REGGAE ON THE RIVER SETTLEMENT DETAILS ANNOUNCED, THE TERMS OF WHICH MAY LEAVE MANY HUMBOLDT COUNTY OBSERVERS FRUSTRATED

The Mateel Community Center and People Productions/Dimmick Ranch have agreed to final settlement of their dispute over the 23-year running REGGAE ON THE RIVER music festival in Humboldt County, California.

In short, People Productions/Dimmick Ranch will pay the MCC $500,000, all lawsuits will be dropped, and the MCC will have no rights to produce REGGAE ON THE RIVER on the Dimmick Ranch property, and an adjoining parcel, where the world-famous festival had been produced for 23 consecutive years before the dispute arose.

This leaves People Productions/Dimmick Ranch in full control of events produced on Dimmick Ranch. This will be the second year that the replacement event, REGGAE RISING, will be produced on the Dimmick Ranch property. And, as has been the case for many years, the event is expected to sellout all 12,500 to 14,000 admission, parking, and camping passes released for the three-day event.

The new PP/Dimmick Ranch partnership will also produce a Willie Nelson show in late August on the same property, which is expected to draw at least five-thousand people, as the first non-reggae event produced at the Dimmick Ranch.

These two August 2008 events alone will, likely, net enough income to pay off the entire $500,000 MCC settlement, just months after a settlement was finally reached.

This, effectively, concludes the much-criticized but successful takeover of the event by PP/Dimmick Ranch, and leaves the MCC well-short of income and expectations that the MCC held under the earlier long-term relationship. The MCC does, however, retain its rights in the REGGAE ON THE RIVER trademark, which is now, arguably, substantially devalued.

On the other hand, for People Productions and Dimmick Ranch, the sky is the limit. The two new partners must be feeling pretty good, because this is a major coup. To give perspective, the annual three-day reggae and international music festival has consistently grossed in excess of $3.5 million per year, and is considered by most to be the premier reggae music festival in the world.

Perhaps the linchpin to the takeover of the event by PP and Dimmick Ranch, occurred last winter, when a Humboldt County court denied the MCC injunctive relief in the early stages of litigation, allowing People Productions to bowl-over the ROTR event with its own identical event, on the same property, on the same dates, using the same established relationships, resources, and infrastructure.

Another important problem for the MCC in maintaining its position and interests, was the Humboldt County permit department's decision to allow all permits to produce the event to become under the control of PP/Dimmick Ranch, despite the fact that the permits had originally been granted to the MCC.

However, neither of these two important rulings were challenged by the MCC, perhaps because the MCC's financial resources were now limited due to the ongoing dispute.

In fact, it became apparent to many observers close to the ongoing controversy that the MCC had become particularly disadvantaged in the legal proceedings because of its financial position.

The result is that the MCC, in an understandable but perhaps compromised decision, accepted a pay-out settlement, and the arbitration judge's "arm-twisting" and warning that "no one will win this litigation."

It seems evident, however, that someone did win this litigation, and it is not the MCC.

Here is the first MCC press release on the settlement:

Mateel Signs Peace Accord with Dimmick, People Productions

The Mateel Community Center Board of Directors has agreed to drop its claims against Tom Dimmick and Carol Bruno’s People Productions rather than to continue to battle in the courtroom. In return, Dimmick and Bruno will pay Mateel a half million dollars. They will also dismiss all of their lawsuits against the Mateel, its staff and Board of Directors. The Mateel will retain ownership of its trademark, Reggae on the River, kicking off a new era of Reggae this coming Saturday at Benbow Lake State Park.

We feel the need to get on with our lives is important to many people in the community, and that the courtroom drama only continued to hold us all hostage to a future of fighting over a very uncertain outcome. The months of legal battling, the cost of the lawsuit to Mateel donors, and a desire to get on with our real job-running the Community Center, has led us to this difficult decision. Both sides were also motivated strongly by Judge Warren, who twisted everyone’s arms to get us to settle the case. At this point, we feel the settlement path best fulfills our fiduciary duty as the Board of Directors of the Mateel.

We are ever so grateful to the hundreds of community members who’ve supported us through this difficult struggle. It’s been amazing to watch the outpouring of people’s energy to help at the Mateel—something which will need to continue for the Mateel to thrive as a local Community Center. While we believe that the $500,000 isn’t nearly enough, it will help to re-establish a modest reserve for the Mateel, as well as help pay for long-deferred maintenance of the building. But the future of the Mateel no longer lies at the feet of a monster Reggae show—in fact, it remains in the capable hands of the people of Southern Humboldt, and the Mateel will remain strong with ongoing community support.