The plaintiffs include publishers (and former publishers) of the Scout sites
that cover Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma and Stanford. While they may be few
in number, the plaintiffs include some of the more heavily trafficked sites
in the Scout network.
The plaintiffs (broadly speaking) allege that Scout has accounted for revenue
in ways not consistent with prevailing contracts, and further allege that Scout
has endeavored through inadequate disclosure of information and accounting
methods to hide their transgressions. They also allege that Scout has failed
to provide website software that is either stable or competitive with other
networks.
While the switchover from the prior EZ Board system to the new message board
platform (created by Scout) has caused concerns and complaints by some readers
of this website, software issues - while cited in the lawsuit - do
not appear to be the primary focus of the legal complaints. Rather the emphasis
appears to be on financial and other contractual matters.
It is important to keep in mind that, as is the case in every lawsuit, the
defendants (Scout et. al.) are innocent until proven guilty. And guessing about
the possible outcomes of the litigation at this point would be little more
than pure speculation.
We can say that should Scout not prevail, their reputation could possibly
suffer, financial costs to Scout could be material, and both Scout and its
network of publishers could be harmed by the fallout. On the other hand, should
Scout prevail, the consequences to Scout and its remaining publishers might
be minimal, and business as usual could well ensue. We simply do not know at
this point.
The lawsuit has been structured as a class action suit, and purports therefore
to have been filed on behalf of all Scout publishers whether they are aware
of it or not. Our understanding is that a lawsuit must qualify under a series
of criteria before a court will certify it as a class action - for example,
there has to be a demonstration that the claims put forward by the plaintiffs
are substantially similar to the claims that would be put forward by other
publishers if they were to sue. Certification of this particular lawsuit as
a class action has not yet occurred.
It is important for readers to understand that The Bear Insider, LLC (TBI),
is entirely separate from Scout, and has been since its creation as CyberBears
in 1998. As we announced in January 2002, TBI affiliated with the Scout network
by entering into an annually renewable "network affiliate" agreement.
In July 2004 we announced the signing of a second agreement establishing The
Bear Insider magazine.
An important bottom line is that without our readers and subscribers, none
of this matters. We existed and grew for several years as the independent "CyberBears" website,
in those days loosely affiliated with some other independent Pac-10 sites under
the "PacFans" rubric. If we were to list all possible outcomes from
the present situation, returning to a similar independent state is one of many
possibilities that could be listed.
Because our primary loyalty is to our readers and subscribers, not to Scout,
we will watch the legal situation as closely as we can and will explore all
options available to us - while also being careful to honor whatever legitimate
obligations we may have to Scout and to others.
Metaphorically, this is not unlike standing at the edge of the OK Corral when
guns are already blazing - and we do not want TBI to become either a
target or a statistic. The best we can hope for is that a sufficient disclosure
of information will occur in the course of the lawsuit that will help establish
the facts of the issues being litigated. Clearly those facts will have an important
bearing on the future of TBI (and therefore of our readers and subscribers),
as indeed they will for the entire Scout network.
With all that has gone on, and in spite of the difficulties caused by the premature
Scout software switchover, the "CyberBears community" remains strong. I
would therefore be remiss if I did not sincerely thank you for your continued
readership, subscriptions, and loyalty. In spite of the legal mess out there
and the technical difficulties with the website, our freestanding and independent
community of Cal fans still thrives.
Whatever the legal outcomes may be I pledge that we will continue to serve
our readers and to support the Cal Bears in their athletic endeavors. We will
be here, count on it.
Please feel free to address any comments or suggestions about these matters
to me directly. The best way to do that is to go to the front page of our website
and find the link called "Contact Us". I look forward to hearing
from you.
Chris Avery
Publisher
©Copyright 2007, BearInsider.com and Scout.com. All rights reserved.
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and are available to discuss questions you may have about this article and Cal Athletics.