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Hearing in EMC lawsuit is rescheduled

An emergency hearing regarding a recent lawsuit filed by Grady Electric Membership Corporation against W. Gordon Clyatt is expected to be postponed until Thursday, Aug. 17 at 3 p.m., according to attorney Gabe Ridley, who is representing Clyatt.
Ridley sought a postponement to prepare for the hearing and Superior Court Judge Heather Lanier rescheduled the hearing, but no order had been filed in the Grady County Clerk of Superior Court office when The Messenger went to press Wednesday.
Ridley said he had received email confirmation from the judge that the new hearing date would be Aug. 17 at the Grady County Courthouse. Originally, the hearing was scheduled for tomorrow, July 13, at 3:30 p.m.
Grady Electric Membership Corporation is seeking to silence its most vocal critic through this legal action, which was filed June 28 in response to Clyatt posting EMC records on the “Take Back Our Grady EMC” Facebook page Monday, June 26.
The same day the court action was filed, Judge Lanier issued a temporary restraining order against Clyatt and scheduled the July 13 hearing. That restraining order will also be extended by the judge, according to Ridley. Clyatt has been ordered by the court not to post any other EMC records or documents.
At issue are a variety of EMC records posted to social media by Clyatt, some relating to a 2004 loan issued by the EMC board of directors to then EMC President and General Manager Thomas A. Rosser Sr. The records indicate Rosser used the loan to finance his purchase of Grady EMC’s 25,000 shares in United National Bank. Rosser is a founding director of the bank, which was organized in 2000.
The membership and public have been made aware of the loan as far back as 2014 when Clyatt and his supporters began publicizing the actions of the EMC board of directors in what they said was an attempt to foster a change in the management of the cooperative. What is new in the recently publicized documents are alleged details concerning the loan and bonuses paid to Rosser that equal the loan payments he made for multiple years, in addition to other details.
Clyatt has posted minutes of board meetings where discussions and board action regarding the loan were recorded as well as information related to a $3.8 million renovation of the EMC headquarters.

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