25 March 2019
Statement of the Management Committee of the Competitors Commission: Settlement of members’ legal complaint against the World Dance Council’s Board of Directors for defamation
The Management Committee of the Competitors Commission (the “MC”) is very pleased to announce that a number of its members have settled their long-standing legal dispute with the World Dance Council (“WDC”) in respect of allegations made against them by the Board of Directors of the World Dance Council (the “Board”) in an email sent to WDC Competitors on 10 February 2018 (the “Publication”).
The Publication was made by the Board following the World Dance Council’s purported dissolution of the Competitors Commission in January 2018. The MC considered a number of statements made in the Publication to be defamatory.
As confirmed in a statement published on 18 July: http://worldcompetitors.org/announcements/statement-of-the-management-committee-of-the-competitor-commission/
the MC has been engaged in a legal dispute with the Board in which it has been seeking to protect the independent status of the Competitors Commission in the face of its purported dissolution by the Board. It has also been engaged in a defamation dispute with the Board in relation to the statements made in the Publication.
While the status of the Competitors Commission remains a point of difference, the parties have agreed to settle the defamation dispute.
In a statement published on 18 March 2019, the Board has confirmed as follows:
STATEMENT OF THE WORLD DANCE COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The WDC Board of Directors are happy to confirm publicly that their decision to dissolve the former Competitors Commission in January 2018 was not made because they believed that the Management Committee of the former Competitors Commission had acted dishonestly in any way.
In case any recipient of an email circulated on behalf of the WDC Board on 10 February 2018 misunderstood the email, or the letters attached to it, as accusing the Management Committee of the former Competitors Commission of dishonest conduct in relation to management of the former Competitors Commission, the Board is happy to correct that misunderstanding and confirm that that was not the reason for the dissolution of the former Competitors Commission.
The Board’s statement can be accessed on the WDC website by clicking on the following link: http://www.wdcdance.com/index.php/news-media/news-archive/?news_id=380
The Publication, which was made to WDC competitors in February 2018, contained certain allegations as to the operation of the Competitors Commission which, members of the MC were concerned, attacked the integrity of the MC. We are pleased to receive the Board’s confirmation that this was not intended.
Throughout its tenure, the MC operated the Competitors Commission in good faith and in accordance with long-accepted practices and we believed that a positive relationship was enjoyed with the Board until the MC raised its concerns in relation to the WDC Amateur League. In addition, the MC provided documents and information, including accounting and budgeting information, to the WDC as soon as possible when they were requested. The MC is pleased to report that, following review by the Board, no issues have been raised with the MC in relation to these documents and information.
The MC has always maintained that it acted within its remit and in the best interests of competitors in its management of the Competitors Commission. As part of doing so, the MC ensured that competitors were consulted as much as possible on important issues and that their views were taken into account in the exercise of the Competitors Commission’s speaking and voting rights at WDC meetings. The MC itself operated with decisions being taken by majority vote after communication among the MC’s members.
Above all, the MC strove to uphold what it understood to be the values of the WDC and considers that it proved itself fit for purpose of providing independent representation for WDC competitors.
It is clear from the tremendous amount of support that we have continued to receive throughout this difficult time, and for which we are incredibly grateful, that competitors value the importance of an independent Competitors Commission.
Now that this issue has finally been resolved, the MC will continue its efforts to provide an independent voice for competitors worldwide.
Management Committee of the Competitors’ Commission