Judge rules proper notification not achieved
The lawsuit filed by Socorro Electric Cooperative against its member-owners is binding on all of them — not just those who answered the complaint.
The co-op filed a motion for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief last June challenging three new bylaws adopted by members at the annual meeting in April. All three bylaws address transparency of governance, calling for the co-op to follow the Open Meetings Act, the Inspection of Public Records Act and allowing members and the press to attend board of trustees meetings.
Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr. said he had read the briefs and attorneys from both sides said they had little to add during the hearing.
“The court is very comfortable this is binding,” Mitchell said, and he directed co-op attorney Paul Kennedy to draft an order to that affect.
The judge also ruled that proper notice of the lawsuit had not been achieved, and he wanted to assure that all of the approximately 10,000 member-owners who are defendants in the case were properly notified.
“I’d like to make sure we have good public knowledge out to the members of the co-op,” he said. “Members of the co-op are owners and this is significant litigation.”
Mitchell recommended the notice be given in billing statements and he allowed attorneys about 45 minutes to draft language everyone could agree on that would serve as notice. The judge said the notice should be given prior to the next scheduled hearing. That hearing, addressing the merits of the case, will be held in Socorro on May 18.
The judge touched on issues involving a countersuit that requests class action certification. He said he wanted a decision on that aspect of the case resolved within 90 days of the May hearing. He scheduled a discovery hearing to be held on May 18 after they finished addressing the merits.
With regard to the class-action aspect, attorney Kennedy told the judge that the co-op got a letter from its insurance provider that it would not be covered.
“There is no insurance coverage on any of these issues,” he said. “The main reason involved is that the policy would not cover disputes with trustees.”
Trustee Charlie Wagner, a leader in the movement to reform the co-op, is named as the representative of the class in the counterclaim. The counterclaim says the co-op would not be harmed by any damages awarded in the case because the co-op has insurance to cover litigation.
Cross-claim defendants include the nine other trustees, four former trustees and former co-op General Manager Polo Pineda Jr.
Present at the hearing were co-op attorneys Kennedy and Dennis Francish, attorneys Thomas Fitch and Polly Tausch, acting pro se, and Lee Deschamps, representing several individuals and one of the attorneys requesting the class action on behalf of all co-op members.
About nine member-owners of the co-op, including Charlene West, chairwomen of the Socorro Electric Cooperative Reform Group and the only individual specifically named in the original lawsuit, were also present.
Contact T.S. Last