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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>See attached PDF file.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p><font size=2 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:navy'>Seeya round town, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City></st1:place>.<br>
<br>
Tom Hansen<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Idaho</st1:State></st1:place><br>
<br>
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."<br>
<br>
- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)</span></font><font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
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</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Bruce and Jean Livingston<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, July 25, 2007
4:10 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Tom Ivie; Moscow Vision 2020<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Vision2020] <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> School Board Won't
Negotiate</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The typical situation under the "American Rule" is
that each party bears the cost of its own attorney's fees. Under the
"English Rule," the losing party bears the cost of its own
attorney fees, PLUS the cost of the prevailing party's legal fees. The
only typical circumstances in the USA where one party bears the cost of the
prevailing party's attorney fees is when a contract or statute authorizes an
exception to the so-called American Rule and affirmatively imposes the
prevailing party's attorney fees upon the loser. An example
of statutes that authorize the shifting of attorney fees are employment
discrimination statutes for age, sex, race and religious discrimination, (known
as the ADEA and Title VII), and for violation of one's constitutional rights, (42
U.S.C. sec. 1983). I believe there are some environemntal laws that also
provide for fee shifting. But the typical situation is that each party
bears their own legal fees.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>To my knowledge, there is no contract between Dr. Weitz and
the MSD that is the basis for this action and would provide for a fee-shifting
arrangement. Likewise, the state statutes governing school district
levies and elections have no provision, so far as I know, that switches the
burden of both sides attorney's fees to the losing party. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So in this case, probably both parties are going to be
bearing the cost of their own attorney's fees. And probably both will be
"paying big time."</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Bruce Livingston</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt;
margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>----- Original Message ----- <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div style='font-color:black'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:#E4E4E4'><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a
href="mailto:the_ivies3@yahoo.com" title="the_ivies3@yahoo.com">Tom Ivie</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>To:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <a
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com" title="vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision
2020</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Wednesday, July
25, 2007 3:47 PM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> Re: [Vision2020] <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> School Board Won't
Negotiate<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Can't the "winning" side ask the court for attorney's fees to
be paid by the "losing" party? If so, regardless of who loses,
someone could end up paying big time. <br>
<br>
<b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Tom Hansen <<a
href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">thansen@moscow.com</a>></span></i></b>
wrote: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Dedicated to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Moscow</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Board.<br>
<br>
In the words of Joan Baez . . .<br>
<br>
"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round"<br>
<a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/AGLN_Baez.mp3">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Songs/AGLN_Baez.mp3</a><br>
<br>
>From today's (July 25, 2007) Moscow-Pullman Daily News -<br>
<br>
"'This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that<br>
voted for it,' she [Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman] said.<br>
<br>
---------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> school
board won't negotiate<br>
MSD wants courts to decide outcome of levy lawsuit; next hearing postponed<br>
until Oct. <br>
<br>
By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer<br>
<br>
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM<br>
<br>
The Moscow School Board will return to court in October for the next hearing<br>
in its $7.6 million lawsuit despite listening to appeals Tuesday night from<br>
patrons who want the district to seek a settlement.<br>
<br>
"The delay makes things difficult, but we're not afraid of the ultimate<br>
decision of the court," said Margaret Dibble, board vice chairwoman.
"We<br>
certainly believe in the law. We want to do the right thing and we believe<br>
that is abiding by the will of the electorate."<br>
<br>
Voters approved a $1.9 million increase to the district's indefinite<br>
supplemental levy March 27. The increase brought the total amount of the<br>
levy to $7.6 million.<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> dentist
Gerald Weitz challenged that election with a lawsuit he filed<br>
on May 4. He also threatened the full levy amount because his lawsuit<br>
alleged the district failed to follow state law.<br>
<br>
The district lost an attempt to dismiss the case at its last court hearing<br>
June 29. The same day, the district's attorneys filed a motion for summary<br>
judgement and received a hearing date for Aug. 24, when the judge would hear<br>
the facts of the case and issue a ruling.<br>
<br>
MSD attorney Amy White sent a notice to the district Monday with information<br>
that Weitz's attorneys have filed a similar motion. The legal procedure<br>
extended the deadlines and required the hearing date to be pushed back. With<br>
Second District Judge John Bradbury unavailable for a hearing in September,<br>
the earliest date available for the hearing is Oct. 5.<br>
<br>
"The district continues to remain optimistic that they will prevail on
this<br>
matter and firmly believes that they complied with all the legalities for<br>
this election," White wrote.<br>
<br>
About 14 people attended Tuesday's meeting and many participated in a heated<br>
exchange that brought people out of their seats as they argued for and<br>
against the possibility of negotiating a settlement.<br>
<br>
The board's decision to stay within the court system upset <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> resident<br>
Don Harter, who spoke in favor of his plan for conciliation. His proposal<br>
would require the district to rerun its levy as an ordinary supplemental<br>
levy that would need to be repeated annually or biannually in exchange for a<br>
legal agreement from Weitz to drop his lawsuit.<br>
<br>
"You have more options and more control than your opponent," he said.<br>
<br>
Harter predicted a winning outcome would lead to a worse situation because<br>
he believes Weitz would appeal and carry the process out another 18 months.<br>
<br>
"If you win, you'll immediately go into prayer," he said.<br>
<br>
Harter also predicted that if Weitz won, the district would have to pursue<br>
its option to appeal, which he equated to "you shoot yourself in the foot
by<br>
keeping in turmoil another 18 months." He warned that staying within the<br>
court system could keep escalating the case.<br>
<br>
"Good luck with your legal expenses to see it all the way through the<br>
Supreme Court," he said.<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> property
owner Isabel Bond spoke about her concerns with the levy<br>
while she offered her support for Weitz's agenda to have more<br>
professional-technical education in the district.<br>
<br>
"I'd like to see some negotiation," she said. "I'd like to see
the taxpayers<br>
have a real say in what's going on."<br>
<br>
Bond didn't think voters understood the election and she questioned the<br>
election because she said there was a low voter turnout.<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> resident
and former teacher Bob Weisel stood up to support the<br>
election results.<br>
<br>
"I voted in that levy. I knew what I was voting for," he said.
"Anybody that<br>
didn't understand what they were voting for should've asked somebody."<br>
<br>
He also spoke to comments Bond raised about Weitz's educational philosophy.<br>
<br>
"For some strange reason, we've got somebody who feels he knows more about<br>
education than the people we hire to run" the district, he said.<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City> parent
Michael Jennings was concerned that negotiating with Weitz<br>
would cause instability in funding that would eventually
"deconstruct" the<br>
schools.<br>
<br>
"I want to encourage the board to stay with the law, to move forward
within<br>
the legal system," he said.<br>
<br>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City>
brought up Weitz's tumultuous history with the district, including<br>
both his time on the board and his resignations from it at times of<br>
disagreement.<br>
<br>
"He's a bully," <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jennings</st1:place></st1:City>
said. "He's held our children hostage to blackmail,<br>
to wanting to do it his way."<br>
<br>
Board chairwoman Dawn Fazio had to call the room to order as the comments<br>
from opposing sides intensified. She pointed to the arguments as an example<br>
of why "we can't resolve this here."<br>
<br>
At the end of the night, Dibble said the district followed its legal counsel<br>
and held "a perfectly good, democratic election."<br>
<br>
"This negotiation would have to be with the 56.7 percent of people that<br>
voted for it," she said.<br>
<br>
---------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Seeya round town, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>.<br>
<br>
Tom Hansen<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Idaho</st1:State></st1:place><br>
<br>
"I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful<br>
private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption."<br>
<br>
- Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
=======================================================<br>
List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>
http://www.fsr.net <br>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>
=======================================================<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<br>
<br>
Tom & Liz Ivie <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=1 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Got a little couch potato? <br>
Check out fun <a
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48248/*http:/search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz">summer
activities for kids.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>=======================================================<br>
List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>
http://www.fsr.net
<br>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>
=======================================================<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</blockquote>
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