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Comment by jacquesm | Hacker News Reader

But there is no proof whatsoever that they did this to uphold the nonprofit charter.

And until that proof surfaces I'm going on the assumption that it doesn't exist because if it does exist they would have certainly used it to bolster their case.

Note Ilya's statement of regret and that none of the board members have said a word and that the current CEO is nowhere to be seen. That does not look like a group of people that are acting boldly in the defense of their corporate charter to me.

It looks like a bunch of weasels that thought they could get away with murdering the chicken while they were unattended for five minutes and they're now all covered with blood and pretending to be innocent.

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I think that argument fares even worse. The board only needs to prove to a judge they believed firing Sam would benefit the charter, and the leaks from their camp have stated as much. The board has deliberately stayed silent to avoid legal exposure, not a surprise.

> The board only needs to prove to a judge they believed firing Sam would benefit the charter, and the leaks from their camp have stated as much.

Leaks say whatever they want to say and if I found myself in this position - highly unlikely - and I would have leaked something it would have definitely been something to make me look good. Or did you think that if it made them look bad that it would have been leaked as well? In that case I can see your point.

Regardless, unless discovery finds a smoking gun that the board acted in bad faith vis a vis the charter, which nothing public indicates, a judge would likely tell investors to pound sand.

After many lawsuits I've learned to not pre-empt what I think a judge will think of anything. It's actionable. Whether they will prevail (or whether the counterparty will fold) is up for grabs.

Note this key quote by Nadella:

"“As a partner, I think it does deserve you to be consulted on the big decisions.”"

That's one way to look at what might be grounds for a suit. He could be wrong, but that won't stop them from suing to establish that fact and they have very little to lose.

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