ST. LOUIS — A group of former DJs at KDHX and others have sued the community radio station’s parent company and most of the board of directors, asking the court to remove the directors from the board.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the St. Louis Circuit Court, alleges the board acted illegally on several occasions to take power away from its staff of volunteers and donors, and to consolidate it among themselves and executive director Kelly Wells.
The suit was filed by former DJs Christopher Schwarz and Stacy Bernard, and 14 other associate members who, according to the suit, are not identified for fear of retaliation. The filing alleges previous instances of retaliation against associate members who voiced dissent, such as ending their volunteer employment, suspension and not permitting them to run for positions on the board.
Associate members are typically station volunteers. Many have had a contentious relationship with management since September 2023, when 10 DJs were fired.
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Bernard, the representative plaintiff, said in a statement, “This is my attempt to hold the Board of KDHX accountable for its many failures and terrible decisions that have harmed so many and brought the station to the brink of financial ruin.â€
Representatives from the station did not respond to requests for a comment.
Defendants in the case are the Double Helix Corp., which owns the station, and seven of the eight current members of the board. The remaining board member is Courtney Dowdall, who represents the associate members and was suspended from the board during her first meeting in November.
Also suspended was the other associate member representative, Kip Loui, who subsequently resigned from the board.
According to the suit, the two were suspended after a rule was passed forbidding any member of the board to interact with associate members without the involvement of the executive director.
The suit calls this rule dictating whom the associate members and directors can and cannot speak to “Orwellian,†with “no basis in the bylaws or common sense.â€
At the heart of the suit are changes made to the bylaws in 2018 and 2021. At the time, the bylaws could only be changed with a majority vote of associate members at a meeting.
But the suit alleges the bylaws were changed without the associate members’ knowledge or permission.
In 2018, the board unilaterally took away the right for annual donors to be represented by three members on the board, the suit alleges. And in 2021, the board appropriated the associate members’ right to terminate membership in its own group — again, without the associate members’ vote of approval, the suit says.
The plaintiffs are asking for the old bylaws to be restored.
The suit also indicates that the 2021 bylaws could be used to limit access to meetings about selling the station’s radio frequency or dissolving the corporation.
When asked last month whether the station was contemplating a sale of its frequency, a station spokesman said, “The KDHX leaders continue to be good stewards of the station and are working every day to fulfill the mission.â€
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