Tom Vogl
Updated February 16, 2024: The final piece of litigation between The Mountaineers and Keta Legacy Foundation has been formally settled out of court this week. LEARN MORE.
More than two months ago, I shared an update summarizing our efforts to amicably resolve the lawsuit that Keta Legacy Foundation filed against The Mountaineers in September 2019. In an effort to be transparent with our community, we shared the proposed settlement agreement that we sent to Keta. I received a number of messages from Mountaineers members expressing their appreciation for being kept informed about the lawsuit and that the proposal itself seemed like a very reasonable way to resolve this dispute.
We made this good faith proposal as a genuine effort to allow both organizations to support one another’s respective missions, to respect the wishes of donors, and to avoid wasting time and money on a frivolous lawsuit. I’m sad to report today that Keta has been unwilling, absent our agreement to unreasonable conditions, to schedule a meeting to discuss how to move forward or even to provide a counterproposal for us to evaluate.
After more than two months of efforts on our part to get a meaningful response to our proposal from Keta, we’ve resigned ourselves to the reality that this dispute will likely only be resolved by defending ourselves in court. We remain open to negotiating a resolution that stops wasting money on litigation, but we need a willing participant in those negotiations. As we have for the last two years since Keta filed its lawsuit against The Mountaineers, we will continue to keep you informed about our efforts to defend our donors and ourselves in the months ahead. Feel free to email me directly with any questions or concerns: tomv@mountaineers.org.
