Bright, Daly spar over ‘conflict of interest’ allegations Newly re-elected Ocean Pines Association Director Frank Daly came in for some pointed criticism for his vote in a Sept. 30 special meeting to conduct a do-over Board of Directors election with three candidates, excluding Richard Farr. In an Oct. 3 motion to enjoin the do-over election, which had passed 4-3 with Daly’s support, Farr attorney Bruce Bright said Daly’s vote was “against the direct and publicly given advice of OPA legal counsel Jeremy Tucker.” He repeated that assertion during an Oct. 13 court hearing, and also said that Daly’s vote constituted a breach of the OPA’s conflict of interest rules In an exclusive interview with the Progress, Daly pushes back on all of Bright’s arguments. ~ Page 33
Farr attacks OPA reliance on business judgment rule The business judgment rule is a legal doctrine that says that private entities have broad discretion to make decisions that their boards of directors deem to be in their best interest, free of intervention or second-guessing by courts, except for irregular and arbitrary conduct and fraud. The rule has been invoked by Ocean Pines Association attorney Anthony Dwyer in his defense of the OPA in the Richard Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case. Farr attorney Bruce Bright argues that the rule is not applicable because the OPA in the 2021 Board of Directors election engaged in irregular and arbitrary conduct. ~ Page 36
November 2021
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
Court to decide Farr eligibility issue in Nov. 15 hearing OPA loses on election do-over and counting of Farr ballots, with judge opining from the bench that Board votes on these issues were ‘not in good faith’ By TOM STAUSS Publisher resolution of the Richard Farr eligibility issue is expected Nov. 15, after which time the Board of Directors in a special meeting yet to be scheduled will decide whether to certify the election results consistent with what the court decides. Judge Sidney Campen in an Oct. 13 hearing in Worcester County Circuit Court set the Nov. 15 date to resolve the 2021 Board of Directors election, resisting efforts by the Ocean Pines Association lawyer to take more time for the discovery phase of the case. An expedited discovery hearing was scheduled on Nov. 1, setting the stage for Judge Campen to decide whether Farr’s disqualification as a candidate by former OPA secretary Camilla Rogers two weeks before the scheduled count of the ballots was proper. The judge has said he’s neutral or undecided on the eligibility question, but the OPA probably should not be going into the Nov. 15 hearing with a lot of confidence that its side will prevail. He ruled against a number of
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Judge Campen
Richard Farr
Frank Daly
OPA positions during the Oct. 13 hearing and made it clear he was “troubled” by the way the Board of Directors handled this summer’s election. He even said it found the board’s vote for a do-over election and the deciding vote in favor of that action by Director Frank Daly, a candidate for reelection, were “not in good faith.” In a vote count ordered by the court during the Oct. 13 hearing, and conducted by the Elections Committee To Page 32