TIGHAR Legal Defense Fund

[Tim Mellon]

Tim, I have read your complaint and the statutes that your lawyers refer too.  Those are all criminal statutes in Title 18 United States Code. It is apparent that you feel that you have somehow been wronged and are entitled to restitution, however, those are very serious charges and if Gillespie in unable to properly defend, the court could find complicity and refer the case to the US Attorney for prosecution. Surely that is not the desired remedy.

Oh, really?

[Dan Swift]

The "waste of resources" is likely the plan in this entire process.   Sad!   

[Ted G Campbell]

All,

I am a bit puzzled over this law suite with regard to the basis on which such a charge of impropriety has been leveled.

It appears from the facts of the pleading that has been released to the public, there has been certain claims made by TIGHAR that are not factual in nature, purposely misleading and lacking in detail so as to lead one to believe that membership and donations to the organization is personally justifiable for future and further exploration of the facts surrounding a particular TIGHAR activity.

Why I am so puzzled, as noted above, is:  When I became a member of TIGHAR I, and I assume so did the plaintiff in this case, signed the Member "Registration Agreement." This document clearly states the following; "We 'TIGHAR, subsidiaries, forums, etc.' do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented." 

The above implies, you as a member, may reach your own conclusions regarding the information presented.  What one does with the conclusions reached by such information is solely at the discretion of the member.

Ted Campbell 

[Doug E Shaw]

Ric -
When I donate is TIGHARs priority the proving the true location, or has the priority become the LDF until further notice? Where do you prefer me to contribute?

- Doug

[Ric Gillespie]

When I donate is TIGHARs priority the proving the true location, or has the priority become the LDF until further notice? Where do you prefer me to contribute?

As noted in my original posting on this topic, I'm not participating in this discussion except as a moderator.  I'll make this exception to say that our research is continuing unabated.  Our funding needs are many.  Please give where it makes the most sense to you.

[Dan Swift]

Jeff,
I truly believe the ONLY reason for this frivolous lawsuit is to cause pain to Ric and TIGHAR.  It appears very childish and imature.  And if you go back and review the posts about the shapes in the coral and such statements as "Oh really".....well.....I 'rest my case'.  And until the plantiffs of these frivolous lawsuits are made to feel AT LEAST as much pain as they cause, then there will be no end to them.  It cost more $$, but countersuit for slander and frivolous lawsuit may be appropriate.   

[Dan Swift]

No doubt Jeff.  Agree. 

[Nancy Marilyn Gould]

I just hope that this lawsuit doesn't cause TIGHAR to go bankrupt.  Does TIGHAR have any kind of liability insurance?  Somebody please tell me that this isn't a danger!

[richie conroy]

Hi Nancy

I don't think Tighar would be in any danger of that, Longs they can get the funds for the case.

And when it does go to court Team Mellon will need to have an expert on par or above Jeff Glickman who will be willing to put there reputation on the line to represent Mr Mellon

From what av read about Mr Mellon while he seem's to be a self made man, Which i have allot of respect, There appears to be cases were Mr Mellon as took people to court to get his own way, Or has ignored the laws of the lands to do as he please's

[Dan Swift]

Sounds like he may be 'sue happy'.  Sooner or later one should lose credibilitiy by wasting so much of the court's time.  Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

[Doug E Shaw]

Apologies Ric. Forgot that detail as days went by.

Thinking out loud here. If next year's expedition goes down as planned, validates the hypothesis, but not in the area captured in the 2010 footage, wouldn't that end the lawsuit? Mr. Conroy posted similar thoughts in his appeal to postpone and they just keep coming back to me. If other parties are not to be swayed by all the people on this forum, everyone looking at the same info and not drawing the same conclusions, then the schedule seems to be in jeopardy. And if this delays the chance to finally solve one of history's greatest mysteries.... then why now? Hard to believe the end goal was ever really earnest and/or the same as TIGHARs. 

Anybody have any thoughts as to how long it takes a lawsuit like this to reach conclusion?

[Charlie Chisholm]

From what av read about Mr Mellon while he seem's to be a self made man, Which i have allot of respect

Not self-made Richie - he is the grandson of Andrew W Mellon, one of the richest men in the history of western civilization. Timothy Mellon's net worth was estimated in 1993 to be 300 million dollars - it's anybody's guess what it is today (probably much higher - the 1993 estimate was long before the settlement of his father's enormous estate after his passing in 1999). His father, Paul Mellon, was a philanthropist and was listed as one of the 8 richest people in America in 1957.

Nothing wrong with any of that, but he is not self-made - he got the money from his family. That said, he apparently did well with Guilford (now Pan Am Systems) and revived some closed railroads on the east coast with his business partner (among many other things).

Pretty big bankroll to throw around lawsuits - why he is using his enormous wealth to beat up on a tiny research organization with 1000 members and no money (in debt actually) I have no idea.

[Nancy Marilyn Gould]

Not self-made Richie - he is the grandson of Andrew W Mellon, one of the richest men in the history of western civilization.

I was thinking the same thing, and I'm glad you pointed that out.

Pretty big bankroll to throw around lawsuits - why he is using his enormous wealth to beat up on a tiny research organization with 1000 members and no money (in debt actually) I have no idea.

That's a very good point.  What, exactly, does he expect to gain by suing TIGHAR?  If TIGHAR is in debt, then he can't expect to receive very much.  The most likely scenario (assuming TIGHAR is found guilty, and I don't see how that could happen if there is any justice and common sense in the world), would be that TIGHAR would file for bankruptcy and be put out of business.  What then?  Will Mr. Mellon start his own research organization and try to take all the credit?  Wouldn't whoever picks up from where TIGHAR left off have to get the rights from the Republic of Kiribati (sp?)?

[Charlie Chisholm]

...TIGHAR would file for bankruptcy and be put out of business.  What then?  Will Mr. Mellon start his own research organization and try to take all the credit?  Wouldn't whoever picks up from where TIGHAR left off have to get the rights from the Republic of Kiribati (sp?)?

If Tighar is bankrupt and thus out of the way, it would be a simple matter to persuade ROK to transfer the rights to a new organization. And by persuade I mean with money. We all know who has plenty of that...

I don't want to guess what the motivations for the lawsuit are, and Mr. Mellon isn't talking (probably on advice of his attorneys). Because you're right - it couldn't be for money, since Tighar doesn't have any. Maybe he just feels slighted, or he wants to hurt Tighar, or he wants to take over the project - who knows.

We're just guessing, and it's not a good idea to guess, as many on this forum have found out...

[Nancy Marilyn Gould]

We're just guessing, and it's not a good idea to guess, as many on this forum have found out...

I agree, we should not guess...

Still, as a lady pilot, I find this whole thing extremely depressing.  I have always been a huge admirer of Amelia Earhart and have always wanted to know what happened to her.  Just when it was looking like the question might be solved in my lifetime, this has to happen...

My heart goes out to the entire TIGHAR organization, not only to Rick Gillespie, but to everyone else who has contributed and waited so long for an answer...