- Motion to dismiss case against five directors and Chief Executive upheld
- Board to meet to assess consequences and determine a constructive path forward
USA Cricket is pleased to announce that the lawsuit brought by two directors (Mr. Venu Pisike and Mr. Srini Salver) against five other directors and the Chief Executive was dismissed in full by the District Court in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday.
For the reasons set out previously, the USA Cricket Board has always been disappointed that Mr. Pisike and Mr. Salver saw fit to bring this legal action in the first instance, and to pursue it over the past few months despite good faith attempts to mediate and reach an amicable resolution.
Monday’s decision follows an earlier court decision in January to reject an application based on the same set of facts by the claimants for a temporary restraining order, and therefore represents the second time that this matter has been considered and ruled upon by the courts in 2021.
The lawsuit has caused financial and other resourcing challenges that, among other things, have led to the delay in staging of the USA Cricket Men’s National 50 Over Championships until later in the year, kept player and staff contractual payments and salaries at reduced levels, and caused the delay or suspension of certain cricketing and developmental programs and events that USA Cricket had otherwise planned to deliver during the year.
The Board will meet shortly to consider the full consequences of Monday’s decision and how progress can be made over the rest of the year to help put it back on track with its 2021 objectives. The Board will also spend time considering what changes need to be made to the USA Cricket constitution and the governance structure more broadly to avoid disputes of this nature arising in the future and other ways of establishing a more effective governance model that aligns with best practice.
Having now spent more than six months dealing with the lawsuit in one way or another, but with it now dismissed, USA Cricket hopes to be able to direct its full financial and human resources to bringing together the entire cricket community behind its ongoing effort to achieve the vision for the sport set out in the USAC Foundational Plan. For example, now with greater clarity and certainty about the future, USA Cricket will very quickly be able to secure and announce important cricketing camps, programs and tours for the rest of the year, many of which have either been on hold, delayed or cancelled.
And without the threat of injunction proceedings, the Board will also urgently consider and determine how best to address the delayed Board election, especially now that most of the technology challenges with the membership portal have been resolved and outstanding Membership Fees are in the process of being collected.
Further announcements on some of these issues will follow shortly, and a fuller update will be provided once the Board has met in full.
