OLF Legal Woes: This Just In

Thursday, July 26, 2007

OLF Legal Woes: This Just In

No sooner than I posted the last update, I received an e-mail message from my source in TA-OLF informing me that the “temporary restraining order granted to the Asmara Group has been vacated as of this morning. Our (OLF’s) planned public meeting today will proceed as planned. Will update you on details of the case at my earliest convenience.”

Calls to my sources in the Asmara Group of OLF for their reactions has not been returned.

Stay tuned. Also, have your say.

OLF Legal Woes: an Update

It is to be recalled that Oromo Affairs reported the lawsuit brought against TA-OLF by the Asmara Group of OLF in a Minnesota Court. It looks like the Minnesota Court has decided on one of the four judgments the Asmara Group had applied for.

An internal source with in the Asmra Group of the OLF has informed this blogger that they have succeeded in obtaining a “temporary restraining order against TA-OLF and its members from passing themselves off as OLF and its officers or representatives pending a full hearing on the merits of the lawsuit.” (E-mail message from Source, July 25, 2007) According to this source, this judgment in effect has forced TA-OLF to cancel its planned public meeting for July 26, 2007, and that “in granting the temporary restraining order, the judge has concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood the plaintiff will prevail on its claim.”

The date for the commencement of the trial, which is expected to last for one and a half day, has been set to be August 16, 2007 at 2:00 PM.

A call to my sources in TA-OLF confirmed the trial date and the temporary restraining order, but would not confirm whether it is against TA-OLF or “some individuals.” The same source added that the judge also ordered the Asmara Group to post $25,000 bond to by noon on July 24, 2007 failing which the case will be dismissed. He believes the Asmara Group has posted the required bond which he says is “squandering $25,000 of Oromo hard earned dollars donated toward the struggle to defeat enemies of the Oromo people but are being used against Oromo nationalists.”

On the question of the temporary restraining order, according to my TA-OLF source, the US laws allow for restraining orders only in cases where monetary compensation will not remedy the complainants claimed potential damage which would ensue if the motion is denied. According to this source, this is clearly NOT the case here as the Asmara Group has already applied for $50,000 in compensatory damages in its application and therefore a restraining order is not allowed here. “Naturally, this is an order which should not have been granted in the first place and which we hope will be vacated in the next few days” said my TA- OLF source. He would not elaborate on how they plan to do this except to warn me to “Stay tuned.”

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