Injunctions sought to assure a fair election in March, 2004

Richard Lamm v. Larry Fahn and Club Members for an honest Election v. Sierra Club filed in the Superior Court of California

Sierra Club Board of Directors President Larry Fahn, other old guard board members, and CEO Carl Pope are pulling out all the stops and abusing their positions of power to unfairly and illegally influence the outcome of the March, 2004 Sierra Club election. They are doing all they can to get their Nominating Committee candidates in, and keep grassroots Petition Candidates from being elected.

This cannot be allowed to happen in our Sierra Club. In the face of this crisis, Petition Candidates Dick Lamm, Frank Morris, and David Pimentel asked the Superior Court of San Francisco to intervene to ensure a fair election.1

The case (Richard Lamm v. Larry Fahn) specifically charged that defendants Larry Fahn and Carl Pope have:

  • "...committed unfair, fraudulent, and unlawful business practices as defined by California Business and Professions Code..."
  • "willfully and in bad faith violated the Corporations Code and the Sierra Club's Bylaws to the detriment of Candidates [Lamm, Morris, Pimentel]."
  • "violated the Sierra Club's Standard of Conduct..."
  • "breached their duty of loyalty, good faith, competence, and care"

Unfortunately the plaintiffs were forced to withdraw this suit when the Club threatened major financial harm from protracted SLAPP litigation rather than allowing the court to decide on the injunction based on the merits of the case.

A new injunction is now being sought in San Francisco Superior Court to prevent further unfair and illegal election practices from continuing and hopefully establish remedies to repair the harm already done during recent months.

This action has been brought by long-time Sierrans who have formed "Club Members for an honest Election".

No one wants to resort to legal action unless it is absolutely necessary. Under these extraordinary circumstance it is. Sierra Club members need to insure that we preserve the 112 year democratic underpinnings of the Sierra Club's success.

1. Richard Lamm v. Larry Fahn, filed in the Superior Court of California, February 9, 2004. Here is the complete filing (a very large 3mb pdf file which will open in a new window). You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the filing. Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.