Thursday, February 04, 2010

Judge Dismisses Suit Against AKA President and Sorority

Judge Dismisses Suit Against AKA President and Sorority: WASHINGTON – A judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by eight members of the nation's oldest black sorority, who accused the group's president of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper compensation and spending sorority money on a wax statue of herself and other questionable purposes.

In a 17-page opinion, D.C. Superior Court Judge Natalia M. Combs Greene said the plaintiffs failed to prove they were entitled to relief, in large part because their lawsuit against Chicago-based Alpha Kappa Alpha and its president, Barbara McKinzie, was the wrong kind of legal action. Combs Greene suggested they should have filed a shareholder derivative suit, which allows shareholders to sue on behalf of a corporation after first meeting certain requirements.

“This case is largely about several disgruntled AKA members disillusioned with what they see as an increasingly opaque, authoritarian, and self-serving leadership in their organization. Based on the voluminous record, questions may exist as to the propriety of the Directorate's actions,” the judge wrote.