TechAmerica sued by three Midwest members

The industry group TechAmerica is being sued by three of its member companies for shutting down its Midwest office but not refunding the companies’ membership dues, according to legal filings.

TechAmerica breached its contract with the companies by shuttering its Midwest operations in June, thus “denying members access to a local office and the corresponding local benefits and opportunities,” the companies claimed in the lawsuit filed in September in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Ill.

TechAmerica is one of the main lobbying organizations for the technology industry. The lawsuit was first reported by technology columnist Mark Albertson for Examiner.com, who provided Nextgov with the court filings.

After TechAmerica closed its Midwest office, the three Illinois-based companies canceled their memberships and demanded back their combined $50,000 in 2012 dues, the lawsuit stated. The companies also claimed TechAmerica misled companies about its plans for the Midwest offices while it continued to seek local members.  

TechAmerica denied most of the companies’ allegations in a November response to the lawsuit. TechAmerica refused to return prorated dues for the three companies after closing its Midwest office because they were non-refundable, the response stated.