Lawsuit Filed as Feud Grows Over Control of Tech Group

A fierce battle has erupted for the leadership of one of Southern California’s biggest technology networking associations.

In just seven months, the Internet Professionals Network has grown into a thousand-member group by hosting meetings several times a month featuring technology industry speakers such as Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. IPN has branches in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Orange County and Westlake Village, with another set to open this month in San Diego.

But three of the people who helped found IPN are accusing the group’s president, Don Baarns, of hijacking the organization and turning it into a for-profit corporation over which he has sole control.

They have filed a $1-million lawsuit in Superior Court in Santa Monica seeking to regain control of the organization they expected to become a community-oriented nonprofit. A judge will hear their claims at a hearing Wednesday.

“It was Mr. Baarns’ intent from the beginning to create this business for himself without telling . . . [IPN’s co-founders] what he wanted,” said Gary Raskin, the attorney representing IPN co-founders Mari Serrano, Andrew Michalik and Steven Shmerler.

Baarns, 39, who runs a Web consulting business in Sylmar, doesn’t hide the fact that he incorporated IPN as a for-profit venture and gave himself all the company’s shares. But he said that Serrano, Michalik and Shmerler were mistaken in believing their hundreds of hours of volunteer time would guarantee them a voice in the organization.

“I’m a benevolent dictator . . . and they knew that from day one,” Baarns said.

Such statements don’t sit well with Serrano, Michalik and Shmerler. Despite their collaboration on IPN, they compete with Baarns Consulting in the business world and were dismayed to learn they may have helped a rival’s personal enterprise.

“It’s ludicrous to think any of us would be that idiotic,” Shmerler said. “ ‘Hey, can I help you start your business up? I’ve got nothing better to do.’ That’s ridiculous.”

The dispute has become the talk of local tech circles, and some IPN members have a tainted view of the organization. “It just seems a little sneaky,” said Redondo Beach Web developer Philip Rebentisch. “Where is my money going? Is it going to Don Baarns’ personal bank account?”

IPN members pay $99 for an annual membership. The group also charges entrance fees and solicits sponsors for some events. Popular events can bring in tens of thousands of dollars.

The Internet Professionals Network spun off from the Los Angeles chapter of the nonprofit Assn. of Internet Professionals in July after its leaders agreed they could grow faster as an independent group. All 12 board members resigned from AIP-LA and transferred their duties to IPN.

Baarns was quoted in the news release as saying: “We now have a chance to take the Internet community to a new level.”

Baarns now regrets the way he announced IPN. “I’ll talk about ‘we’ and ‘us’ and try to give as much credit as possible, and now it’s coming back to bite me,” he said.

Some board members support Baarns’ strong leadership and emphasize in court documents that none of them--including the plaintiffs--was ever promised an ownership stake in IPN. But some also make clear that Baarns’ intention to make himself IPN’s sole owner was not revealed to them.

The outcome of the case will hinge on whether a jury believes the plaintiffs were reasonable in expecting IPN to be a collectively managed nonprofit group or whether they should have realized that Baarns would be in control, said attorney Steve Pena. Pena is a partner at Loeb & Loeb in Century City and is not involved in the suit.