Campbells file class action suit

On Dec. 28, 2015, Joe and Barbara Campbell, on behalf of themselves and as representatives of a class of similarly situated persons, filed a class action lawsuit against Chris Davidson, Tri-County Telephone Association, Inc. in Park County District Court.

The suit stems from Campbell's belief that 800 members of the Tri-County Telephone (TCT) co-op were victims of fraud. Campbells live in the Hamilton Dome TCT prefix in Hot Springs County.

The claim alleges the fraud was perpetrated by Chris Davidson the CEO of TCT and several former board members, Clifford Alexander, J.O. Sutherland, Daniel Greet and John K. Johnson. It is alleged that these members had cooperated with Neil Schlenker a resident of Park County.

“In this action, Plaintiffs seek to certify a class of owners of TCT to address the collusion of the Chief Executive Officer and certain members of the Board of Directors (with the aid of counsel for the company) with Neil Schlenker to rob the owners of TCT of the value of their ownership interests in TCT and TCT’s investment companies.” as stated in the complaint filed in the District Court Fifth Judicial District.

Attorney Robert J. DiLorenzo of Emblem, Wyoming, representing the Plaintiff said it took six to seven months of research and gathering of documents before he was ready to file. “Things were heavily misrepresented,” Dilorenzo said.

“There was no reason to sell the co-op, it was a very profitable enterprise,” plaintiff Joe Campbell said when asked why he was against the sale. Campbell explained that this was about misrepresentation and the co-op members were entitled to more than capital credits and should have had more information that what was given. “Things were kept secret, falsehoods in letters given to co-op members and they were unwilling to show the numbers that the company made” said Campbell.

Schlenker said in a prepared media statement, “We have received a complaint filed on behalf of Joe and Barbara Campbell. The allegations in the complaint are unfounded and not supported by the facts. The TCT transaction referenced in the complaint was completed in strict compliance with the laws of the State of Wyoming. The members of the Tri County Telephone co-op whose interests were sold in the TCT transaction voted on the transaction only after receiving notification of the specific amount of their individual payouts. The vote was 79 percent in favor of the transaction, five percent opposed and 16 percent did not vote.”

Schlenker's statement also said, “While it is a shame that we will have to divert our attention and resources to deal with this lawsuit, we are confident that the courts will find no wrongdoing by any of the named defendants.”

“It looks like he (Joe Campbell) threw everything in there, including the kitchen sink,” Schlenker said of the civil complaint, describing Campbell as “a bitter old man.”

The complaint has been filed and a jury trial has been demanded.

A website has been set up for members of the co-op to visit for more understanding of the nature of the complaint. The website is http://www.tctlitigation.com