An Attorney Mystery

This bit of news seemed to slip under the radar back in the fall, but apparently, the attorney that was a major domo in YTB was let go and no one really seems to know why? You can get these originals from Ted Lindauer's website. Hmm, just not sure what to make of this? Any conspiracy theorists out there?

The first letter:

At the request of Coach Tomer, I closed my network marketing legal practice of 37 years in September, 2005. I immediately moved to Southern Illinois and began working full time at Your Travel Biz.com in multiple capacities as marketing compliance legal counsel, a department administrator and as a marketing consultant.

On September 7, 2007 Coach cancelled my contract with YTB without explanation or prior notice. I have reopened my network marketing practice and have had no affiliation whatsoever with any of the YTB companies since September 7, 2007. This Announcement became necessary after Coach repeatedly refused my requests that he publicly announce that I was no longer affiliated with YTB. In my opinion, the withholding of this information from YTB Reps and RTAs was just not right.

Since September 7, 2007 the maintenance of YTB's marketing compliances has been the responsibility of a team of attorneys with law practices in Southern Illinois.

I have filed an arbitration proceeding against YTB to collect back compensation owed to me. As a YTB stockholder I have requested that the Board of Directors of YTB International, Inc. require that the officers of the various YTB companies be ordered to take a number of specific actions. In my opinion each of these actions is critically necessary to ensure the survival and future success of YTB. In the event the Board of Directors refuses my requests I will file a stockholders lawsuit to have the court order that the actions be taken.

Thayer C. Lindauer

The YTB response:

In response to the e-mail recently circulated to some of our Directors from Ted Lindauer, YTB makes this initial statement. Mr. Lindauer was engaged by YTB as legal counsel for several years and has been a friend of Coach's for decades. Mr. Lindauer submitted a written resignation to YTB on August 10, 2007. Although Mr. Lindauer's arrangement with YTB did not provide for compensation in the event of his resignation, Mr. Lindauer made several arbitrary and unreasonable demands on the company.

After months of attempting to work with Mr. Lindauer in good faith to arrive at a generous settlement providing for more than he was entitled to under the terms of his engagement, YTB is shocked to now learn that its own former counsel has attempted to alarm the YTB community with this confusing and unwelcome e-mail communication. We are disappointed that Mr. Lindauer has apparently chosen to cease negotiations and pursue another agenda seeking to harm his former client and its business family.

This situation is being evaluated by our legal team and appropriate action will be taken immediately.

And the Lindauer response again:

Friday, January 4, 2008

I resigned from YTB in April, 2007 because YTB was ignoring my compliance recommendations and refusing to provide staffing to support my administrative responsibilities. Coach asked me to withdraw my resignation and promised to address my compliance recommendations and to provide the needed staffing. I accepted Coach at his word and withdrew my resignation. In the following months my administrative department received additional personnel, including the appointment of CFO John Clagg’s wife, Andrea, a non-attorney, as the Director of Legal Services. My compliance recommendations continued to be ignored.

In early August, 2007 I learned that John Clagg was giving various compliance directives to his wife. Neither John nor his wife were discussing these matters with me before acting on them. I objected noting to Coach that neither John Clagg nor his wife were qualified to make legal compliance decisions and the decisions they had made were wrong ones. Coach refused to stop the Claggs from making compliance decisions and refused to reverse the erroneous compliance decisions they had made. On August 10^th I resigned and submitted my request for severance.

Andy Cauthen, who was then CEO of Your Travel Biz.com, and Coach both asked me to once again withdraw my resignation. Coach promised to address my concerns after the August Convention in St. Louis. He also promised a generous severance package when I retired from YTB. I again withdrew my resignation and returned to work at YTB.

After the Convention Coach informed me that local attorney John Simmons was being engaged as overall General Counsel for YTB International, Inc. and its subsidiaries. I met with John Simmons on several occasions in August to review my compliance and other recommendations previously provided to Coach in several memos. On September 7, 2007, John Simmons asked me to temporarily vacate my office at YTB so it could be modified to house two attorneys. That evening I received an email from John Simmons welcoming me to his new legal team.

Several days later, while working at home, I received an email from Thad Leach, a local attorney who is part of the new legal team. Mr. Leach’s email contained one sentence and stated that YTB had decided that it was no longer in need of my services.

I immediately asked for and was granted an appointment with Coach and Scott. On the day of the appointment I received a call cancelling the appointment and telling me to contact Thad Leach. Mr. Leach and I exchanged various emails about my severance with Mr. Leach denying that YTB owed any severance to me despite the fact my written agreement with YTB called for a specific severance package.

In October YTB offered me a new 3-year consulting agreement in lieu of my pursuing my claim for severance. I agreed in principle subject to having an acceptable written agreement. Mr. Leach sent a proposed draft of a new agreement which was one-sided and allowed YTB to cancel the agreement at any time with no further obligation to me. I rejected this draft and proposed seven changes. Mr. Leach dragged the matter out for several months, finally saying he needed to speak with Coach. I never received a response from YTB as to the seven changes I requested. Mr. Leach notified me just before Christmas that there had been unspecified “new developments” and he would be back in contact with me “after the holidays.”

Continuously throughout the months following September 7, 2007 I offered to train the new legal team in MLM legal compliance requirements in 12 two-hour training seminars without any compensation to me and whether or not I was able to settle my severance claim or enter into a new agreement. Mr. Leach rejected my training proposal at first, then refused to respond as I renewed my offer over and over again.

Most disappointing of all was the refusal of Coach, despite my repeated requests and then demands, to let the YTB Reps and RTAs know that as of September 7, 2007, I was no longer affiliated with YTB and to tell them who is overseeing YTB’s marketing legal compliances. If Coach is comfortable having a team of local attorneys with no Multi Level Marketing experience take on the responsibility of keeping YTB in legal compliance, why hide them and pretend that I was still at YTB?

Ted Lindauer