TCT co-op hearing packs courtroom

Monday at the Percy Metz Courtroom in Cody, the courtroom was full for a partial summary judgment hearing in a case against the Tri-County Telephone Association (TCT) co-operative. A motion was made in October seeking return of the company to the co-op owners.

Litigation began against TCT in December of 2015, when Joe and Barbara Campbell, on behalf of themselves and others, filed a class action lawsuit. That suit claims TCT board members robbed owners of the co-operative of the value of their interests when the co-op was sold in 2014.

Among the defendants in the suit are TCT CEO Chris Davidson, CFO Steve Harper, and former board members Dalin Winters, Clifford Alexander, J.O. Sutherland, Daniel Greet and John K. Johnson, along with Neil Schlenker, who was the purchaser of the member-owned cooperative TCT. Among other violations listed in the complaint are voting irregularities, violation of bylaws, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation and civil conspiracy to defraud and deceive.

Though the members of the TCT co-op whose interests were sold voted on the transaction — 79 percent in favor, with five percent opposed and the remaining 16 percent not voting — there is alleged misrepresentation, and concern co-op members were entitled to more than capital credits when the sale happened and should have had more information provided. Additionally, there are allegations the assets of TCT were not properly appraised prior to the sale.

TCT has filed its own complaint alleging Joe, a former TCT board member, maintained control of a company-issued laptop he was required to return and took advantage of trade secrets on the computer and shared that information with others. Such activity, the suit alleges, caused fiduciary damage to TCT and violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The Campbells declined to comment on Monday’s hearing in Cody, though attorney Robert DiLorenzo noted it was a legal argument to determine if contracts coincide with Wyoming law. DiLorenzo added it is up to the judge to determine if the company will return to the co-op owners. The judge has taken the case under advisement, and could have an answer in the next few weeks.