The annoyance of the SCA's bureaucracy entirely aside, I am occasionally reminded of why it is a very bad idea, in today's litigious world, to have a single, rigid corporate umbrella with a nice big target painted on it, so that a single lawsuit can take not just the Corporate money, but the Kingdoms' as well.
The arguments that led to the dissolution of the ILF and formation of LARPA -- with its loose corporate umbrella and lots of little independent corporations underneath -- were an unholy pain in the ass. (And more about chains of command than legal liability, truth to tell.) But on days like this, it all seems worthwhile...
Drachenwald has already volunteered a donation, and several Kingdoms are looking at ways to help those Kingdoms less able to gather the funds.
I suspect there would still have been a lawsuit no matter the organization or size of the corporation. The size of our target is as big as our liability insurance.
That'll happen pretty fast, given that the official deadline for payment is apparently 10 days.
I assume Council will talk about it tonight. Convenient that the timing is such that we can at least talk about it before having to send a check, although I don't see any likelihood that it will change things WRT the immediate crisis -- legally, it's pretty cut-and-dried...
So if the East Kingdom, Inc got sued out of existence, it would hurt, but it would also be easier for us to pick up the pieces and start over.
That's really the heart of my point: intertwining the Society so tightly with a *single* Corporation is an incredibly bad idea, because that Corporation gets difficult to replace. With a network of associated and cooperating, but functionally and legally separate ones, the likelihood is higher that the damage would be severe but limited, and easier to recover from.
(I still prefer the Masonic model: completely independent jurisdictions state-by-state, with their own assets and corporations, held together through a network of treaties. Works quite well...)
Hey!
[And now for another 'Cassandra' prediction: this WILL happen again.]