I got the following email from LOPSA (of which I am a member). I’m at a loss for words and am now unsure as to why I am a member of either organization. The whole affair seems completely in contradiction to my opinions of all things *nix…
Dear Charles,
As you may be aware, LOPSA was sued as a third-party defendant by the
USENIX Association in April 2008, as part of a lawsuit brought by
Association Headquarters, Inc., against USENIX to recover for services
AH provided to LOPSA for which USENIX is allegedly responsible. LOPSA
secured legal counsel at the time and has been involved in the pre-trial
phase of this suit as required.I am writing to inform you that on October 6, 2008 LOPSA filed
counterclaims against USENIX. These counterclaims stem from actions
taken by USENIX during the failed spin-off of SAGE from USENIX, which
caused the termination of the spin-off by USENIX and directly damaged
LOPSA. We are seeking relief for the damages sustained by LOPSA.We did not reach this decision lightly. We have enjoyed a good working
partnership with USENIX over the past three years, and we hope it
continues. However, by suing LOPSA, USENIX has asked the Court to
decide which party bears the ultimate responsibility for the failure to
spin-off SAGE from USENIX. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate for
LOPSA to also demand that USENIX account for its actions in aborting the
spin-off of SAGE from USENIX.LOPSA has always been committed to openness and transparency in all our
affairs. While the nature of the lawsuit requires us to be somewhat
less open than we would prefer, I can, however, address a few questions
that I am sure many of you may have as voting members of LOPSA.First, we are NOT diverting your dues or sponsorship contributions into
this suit. Our defense of the claims brought by USENIX is being
partially paid by insurance, and our legal team at Kasowitz, Benson,
Torres & Friedman LLP has agreed to handle our counterclaims pro bono.
Prior to securing the involvement of Kasowitz Benson, we faced some
relatively small expenses as a result of USENIX’s suit, but if we make
our membership and sponsorship targets for 2008 — and we’re on track —
our budget should not be impacted.Second, LOPSA continues to work with USENIX, and we are confident our
claims will not jeopardize the future of USENIX in any way. Indeed, we
hope that the recently-elected USENIX Board of Directors will work with
us to resolve the issues raised by this litigation in a manner which
benefits both our organizations and allows us to continue working
together to advance our missions.Third, LOPSA remains committed to LISA as the premier annual system
administration conference, and we will continue to promote it. LOPSA
will continue its presence in San Diego this November, including our
booth, our LOPSA After Dark hospitality suite, and our Annual Membership
Meeting. We do not believe this suit should affect LISA in any way, and
we urge all our members to attend as they are able.If you have further questions, we have placed a FAQ on our website at
http://lopsa.org/faq-on-counterclaims
In addition, feel free to ask us questions. We may not be able to
answer some of them due to the litigation, but it never hurts to ask,
and we’ll do the best we can to answer them. We also suggest that you
read LOPSA’s counterclaims against USENIX, which are available at:http://lopsa.org/files/Counterclaims.pdf
Sincerely,
Trey Harris
President, the League of Professional System Administrators