Don LeClair’s lawsuit against the NHSA has been dismissed. On April 30, 2019, the Belknap County Superior Court granted judgment for the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association in a lawsuit brought by Donald LeClair, a member of Bridgewater Mountain Snowmobile Club.
Don LeClair ‘s lawsuit claimed that NHSA’s 2018 amendments to its By-Laws were invalid by reason of having been adopted without proper notice to all individual NHSA members.
Don LeClair Lawsuit Against NHSA Dismissed
The Court disagreed, noting that “the Bylaws do not proscribe a specific method by which the Board is required to submit proposed changes to the members,” giving the Board “discretionary authority to make a determination of how to promulgate notice of proposed amendments to the membership.”
The Court found that the Board’s provision of notice to club presidents, on social media and on its website were “reasonable methods of promulgating notice, particularly in light of NHSA’s large membership.”
It quoted from the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s 1970 decision in Bricker v. N.H. Medical Society: “Judicial interference in the internal affairs of associations is strictly limited and will not be undertaken in the absence of a showing of injustice or illegal action and resulting damage to the complaining member.”
Don LeClair has until May 30 to file any appeal. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be read here.