DMR NCPRN K1DMR Lawsuit Fund
Donation protected
NOTE: To see all previous Updates, click on "Show More" in the box just above this note.
A lawsuit has been filed in North Carolina Superior Court (Wake County case # 15CV007454) by Ham Radio Operator Ken Bryant, K1DMR. Ken has named 20+ hams as defendants, all of who are repeater owners/trustees and/or c-Bridge owners/administrators in North Carolina and/or surrounding states. Currently, only 2 hams have been served and are now actively defending the lawsuit, one being Scott Whitaker, KF4DBW. Scott has made the decision to seek public aid for his defense and is the person who will receive any funds generated via this campaign.
Scott has sold off his DMR repeater and radios to help pay for costs and his attorney services to defend against Ken's lawsuit. BTW, Scott is a full time college student with limited financial resources.
Ken Bryant, the ham who is the plaintiff or one who filed this lawsuit is a businessman with many interests which include being a Motorola channel partner (sells new and used radios, accessories and parts primarily). His access to NCPRN's c-Bridge/repeaters was restricted because of his use of their network in support of his business ventures. He took issue with the access restrictions and ultimately filed a lawsuit in June 2015. That suit is moving toward a jury trial now. This action is now public in the ham community and Scott is seeking financial assistance to defend this case.
While I, as a ham radio operator, do side with the defendants on general principal (I own 3 c-Bridges and operate them at no profit, the same as NCPRN), I also see that I am at risk but more so, that all networked structures in ham radio could also be scooped up by some guy who wants to sue when the administrators take action against a ham for activities that arguably are not in spirit of the ham comunity or otherwise outside of the FCC rules on Amateur Radio activities. Whether one is a repeater owner, control operator or a wider network administrator/owner, all of us could be at greater risk if this suit prevails, as it can set precedence and logically we could be less likely to grow the ham radio community effort.
Radio users could be negatively impacted as well and should consider supporting this effort. All hams could be impacted if K1DMR's position is upheld. It is likely that repeater and network growth would be negatively impacted and that will hurt all of ham radio.
That is why all hams should be interested in this lawsuit and it's outcome.
For much more detail, here's PRN's page to the lawsuit: http://ncprn.net/?p=379 and a link to the PDF copy of the complaint filed in North Carolina Superior Court: http://ncprn.net/?download=384. There is also a catchall directory of relevant information at: www.trbo.org/pub/lawsuit.
The funds are needed now and into the future. Currently, this case will go to jury trail and significant costs are looming ahead as well as over the past 11 months. The funds will be used only to cover the costs and attorney fees incurred in Scott's defense. Any funds recieved but not used in support of this defense will be returned to our donors. If you donate anonymously, we still can use your Email address provided, to return unused funds...though it is very likely that there will not be any surplus.
Please contact me through GFM or QRZ if you still have questions: Mike Shirley, NO7RF, Mazama WA
A lawsuit has been filed in North Carolina Superior Court (Wake County case # 15CV007454) by Ham Radio Operator Ken Bryant, K1DMR. Ken has named 20+ hams as defendants, all of who are repeater owners/trustees and/or c-Bridge owners/administrators in North Carolina and/or surrounding states. Currently, only 2 hams have been served and are now actively defending the lawsuit, one being Scott Whitaker, KF4DBW. Scott has made the decision to seek public aid for his defense and is the person who will receive any funds generated via this campaign.
Scott has sold off his DMR repeater and radios to help pay for costs and his attorney services to defend against Ken's lawsuit. BTW, Scott is a full time college student with limited financial resources.
Ken Bryant, the ham who is the plaintiff or one who filed this lawsuit is a businessman with many interests which include being a Motorola channel partner (sells new and used radios, accessories and parts primarily). His access to NCPRN's c-Bridge/repeaters was restricted because of his use of their network in support of his business ventures. He took issue with the access restrictions and ultimately filed a lawsuit in June 2015. That suit is moving toward a jury trial now. This action is now public in the ham community and Scott is seeking financial assistance to defend this case.
While I, as a ham radio operator, do side with the defendants on general principal (I own 3 c-Bridges and operate them at no profit, the same as NCPRN), I also see that I am at risk but more so, that all networked structures in ham radio could also be scooped up by some guy who wants to sue when the administrators take action against a ham for activities that arguably are not in spirit of the ham comunity or otherwise outside of the FCC rules on Amateur Radio activities. Whether one is a repeater owner, control operator or a wider network administrator/owner, all of us could be at greater risk if this suit prevails, as it can set precedence and logically we could be less likely to grow the ham radio community effort.
Radio users could be negatively impacted as well and should consider supporting this effort. All hams could be impacted if K1DMR's position is upheld. It is likely that repeater and network growth would be negatively impacted and that will hurt all of ham radio.
That is why all hams should be interested in this lawsuit and it's outcome.
For much more detail, here's PRN's page to the lawsuit: http://ncprn.net/?p=379 and a link to the PDF copy of the complaint filed in North Carolina Superior Court: http://ncprn.net/?download=384. There is also a catchall directory of relevant information at: www.trbo.org/pub/lawsuit.
The funds are needed now and into the future. Currently, this case will go to jury trail and significant costs are looming ahead as well as over the past 11 months. The funds will be used only to cover the costs and attorney fees incurred in Scott's defense. Any funds recieved but not used in support of this defense will be returned to our donors. If you donate anonymously, we still can use your Email address provided, to return unused funds...though it is very likely that there will not be any surplus.
Please contact me through GFM or QRZ if you still have questions: Mike Shirley, NO7RF, Mazama WA
Organizer and beneficiary
Mike Shirley
Organizer
Rockingham, NC
Scott Whitaker
Beneficiary
