RE: [ga] Liability protection for ICANN Volunteers - correction

[Joanna Lane <jo-uk@rcn.com>]

correction to penultimate paragraph:

/..... defense costs alone could prove ruinous for those WITHOUT a
corporate paymaster to cover the cost, regardless of the outcome of the
case..../

This is a new mistake....:-)

Regards,
Joanna


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ga@dnso.org [mailto:owner-ga@dnso.org]On Behalf Of Joanna
> Lane
> Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 5:58 PM
> To: Touton@Icann. Org
> Cc: Ga@Dnso. Org; Karl Auerbach
> Subject: RE: [ga] Liability protection for ICANN Volunteers
>
>
> Karl Auerbach wrote: Monday, May 12, 2003 10:15 PM
> > The above is *not* legal advice, these are matters that you
> > should discuss
> > with your own attorney.
> >
> > 		--karl--
>
> Where may an ICANN volunteer point their attorney to review the terms and
> conditions of ICANN's current Liability Insurance cover? There is
> nothing in
> the Financial Documents section of the ICANN website where one
> would expect.
>
> While the Non-Com FAQ does say that ICANN carries liability insurance for
> volunteers, and Resolution 98.9 suggests a premium of $60,000 or
> more would
> be available annually, the language in Article XIX does not indicate a
> commitment to obtain or maintain that insurance by ICANN, neither does
> anything I can find provide specific details of coverage that is envisaged
> for, say, members of the GNSO GA or ALAC.
>
> How far down the food chain coverage is to be extended is fuzzy
> and needs to
> be clarified, but I count some 750 individuals would be affected,
> including
> Board Directors, members of the ALAC and the GNSO.
>
> I imagine that those who are paid to participate in ICANN are
> indemnified by
> their employers, but others who participate in a personal capacity, as
> users, would have to meet any liability exposure personally. If
> cover is not
> obtained by ICANN, or not sufficiently comprehensive, or includes a
> deductible amounting to thousands of dollars per claim, then
> individuals who
> do not enjoy corporate protection cannot reasonably be expected to
> participate. This adversely affects users and undermines the fundamental
> principals of individual participation in the At Large.
>
> Volunteers from all sectors must know about the risks against
> which they are
> to be indemnified by ICANN *in advance* of joining a Supporting
> Organization
> or Advisory Committee, and more important, they must be advised clearly
> about risks that will be excluded for whatever reason, for which they must
> carry the risk personally.
>
> The overriding consideration in this matter is the high cost of attorney
> fees to mount a defense. In New York State at least, the cost of attorney
> fees are not awarded to the winner, so even in a frivolous lawsuit, win or
> lose, the defendant has lost. Is it the same in California where
> one assumes
> all cases would be heard?
>
> Although we all think we are reasonable people, there really is no way of
> knowing whether or not volunteers will find themselves named
> individually as
> well as collectively in a multi-million dollar lawsuit at some
> point in the
> future. If, say, the petitioner were a large US corporation with
> an army of
> attorneys on retainer, which is the likely character of any potential
> adversary, then defense costs alone could prove ruinous for those with a
> corporate paymaster to cover the cost, regardless of the outcome of the
> case.
>
> This is not a trivial matter that can be taken on trust, so I
> repeat, where
> are the current insurance documents posted for review by prospective At
> large volunteers and their legal advisors?
>
> Thanks,
> Joanna
>
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