Update regarding the Purchase Free Library
Oct 01 2014
Dear All,
We thank you for your support of the Purchase Library.
We are sending this update to inform you of the status of the litigation to save the Purchase Library, and the demand for a special meeting of the members of The Purchase Community In...
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Dear All,
We thank you for your support of the Purchase Library.
We are sending this update to inform you of the status of the litigation to save the Purchase Library, and the demand for a special meeting of the members of The Purchase Community Inc. (PCI), owner of the Purchase Community House (PCH) that is also part of our effort to save the library by having the residents of our community exercise their democratic rights as the members/owners of PCI/PCH.
On or about September 3, 2014, PCI filed an eviction action against the library in Harrison Town Court with an initial court appearance expected on September 11 that was subsequently adjourned to September 23.
On September 3, 2014, an action was filed on behalf of 50 plaintiffs who are residents of the Purchase area/PCI members and on behalf of the library in NY Supreme Court, Westchester County (White Plains) against PCI, the 17 alleged PCI directors, and PCI Executive Director Jim Kelly to stop the eviction of the library and seek various other relief (e.g., a new PCI board election). Our counsel secured the scheduling of a conference in that action before New York Supreme Court Justice Linda Jamieson for September 18, in anticipation of filing a motion for, among other things, an immediate stay of the PCI town court eviction action and other relief.
At the same time, we were waiting for PCI and PCI’s alleged directors to respond as to whether they would allow the special member meeting that 192 members had demanded for October 1, 2014.
On September 16, our counsel (Steven Schoenfeld, Esq. of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP), along with counsel for PCI, and counsel for the defendant PCI alleged directors and defendant Jim Kelly signed a stipulation pushing back the first appearance in the eviction action so that the library can continue to remain in place and serve our community, and the key terms are as follows:
1. The September 18, 2014 court conference in the New York State Supreme Court action was adjourned until October 28, 2014 at 9:30 a.m.
2. The initial appearance in the Harrison Town Court eviction action was adjourned from September 23, 2014, to November 13, 2014, and The Purchase Free Library’s time to respond in that action was extended until November 6, 2014.
3. Defendants’ time to respond to the verified complaint in the New York State Supreme Court action was extended until October 16, 2014 (the defendants have to answer or make a motion against the complaint).
4. PCI agreed that the demand for a special meeting signed by 192 of us and our neighbors is a valid request for a special meeting of PCI’s members, and PCI will comply with that request and call the special meeting with due notice to PCI’s members, but the parties to the lawsuit agreed that the special meeting shall be called and noticed by PCI for the evening of November 12, 2014, instead of October 1, 2014.
PLEASE MARK NOVEMBER 12 ON YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE MEMBER MEETING IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND AND CONTACT US IF YOU DO NOT THINK YOU CAN ATTEND.
Part of the reason for pushing back some of the dates was to permit the parties to talk without immediate litigation deadlines. We are going to pursue settlement negotiations with the defendants in good faith to see if we can reach an amicable resolution of the matters facing our community that would save the library and keep it in the Community House and avoid further litigation among members of our community. However, we caution that it is not clear that any settlement can be reached and we remain prepared to pursue our legal rights in court, through the member meeting on November 12, 2014 and otherwise.
Warm regards,
Martha Greenberg
Rosanna Spadini
Roberta Hoffberg
Abby Araten
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