CAN YOU CLOWNS SMELL THE FEAR?
"(Exhibit B at p. 1). The evidence, as set forth herein, demonstrates that Leonidas, LLC, has, in fact, incurred substantial debt in direct violation of Section 2.1(a) of its operating agreement. Indeed, substantial evidence indicates that its current debt exceeds the total revenue the corporation has generated since the date of its inception, thereby raising a serious question as to whether the debt can ever be satisfied.
On or around September 2008, Leonidas, LLC contracted with the law firm of Polsinelli Shughart, P.C. ("Polsinelli"), to bring legal action against USAPA, which is the certified labor representative of the US Airways' pilots. While the litigation was brought on behalf of six individual pilots, the agreement between Leonidas and Polsinelli provided that Leonidas would be responsible for all legal fees incurred as a result of the litigation. A letter retainer dated December 23, 2008, between the individual litigants and Polsinelli confirms the existence of this agreement:
Please be advised that Leonidas, LLC ("Leonidas") has been collecting funds to pay and has paid all legal fees to date relating to your representation in this matter. Our firm [Polisnelli] will have no recourse against you personally if Leonidas fails to make payment of your legal fees.
A copy of this retainer letter is attached as Exhibit D. The referenced litigation was prosecuted in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona as a class action. As part of the class action discovery process, the plaintiffs were ordered to produce a total of the amount of funds that had been collected by Leonidas to cover the accrued legal fees and costs. On February 27, 2009, the plaintiffs produced a document, which represented that since the date of its inception, Leonidas had raised a total of $687,158.00. A copy of this filing is attached to this letter as Exhibit E.
The case proceeded to and through trial, and on September 4, 2009, Polsinelli submitted an invoice for its accrued legal fees and costs to the Court as part of a motion for attorneys' fees. A copy of that invoice is attached to this letter as Exhibit F. Consistent with the agreement between Leonidas and Polsinelli discussed herein, the invoice is addressed to Leonidas, LLC, and explains that it "reflects services performed and expenses incurred on your behalf." The total amount of the invoice is $1,821,229.87. Leonidas owed Polsinelli a debt in September 2009, which was more than double the amount reported on February 27, 2009, that had been raised by Leonidas since its inception in August 2007. The litigation then proceeded throughout 2009 and 2010 on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and onward to the Supreme Court of the United States. Leonidas has since released updates, which admitted that it was still carrying debt owed to Polsinelli. Copies of these updates are attached to this letter as Exhibit G.
It is apparent from this evidence that Leonidas, LLC, in direct violation of section 2.1(a) of its operating agreement, has incurred substantial debt owed to Polsinelli Shughart, P.C. Even excluding the costs of further services provided by Polsinelli since September 2009, Leonidas's debt to Polsinelli could conservatively be estimated in the amount of $1,134,071.87.
III. Engagement in Activities Outside the Scope of the Operating Agreement
Section 1.3 of the Leonidas, LLC operating agreement defines its corporate purpose as follows:
The purpose and business of this Company shall consist solely of soliciting funds in the form of cash and using said funds to fund an independent legal campaign in the matter of the seniority integration of the America West Airlines pilots and US Airways pilots, for the benefit of the pilots of the former America West Airlines.
(Exhibit A at p. 1) (emphasis added). Leonidas, LLC, in violation of this section of its operating agreement, has embarked upon a politically charged propaganda campaign in an effort to lobby US Airways pilots regarding the internal union policies of USAPA. To this end, Leonidas has maintained a website and engaged no fewer than three mass mailings directed at US Airways pilots. The most recent mailing was announced by Leonidas on March 21, 2011, and was described by the LLC to be "30 pages." A copy of this March 21 update is attached to this letter as Exhibit H. As explained by Leonidas in its most recent update, this mailing along with others was "mailed to the East pilots." This mailing was most certainly not for purposes of furthering the corporation's sole authorized purpose of "soliciting funds." In fact, not only were the 3,000 East pilots not part of the class on whose behalf Leonidas was funding litigation, but Leonidas has actually funded litigation against these 3,000 East pilots as a defendant-class in Arizona State Court. Thus, the objective can only be for the purpose of political lobbying and not for the purpose of "soliciting funds." Moreover, as described in Section I herein, the lobbying campaign has been conducted using what must be considered stolen property.
There are approximately 3,000 East pilots. Therefore, considerable monies must have been expended by Leonidas to develop, print, produce and mail 3,000 copies of these multi-page documents. This type of conduct is wholly outside the scope of business defined in Section 1.3 of the Leonidas operating agreement, which "shall consist solely of soliciting funds ... to fund an independent legal campaign." Once again, Leonidas, LLC has violated the express terms of its own operating agreement.
As president of the union representing all US Airways' pilots, I felt it my duty to inform you and your office that a limited liability company registered and currently operating under the authority of the Arizona Corporation Commission has not only stolen the names, address and Social Security numbers of 3,000 pilots that entrusted that sensitive information to their employer, but has also repeatedly engaged in conduct that expressly violates the terms of its own operating agreement.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me at (877) 332-3342.
Sincerely,
Capt. Michael Cleary, President
US Airline Pilots Association"
WOW, I GUESS AOL HAS MORE CASH THAN THE CLOWNS THOUGHT? THAT PAMPHLET HIT THE BULLS EYE.
