, GrumpyOne said:
Guys, check this out and see if you would be interested in trying it out.
This might work, assuming that members could post their stage runs via YouTube or IG links into the chat then get feedback on them. If the MD had access then they could post match info etc.As with all media, getting the word out to members/participants will be key to its success. The ability to turn the chat into a regular forum topic once the match is over creates an archive of the match.
One of the issues with YouTube and other social media is finding stage runs from a particular match, if more people posted links on BE then it becomes a searchable archive which may generate more traffic for the forum.
-
@rowdyb is right, people used to talk about this stuff all the time. There would be long discussions and interest in each Nationals. Now, there is barely a mention of them.
Something changed.
-
Missing from that breakdown is a count of how many members shoot either USPSA or SC. So combined participation could be anywhere between 17,237 and 23,829... which is well shy of the total membership, there are a lot of members who don't shoot at all.
-
On 8/23/2023 at 3:58 PM, Hoops said:
Does anyone know if USPSA/SCSA publishes what percentage of first time members do not renew their membership?
They would certainly have that information but I've never seen it published. I'm not sure they have ever contacted lost members to determine why they did not renew either.
There seems to a constant turnover of members and according to the latest surveys a significant number do not even shoot regularly, if at all.
-
I used one of these many years ago, I was able to carry all my shooting gear and cameras. The wheels worked great, even in sand.
-
2 hours ago, ColoradoNick said:
Sportsmans by me has CCI500's for $55/1k.
That's cheapest I've heard of in a long time.
-
If there was ever an IRS audit, USPSA would have to provide detailed accounts of income and expenses. Any accountant worth their salary would have that data anyway so they could accurately complete the necessary tax forms.
I can think of no valid reason why that information should be withheld from the members.
-
I never saw it broken down by classification at any Level 4 or 5 matches that I shot, though it was a long time ago. Only the top three in each division and category were recognized.
IPSC saw it as a potential source of revenue, it just never took off.
Lawsuit against USPSA
in USPSA/IPSC Shooting
Posted
Not sure I agree with that assessment. While he is seeking damages over $25,000 and legal fees, I would not call that amount excessive. The primary complaint is over his suspension from the organization. He wants to compete, that seems to be the driver.