> Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:14 AM
> From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> To: Sa@albany.edu, sapresident@albany.edu, saethics@albany.edu, sbeal@albany.edu
> Cc: Presmail@albany.edu, foil@albany.edu, laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com, Coog@dos.ny.gov, Tpettit@albany.edu
> Subject: CEASE AND DESIST DEMAND
>
> April 23, 2025
>
> Dear Student Association,
>
> THIS IS A LEGAL CEASE & DESIST DEMAND.
>
> Last Friday, as you know, the Student Association's Ad Hoc Committee, that is required under SA's bylaws to be formed to dispose of Dippikill, held an admittedly poorly-noticed "Public Forum" pursuant to said Bylaws, which call for a "Public Hearing" to be held before SA votes to sell Dippikill.
>
> According to COOG, a public forum is not the same as a public hearing. See: https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/otext/o4141.htm
>
> At the conclusion of the Forum, SA President Rose stated he would be "taking into consideration a lot of things you've said." He thereby acknowledged the committee would be meeting after the forum to deliberate, formulate and vote on a recommendation to the SA Senate. Although alumni expressed interest in being involved in such deliberations, the SA President as ad hoc committee chair brushed these requests aside and has now denied the public the right to know about and attend the committee's deliberations.
>
> Thereafter, I understand the committee, a member of which, is the Student Association attorney, unlawfully met in secret, led out of state through Zoom, without public notice, to deliberate and formulate its recommendation, which, I understand will now be filed with the SA Senate tonight at your annual budget meeting.
>
> As of today, no ad hoc committee meeting notice has been published on the Student Association's website as is required under the Open Meetings Law.
>
> Although my request for the committee's recommendation 24 hours in advance of the SA Senate meeting was ignored, I get the impression the committee has arbitrarily and capriciously recommended SA defund Dippikill tonight and/or dispose of the property... without ever having presented the issue to students in a referendum vote, which, in my forty years experience leading and then following SA, is reasonable and customary in these major matters... after having consistently funded and operated the campground each year for nearly 70 years.
>
> Below is an advisory opinion issued to me by the NYS Committee on Open Government on April 14, 2025, previously emailed to you on April 15th, 2025, which states both FOIL and the Open Meetings Law apply to Student Association and its subsidiary Dippikill, Inc. as public bodies; this, of course, is due to the use of mandatory student activity fees imposed upon students by the University at Albany under state regulation (8 NYCRR 302.14) to fund Dippikill.
>
> The Student Association and its attorney ad hoc committee member therefore either knew or should have known that a secret meeting of the ad hoc committee violates the Open Meetings Law. It therefore appears SA knowingly and intentionally violated the law to deprive alumni of the right to watch the deliberations and know the committee's findings and "formal recommendations" at the conclusion of the committee meeting so we could take legal and/or political action before the SA Senate meeting tonight. We have been summarily and unlawfully denied that right by SA, a public body.
>
> The SA attorney either knows or should know that actions taken by public bodies in violation of the Open Meetings Law are routinely declared invalid by the courts through state court Article 78 proceedings (see: https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/otext/o4829.html
>
> COOG and the University's risk assessment/records access officer are copied here, along with my attorney, whom I am asking to act to protect my and my fellow alumni's 14th Amendment rights to due process as Dippikill stakeholders.
>
> It is my position that the ad hoc committee's secret deliberations deny stakeholders, including alumni as an affected class, due process, violate the Open Meetings Law, are offensive to the State Administrative Procedure Act, and present a Federal question under the Fourteenth Amendment.
>
> Alumni will not be railroaded through sham hearings held during religious holidays or steamrolled over by secret illegal meetings with impunity.
>
> Student Association is hereby directed to reject the ad hoc committee's recommendation formulated during this secret unnoticed meeting in order to cure these violation of the 14th Amendment and state law and CEASE AND DESIST from any and all attempts to sell Dippikill on the basis of this sham recommendation.
>
> I will not tolerate alumni stakeholders being harmed by rogue SA officials and I reserve the right to file a Federal Civil Rights Class Action against SA should SA proceed with a vote to sell Dippikill based on the committee's bogus recommendation at the insistence of an SA President whose term expires in a few hours on the basis of this 11th hour unnoticed and thereby unlawful ad hoc committee meeting.
>
> By copy of this email to University President Rodriguez, I am asking the University to please declare the ad hoc committee's recommendation unlawful due to the Open Meetings Law violation and to withhold approval of the Student Association's budget until and unless it cures the deficiency... to avoid being an accessory to and enabling SA's violation of state law.
>
> Mr. Socci is available to discuss this matter with your attorneys and the University's attorneys.
>
> The illegal ad hoc committee meeting convened by SA President Rose has now created significant legal risk exposure for SA just as you settled an employee overtime claim. I trust the SA Senate will be guided accordingly and put an end to this farce once and for all to avoid litigation with well-funded alumni and having to explain these ongoing shennanigans to a Federal Judge.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> /s/ JAMES LAMB
> Class of 1991
> James.Lamb@alumni.albany.edu
>
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 12:11 AM
> > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > To: "FOIL" <foil@albany.edu>, foil@suny.edu, sa@albany.edu
> > Cc: Coog@dos.ny.gov, laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com, presmail@albany.edu, "Moore, Kathleen" <kathleen.moore@timesunion.com>, "Editor-In-Chief" <theasp.eic@gmail.com>
> > Subject: Fw: RE: Request for Advisory Opinion on Student Association Obstruction to FOIL Request
> > Please see COOG advisory opinion and be guided accordingly.
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> > JAMES LAMB
> >
> > > Sent: Monday, April 14, 2025 at 9:12 PM
> > > From: "dos.sm.Coog.InetCoog" <dosCOOG@dos.ny.gov>
> > > To: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > > Cc: FOIL <foil@albany.edu>, FOIL <FOIL@suny.edu>, "Laurence Socci" <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>
> > > Subject: RE: Request for Advisory Opinion on Student Association Obstruction to FOIL Request
> > >
> > > Mr. Lamb,
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Your last sentence appears to be asking us to prepare an advisory opinion indicating that Dippikill, Inc. is an agency subject to the requirements of the New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) (As a side note, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal statute which is not applicable to your inquiry). As we have noted, the SUNY Albany Student Association is an agency subject to the requirements of FOIL and a public body subject to the requirement of the Open Meeting Law. In our opinion, any subsidiary of the Student Association would also be subject to those statutes.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > However, when smaller agencies are housed within a larger agency (e.g. the Student Association is part of SUNY Albany), FOIL requests are often directed the records access officer for the "umbrella" agency. If you wish to obtain records relating to Dippikill, I recommend that you submit your request to the records access officer for SUNY Albany as we were unable to locate any separate FOIL contact information for the Student Association or Dippikill, Inc.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > The paragraph you quote from the Albany Student Press is a little unclear as it references an amendment to the federal FOIA statute, which it clearly has no authority to make. Regardless, it appears that the reporter is indicating that the Student Association will have a records access officer designated to handle FOIL requests for records maintained by student organizations. The last sentence indicates that requests for records relating to Dippikill Inc. will not be handled by the Student Association. While it does not indicate who is responsible for coordinating the response for records relating to Dippikill, I continue to recommend that you continue to submit your request to the SUNY Albany records access officer.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > If you have submitted your request to SUNY Albany and it has not responded within the time limits set forth in statute (see attached), you may treat this failure as a constructive denial of access and file an administrative appeal on that basis (sample language also attached). Contact information for the SUNY FOIL appeal officer is below:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > FOIL Appeals Officer
> > >
> > > State University of New York
> > >
> > > H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
> > >
> > > 353 Broadway
> > >
> > > Albany, New York 12246
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > >
> > >
> > > Miguel-Carlo Bautista
> > > Assistant Attorney 2
> > > Pronouns: he/him/his
> > >
> > > New York State Committee on Open Government
> > > One Commerce Plaza, Albany, NY 12231
> > > (518) 474-2518
> > > http://www.opengovernment.ny.gov<http://www.opengovernment.ny.gov/>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: James Lamb <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > > Sent: Monday, April 14, 2025 1:03 PM
> > > To: dos.sm.Coog.InetCoog <dosCOOG@dos.ny.gov>
> > > Cc: FOIL <foil@albany.edu>; foil@suny.edu; Laurence Socci <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>
> > > Subject: Request for Advisory Opinion on Student Association Obstruction to FOIL Request
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear COOG,
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > My FOIL request below has not been fulfilled by UAlbany FOIL unit in a timely manner. It appears the Student Association is the custodian of the requested records and is obstructing the University's compliance with FOIL in this instance.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > See:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.albanystudentpress.online%2Fpost%2Fsa-passes-protecting-undocumented-and-minority-students-resolution&data=05%7C02%7CdosCOOG%40dos.ny.gov%7C058fd9fcbbca4b6cc02708dd7b76314b%7Cf46cb8ea79004d108ceb80e8c1c81ee7%7C0%7C0%7C638802469750247430%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2BjPkpXOXY1j53vsvC4OErwS%2BpSlVMj7NMIzZcz1IoRQ%3D&reserved=0<https://www.albanystudentpress.online/post/sa-passes-protecting-undocumented-and-minority-students-resolution>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Which states:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Chapter Amendment was also passed which redirected requests filed for student organizations to the Student Association FOIA Officer. Final decisions on request will be determined by the FOIA officer in conference with the executive board of the relevant student organization. Documents and materials of Dippikill Incorporated were decided to be exempt from these provisions."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > As you know, the University's compliance with state law cannot be arbitrarily and capriciously dictated on a whim by a student government which seeks to override New York State Law.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dippikill Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UAlbany Student Association controlled by the Student Association, which was founded and exists merely to hold the deed of the campground property. It is funded by Student Association annually, using student activity fees collected pirsuant to 8 NYCRR 302.14. I am an original incorporator of Dippikill, Inc. as shown in DOS corporation records.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > This is a request for an advisory opinion which guides the University and advises that much like state University operated Student Associations & Student Polity organizations that receive student activity fees as representative student organizations must comply with FOIL as per past COOG decisions, campgrounds like Dippikill operated with 302.14 funding, including wholly-owned subsidiary non-profit corporations are merely an extension of representative student organizations that must also comply with FOIA and the University is responsible for compelling compliance and is liable for failure to comply with FOIL.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Thank you.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > /s/ JAMES LAMB
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Sent: Monday, April 14, 2025 at 2:34 AM
> > >
> > > > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com<mailto:JimLamb@usa.com>>
> > >
> > > > To: FOIL <foil@albany.edu<mailto:foil@albany.edu>>
> > >
> > > > Cc: "Laurence Socci" <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com<mailto:laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>>
> > >
> > > > Subject: Fw: New FOIL request for a copy of the certificate(s) of
> > >
> > > > insurance for Dippikill
> > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > > Status?
> > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > > > Sent: Monday, January 27, 2025 at 11:53 PM
> > >
> > > > > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com<mailto:JimLamb@usa.com>>
> > >
> > > > > To: FOIL <foil@albany.edu<mailto:foil@albany.edu>>
> > >
> > > > > Cc: "Moore, Kathleen" <kathleen.moore@timesunion.com<mailto:kathleen.moore@timesunion.com>>,
> > >
> > > > > Editor-In-Chief <theasp.eic@gmail.com<mailto:theasp.eic@gmail.com>>, "Laurence Socci"
> > >
> > > > > <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com<mailto:laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>>
> > >
> > > > > Subject: New FOIL request for a copy of the certificate(s) of
> > >
> > > > > insurance for Dippikill
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > > Thank you.
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > > This is a new FOIL request for copies of the certificate(s) of insurance in full force and effect for Dippikill as of January 1 2025, if any.
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > > Sincerely,
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > > > > /s/ JAMES LAMB
> > >
> > > > > 1775 I. Street NW, Ste 1150
> > >
> > > > > Washington, DC 20006