DCI and SOA being sued?

[rpbobcat]

58 minutes ago, DAL-27 said:

It's likely that this lawsuit will be covered under the organizations insurance.

 

I'd change "likely" to "may be".

I'm an engineer and land surveyor.

I carry Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions ) Insurance.

If I get sued, and file a claim, my Insurance Company reviews the suit and my files to determine if I followed the "due diligence" required under my policy.

They find I didn't.

I'm SOL.

 

 

 

[JimF-LowBari]

14 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

right. see with Cadets, anything legal was aimed at one person, not DCI. no legal action towards Pio, so DCi as a collective had no worries.

I was thinking Pioneer but no idea “what did DCI know and when did they know it”. RB and DCI bleeping lucky that did not go to court or lawsuit city for failure to keep members safe. Even if DCI would be found non-liable there could have been a boatload of legal fees.

Edited October 11, 2023 by JimF-LowBari

[2000Cadet]

Drum corps lately cannot go ONE off-season without any drama, apparently. 

[IllianaLancerContra]

2 hours ago, DAL-27 said:

It's likely that this lawsuit will be covered under the organizations insurance.  It's required in some cases for a facility to allow a corps to use them.  Remember Sandusky a few years back?   That drove the requirement by some facilities. As a result there was an  increase in insurance costs for the corps to carry that form of insurance.

I agree with you about the legal bills but it's the insurance companies that'll foot them for SOA/DCI and I don't know for the plaintiff.  So with that said, it's unlikely you'll see anything on the 990s.  Insurance premiums are probably considered a program cost.

Per the IRS

Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF must be filed by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your organization's accounting period. Thus, for a calendar year taxpayer, Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF is due May 15 of the following year

You can also file a 6 month extension.  I don't know what each groups fiscal year is.  Some end Sept.  I believe I saw SCV ends October, some may be on a Calendar year basis.  So it'll likely take up to a year or so before you see 2023 990s.  It looks like SOA's fiscal year ends in August so the financial impact of this would show up on their fiscal year 2024 financials since the suit was just filed and therefore wouldn't see anything on a form 990 for a year at the earliest, probably two years.  In other words you'd need to wait until sometime in 2025.

Thanks.  I wonder how much insurance costs will increase due to this?   

[JimF-LowBari]

3 hours ago, DAL-27 said:

It's likely that this lawsuit will be covered under the organizations insurance.  

Back in the 90s I was on church council (go figure) when the church’s insurer suggested we implement anti-child abuse procedures. No idea of the details but our premiums went down after we implemented.

Thinking insurance of this kind will cover ONLY if the corps follows the procedures to the letter. As rpbobcat posted if they don’t the corps most likely will be SOL,

Edited October 11, 2023 by JimF-LowBari

[HockeyDad]

6 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

I've tried to bring my concerns about Safe Sport to the attention of DCI directly and assertively. The main response at the time was, when you have evidence or testimony of retaliation, please come back to us. I had similar reactions from VMAPA. Do you know how difficult it is to gather hard evidence of such things? Despite the fact that I and others have unequivocally experienced it in reaction to our whistleblowing and advocacy work?

It demonstrates that they are unserious, or stupid. Or both. 

[keystone3ply]

4 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:

Drum corps lately cannot go ONE off-season without any drama, apparently. 

Yup; maybe DCI should form an exploratory committee to look into a Bravo series similar to "Below Deck".  So many potential titles for a DCI themed series. 💲🤷‍♂️     

P.S. Not making light of the current topic.

Edited October 11, 2023 by keystone3ply
cx

[scheherazadesghost]

24 minutes ago, HockeyDad said:

It demonstrates that they are unserious, or stupid. Or both. 

Nobody likes being told that their efforts aren't working fast or well enough, especially given that DCI's safeguarding officer came straight from SafeSport IIRC. NGL, I gulped as I sent that email to her... but making friends and taking the truth rarely go hand in hand.

Putting efforts aside, I think the problem finally being acknowledged fully with this lawsuit is far greater than most are willing to acknowledge,  let alone engage with to find sustainable solutions. I mean, literally nobody thinks this is fun... but it must happen nonetheless it seems.

[JimF-LowBari]

7 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

As far as I can tell from the distant periphery, the partnership at this time only includes the training system. DCI is what I referred to a few posts back (albeit lengthy ones) called non-NGBs or "non  national governmental bodies" meaning they aren't under the jurisdiction of the Center for Safe Sport like USA Gymnastics, et al. There was never meant to be any teeth in this partnership AFAIK. I'm making a wild guess that they are still in this initial partnership, and that maybe it will eventually become an NGB. I'm sure the new DCI CEO knows more.

(Edit to add: I welcome clarification to the above from those more in the know, 'cause I'm just hypothesizing here. Again, transparency would make world of difference here. Outsiders could be more helpful here instead of getting caught up in guesswork.)

Even becoming an NGB doesn't always guarantee the utmost safety but I'd still say it's a step in the right direction. The Center for Safe Sport has its own documented and newsworthy issues that DCPers have pointed out here in the past.

I've tried to bring my concerns about Safe Sport to the attention of DCI directly and assertively. The main response at the time was, when you have evidence or testimony of retaliation, please come back to us. I had similar reactions from VMAPA. Do you know how difficult it is to gather hard evidence of such things? Despite the fact that I and others have unequivocally experienced it in reaction to our whistleblowing and advocacy work?

So what the bleep is SafeSports function anyway? Appears to be a central place for info that others bring in. Then they tell DCI what was reported?

Does SafeSport or DCI do any investigation that the reports are true? And if the reports are true then who is responsible for setting and dishing out penalties? (Think I know the answer to last question but want someone to verify how stupid the answer is)

[kevingamin]

8 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

SafeSport seems to be all bark & no bite.  
What is needed is something like an Inspector General who is adequately resourced and can inflict real pain on perpetrators and the organizations that enable them.  

SafeSport is purely CYA for orgs like DCI.