Posted by Dave Thewlis on December 09, 2000 at 17:20:26 from 63.200.128.218:
In Reply to: Re: Company Status; was TARS Membership List posted by John Wilson on December 09, 2000 at 13:12:37:
In the U.S. we have similar concerns and a somewhat more rapacious approach to legal
recourse (if "recourse") is the appropriate word. And indeed, a major concern for officers
and directors (or trustees) of unincorporated entities is the potential for being
sued individually. We also have a specific type of liability insurance termed
"officers and directors" insurance which is available to corporate entities, especially
non-profit corporations; the purpose is to protect the officers and directors of the
organization from exposure *as individuals* to lawsuits brought against them in addition
to or instead of the organization itself. Without something like this, the exposure to
individuals of serving on the boards or as officers of organizations which do virtually
anything likely to attract legal action and lawsuits can be pretty high and it can be
difficult to get people to serve when they understand the potential consequences.
This is particularly important because a standard ploy of somebody who is out to cause
serious damage to an organization is to threaten to sue the organization and sue its
officers and directors individually -- which for small organizations could bankrupt them
defending a lawsuit however unfounded it might be.