realestate

Court Ruling Supports LGBTQ+ Alliance in Dispute with Former Leader

Ryan Weyandt, former nonprofit leader, faces felony charges in Minnesota.

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Minnesota judge has ruled in favor of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, granting a preliminary injunction to block former CEO Ryan Weyandt from accessing the nonprofit's website and digital accounts. The July 25 ruling came after the Alliance filed a civil lawsuit against Weyandt on July 1, accusing him of violating trade secrets laws and blocking leaders from accessing company accounts after his resignation in December.

    The lawsuit claims that despite repeated requests to remove himself from the organization's systems, Weyandt accessed the Alliance's contact list of over 10,000 industry professionals in June. He allegedly emailed the list, stating he was taking control of fiduciary oversight due to a false claim that the nonprofit was "in a state of collapse." The filing also accused Weyandt of locking employees out of their email accounts and accessing Alliance digital accounts without permission.

    Weyandt had argued against the preliminary injunction request, claiming he had attempted to finalize an amicable separation after his resignation but no agreement was reached. However, Judge Eric Tostrud noted that Weyandt's cooperation ended when he faced unrelated felony charges in Minnesota regarding possession of child pornography.

    The Alliance stated that Weyandt made "completely baseless claims" and that the court's order prohibits him from acting on behalf of the organization or holding himself out as having authority. The judge also ordered Weyandt to turn over all assets to the Alliance, which he has reportedly cooperated with so far.

LGBTQ+ alliance celebrates court victory over former leader in contentious dispute.