Is progress being made to resolve the legal fight between the Decorah Genealogy Association and the Winneshiek County Historical Society?

The board of directors of the Winneshiek County Historical Society have made a settlement offer to the Decorah Genealogy Association in their legal battle over the possession of microfilms and other historical documents.

DGA attorney Karl Knudson will meet with the DGA board of directors to discuss the offer, but he calls it "ambiguous."  Terms of the settlement offer have not been released, but Knudson on Monday night quashed any notion that DGA would be willing to cancel a lawsuit against WCHS vice president Roger Bergan, who's accused of taking the material.  Knudson explained that the lawsuit against Bergan is for "actual and punitive damages" and would allow DGA to recover its attorney's costs.

In the meantime, DGA members last night voted 30-12 in favor of an amendment to the association's by-laws that explicitly gives the DGA board the authority to pursue lawsuits.

The WCHS attorney, John Anderson, had earlier said he would drop one of the WCHS' objections to DGA's lawsuit if the DGA membership approved the new by-laws.  A court hearing on that issue had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Decorah, but the vote by DGA members Monday night means the court hearing will be cancelled.