How a court ruled in ex-nonprofit leader's fight against Latino Community Roundtable

A court has ruled the Latino Community Roundtable owes the husband of a former leader of the Modesto nonprofit $2,809 from a loan he made to the organization in June 2013.

Former LCR President Maggie Mejia and her husband, Manuel, sued the roundtable in small claims court in June over the debt. The matter was heard Aug. 10 in Stanislaus Superior Court's Turlock Division, which handles small claims cases. Commissioner Jared Beeson issued his decision Aug. 21.

Beeson also ruled the Mejias are entitled to $90 for their costs.

"I feel relieved. I feel really relieved," Maggie Mejia said. "There were so many rumors circulating around regarding this loan. That there was no documentation to support it. We got what we wanted. It was acknowledged. It was a legit loan and now we have a payment plan."

The roundtable in May offered the Mejias a payment plan of $30 a month. But Mejia said the offer was insulting and it was not in writing. (There also is no contract for the loan, according to Beeson's ruling.)

While the Mejias did not get much better payment terms by going to court, Mejia said she and her husband now have something in writing regarding the debt – Beeson's ruling.

"Defendant (the roundtable) shall be permitted to make payments toward this Judgment in the amount of $40.00 per month with the first payment being made on or before October 15, 2017, and subsequent payments being made on or before the 15th of each month," Beeson wrote.

Beeson wrote that the roundtable did not contest the no-interest loan (the original amount was $3,339 and the LCR made several payments reducing the amount owed to $2,809) but said it was in poor financial shape and could only make nominal payments.

He wrote the Latino Community Roundtable claimed Maggie Mejia bore some of the blame for its financial condition "as Ms. Mejia's criticisms of the organization in (T)he Modesto Bee and local community hurt the organization's reputation and limited its fundraising ability."

Mejia denied that and said she was asking questions about the loan. The loan was not repayable until Mejia was no longer LCR President. She last served as president in December 2015, according to paperwork she filed with the court.

LCR President Rebecca Harrington – who was not with the nonprofit when the loan was made – said the roundtable intends to "follow the letter of the ruling."

LCR has suspended its operations, and Harrington said it remains on hiatus as she and Treasurer Marco Moreno figure out the next steps for the nonprofit, which he said include improving its financial health. Harrington and Moreno are the only board members after several others recently resigned.

The roundtable was founded two decades ago and is an all-volunteer organization that works to better conditions for Latinos in Stanislaus County.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 6:59 PM with the headline "How a court ruled in ex-nonprofit leader's fight against Latino Community Roundtable."