Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.

As Sikh Dharma International remains, along with Unto Infinity and Sikh Dharma Stewardship, a defendant in the lawsuit brought by some of its former board members, it is appropriate to update you on recent developments in the case, currently set for trial beginning May 23, 2011.

Last Thursday, the defendants in the suit, including Sikh Dharma International, filed their Summary Judgment Motions.  These motions seek to have the Court rule that the defendants are entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, on the private-party plaintiffs' standing to pursue this case on the theory that the for-profit business and real property at issue are allegedly held in a trust.  

The motion basically seeks to have the Court declare that, based on the undisputed facts in this matter, these assets are not held in trust and therefore the private-party plaintiffs (the former board members and employees of SDI) cannot gain standing to pursue the case by that theory.  The motion argues alternatively that even if there were a trust, the plaintiffs are not entitled to enforce it under Oregon law. I have attached a complete copy of the motions so that you may read them for yourselves. (Click here for Defendants  Motion for Summary Judgment as to the Private Plaintiffs Complaint.) 

For those of you unfamiliar with court proceedings, a summary judgment motion is a motion brought by a party, generally after all of the relevant facts have been discovered, arguing to the court that based on the undisputed facts (the facts all parties admit or have agreed on), that party is entitled to win on a particular issue or issues "as a matter of law."  Simply put, applying the relevant law to the undisputed facts, the outcome is clear and there is no need for a trial on that issue.  Such a motion may resolve all of the issues in a case or, as is the case here, only some of the issues, because the Oregon Attorney General's claims would remain even if the motion were granted.

Here, UI argues that, based on all the evidence uncovered during the past 16 months of litigation, the plaintiffs have not produced evidence sufficient to sustain their argument that the property they claim held in trust was ever intended to be trust property or meets other legal requirements of a trust.  This is not the same as saying that the property was not intended to benefit the community.  Rather it determines the legal ownership and control of the property and the manner in which it may be managed. The two are not the same: property may be intended to benefit certain groups or individuals and still not be held "in trust."

As such, since the plaintiffs' standing was based on their trust claims, they do not have standing to pursue these claims in court. The motion goes on to argue that even were the Court to find a trust here, that these particular plaintiffs are not the type of plaintiffs under Oregon law who may sue to enforce it. 

As mentioned above, this motion will not affect the claims brought by the Oregon Attorney General's Office.  The defendants did file a separate motion asking the Court for summary judgment on a couple of the AG's claims. I have also attached this motion for your review. (Click here for Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment - State's Complaint).

The trial will most likely proceed on schedule, regardless of these motions.  It is also possible that the Court will take these motions under advisement until after the trial has started.

Regardless, I am, as I am sure most of your are, awaiting resolution to this suit so that we may all begin the process of healing, rebuilding and focusing our energies more fully on the work that the Siri Singh Sahib set for us.

Gurfateh,

Ajai Singh Khalsa
CEO/President
Sikh Dharma International