PADI loses civil suit

[Ayisha]

Without reading the other posts, I will say I do. It was part of a 9th circut court decision against PADI.

I honestly didn't know anything about it. Could someone please give the Cole's notes version of what happened? Or a link to info on the case/judgement?

 

[awetmedic]

I honestly didn't know anything about it. Could someone please give the Cole's notes version of what happened? Or a link to info on the case/judgement?

A major dive agency starts as a nonprofit, probably with good intentions in the basement of US Divers (I think) Growth happens, along come Don Dibble from Texas, problems with the agency and unfair business practices, clearly not what a nonprofit would do, and not operating as a nonprofit and other stuff. Don's business suffers due to "stuff". The nonprofit dive agency sees that they will be fined heavily, they disband just after selling the "name" to "Iname" and re-incorporate as a for profit. Disbanding a nonprofit to escape a lawsuit (if corporations are people it is like dying) is not legal (can't do it if a lawsuit is pending) but yet the corp is dead, and the 9th (maybe 11th) circut court order a 3 part remedy that the major dive agency must pay for, involving education, environment and.....I forget. That is it without all the skulldugery. Don was left twisting in the wind instead of getting a settlement.

 

[Leadking]

The real problem is they sold the name to all the insiders and in effect "stole" a 501(c)(3) corporation from the public. Took it private and the public got virually nothing.

One of the parties is well connected to Republican politics and when the stars aligned, cut a deal to create a new non-profit (which it controls) to replace the one it "stole". An absolute sweetheart deal.

This is just the tip of a very large iceberg.

 

[Ayisha]

Holy, I can't say I'm any less confused. Oh well, thanks for trying...

 

[awetmedic]

Holy, I can't say I'm any less confused. Oh well, thanks for trying...

The biggest tragedy is to the morale of instructors who start out thinking they have taken the right path to success, and later discover bit by bit that perhaps the goal of the organization is not the same goal as the dedicated newbie. When they later find out that basic skills are taught in the perspective of a defensible method of education (one viewpoint only) and not as a result of the vast different ways you can learn and apply them, you come up with the laughable and hilarious mistakes the agency makes when putting together a training video. "This way is best", is funny to divers all over the world, but to the crowd that only eats at mcdonalds, that food tastes best. PADI flubs on a variety of basic skills but to change them means that legal liability arises on them if they are changed. They created the legal quagmire, they suffer from it.

 

[WSOPFAN]

A bit confusing yes, but also very eye opening.