The mediations between the lawsuit plaintiffs and the Pacifica National Board appear to have fallen through. As can be seen from this link to an article in a law journal each side blames the other.

Here are three E-mails from Carol Spooner who is in charge of the listeners' lawsuit announcing the collapse of the mediation, but the continuance of talks.

From: "Carol Spooner" <wildrose@pon.net>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: UPDATE - Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 01:38:42 -0800

November 8, 2001

Dear All --

Despite our hopes earlier this week for an agreement that would place Pacifica under the control of an interim board majority committed to restoring Pacifica & all five radio stations to their mission and would guarantee bylaws amendments creating a democratic governance structure for Pacifica to prevent this kind of usurpation from ever occurring again -- that no longer appears possible. Pacifica has notified the mediator that certain terms essential to our goals are not acceptable to them and they have terminated the mediator's services.

We are, of course, very disappointed. I thank you all for your kind wishes & (premature) congratulations.

We must now push on to trial in January.

Venceremos!
Carol Spooner
Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board
(sponsoring the "listeners' lawsuit")
web page: http://home.pon.net/wildrose/remove.htm

Important -- We can't do this without you!

"LISTENERS' LAWSUIT" LEGAL FUNDS
There are 2 funds supporting the listeners' suit -- tax-deductible & non-tax deductible. If you don't itemize your taxes or don't need the deduction, please choose the non-tax deductible option in order to save us a small administrative overhead fee. Thanks!

NON TAX-DEDUCTIBLE gifts to our legal fund can be made payable and mailed to:
Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board
1136 Wild Rose Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95401.
or on-line through Paypal go to http://www.paypal.com/. You will need to give them our email address: wildrose@pon.net.

Or ... TAX DEDUCTIBLE gifts in any amount can be made payable and mailed to:
Marin Health Fund/Public Media Initiative
(you can abbreviate: "MHF/PMI")
P.O. Box 5402
Mill Valley, CA 94942.

You will receive tax deduction receipt from them. Also, the MHF/PMI has a special account to receive gifts of stock in support of our lawsuit. For details contact Linda Remy at mhf1982@pacbell.net MHF/PMI can an receive gifts on line at Web Page: http://www.guidestar.org/helping/donate.adp?ein=94-2860344
Thank you!

##
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Ms. Spooner adds more details about the failure of the mediations below.

Subject: [NewPacifica] Failed Mediation - leaks - confidentiality
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 15:56:18 -0800
From: "Carol Spooner" <wildrose@pon.net>
Reply-To: NewPacifica@yahoogroups.com
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>

Dear All -- I want to say that Pacifica's terminating the mediation is not the result of the leaks that occurred about some of the terms under discussion.

Larry Bensky is not to blame. I am sorry that the leaks occurred. But it is clear to me [th]at Pacifica would have backed out anyway. All participants in the mediation are still (and forever) bound by law of confidentiality of mediation -- posted again below in case you didn't see it the first time.

I wish I could tell the whole story. But I can't, so I won't.

--Carol Spooner

California Evidence Code §1119(c)
“All communications, negotiations, or settlement discussions by and between participants in the course of a mediation or a mediation consultation shall remain confidential.”

California Evidence Code §1126
“Anything said, any admission made, or any writing that is inadmissible, protected from disclosure, and confidential under this chapter before mediation ends, shall remain inadmissible, protected from disclosure, and confidential to the same extent after mediation ends.”

On Thursday, November 8th, KPFA ran the following story, “Reports earlier today on KPFA and on Democracy Now! indicating that the mediation underway to resolve the four lawsuits filed against the Pacfica Foundation by Pacifica reformers had ended in failure were not correct. The reports were based on e-mails sent by Carol Spooner, the organizer of the so-called listener lawsuit. The other litigants spent today in court-supervised mediation with Pacifica. Neither the litigant group nor Pacifica has issued a statement. A tentative agreement was announced last Friday by Pacifica, but it has yet to be finalized or signed.”

Ms. Spooner has issued the following clarification.

Subject: [NewPacifica] Fw: [alliance] from law.com 11/8
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2001 07:31:04 -0800
From: "Carol Spooner" <wildrose@pon.net>
Reply-To: NewPacifica@yahoogroups.com
To: NewPacifica@yahoogroups.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carol Spooner" <wildrose@pon.net>
To: <kpfanews@kpfa.org>
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 7:27 AM
Subject: Fw: [alliance] from law.com 11/8


Dear KPFA News -- Here are the facts on the developing story.

On Tuesday afternoon one of Pacifica's attorneys notified the mediator that they were terminating his services and the mediation. The mediator notified Terry Gross about 3:30 on Tuesday, and Gross notified the lawyers for other plaintiffs. The mediation was not “court-supervised” mediation & either party could terminate it at any time up until an agreement was signed.

On Thursday, Terry Gross, attorney for plaintiffs in the listeners' lawsuit, contacted Robert Darby (Pacifica's attorney) to see if there was any possibility of re-opening discussions & reaching an agreement without the mediator. We do not yet know whether that will be possible. But it now appears that some non-mediated discussions will occur between the attorneys.

Terry Gross is the one who has been speaking to the attorneys for the other plaintiffs and then relaying our “joint” messages to the mediator & to the other side. As of this point, the mediator is out of the picture.

--Carol Spooner


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