Amid complaints about poor communication and improper procedures on the part of the Union Judiciary, a hearing regarding a club's financial dispute has been scheduled for next Tuesday, according to Robbie Schwartz '08, co-captain of the ski team.In Jeff Stein v. the Ski Team, the first UJ case of the academic year, Jeff Stein '08 alleges the team owes him $300 because he paid for a practice skiing weekend, but did not end up attending.

Stein paid $400, but only $100 was refundable, even though Stein said the Ski Team's then leaders promised that his money would be refunded in full.

"That's $300 of my own money," Stein said. "It's an illegal possession of money."

But Schwartz and his co-captain, Melissa Young '07, said they had no way of returning any money to Stein.

Young said the Division of Students and Enrollment's budget office informed them they would not be able to refund Stein's money. Also, the Finance Board doesn't retroactively fund requests.

"We are a whole new generation of club leaders," Young said, indicating it wasn't fair for their predecessors' possible mistakes."How will they force us to pay him money? The only solution seems like a bake sale for Jeff Stein and that doesn't seem very feasible," she said.

The parties did attempt to settle. The Ski Team captains said they would have settled by giving in effect "store credit" to Stein by allowing him to take part in this year's ski practice weekend free of charge, but Stein said that he could not make that particular weekend because it was his 21st birthday

Both sides complained of how the UJ is handling the case. Stein said he had first brought the issue to their attention last May when he met with Mark Samburg '07, the UJ's chief justice.

He said the UJ encouraged him to settle, but since Stein couldn't reach an agreement, he filed a formal complaint.

"Last year I was told that my money would be returned to me, but the ski team has told me that there is no money to give me," Stein wrote in his petition. "The ski team gave me false information and owes me $300."

The UJ did not grant certiorari-meaning the case would be heard by the court-until Feb. 15. According to Article IV, Section 4 of the Union constitution, the UJ must hold trials within five days of granting certiorari.

Since that was not done, Schwartz made a motion for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that after the five academic days had past, the case is no longer under the UJ's jurisdiction.

"Since five academic days have ended," Schwartz wrote in an e-mail to the court on Mar. 2, "the case is no longer valid. The Student Union Constitution, to which the Union Judiciary is bound, has not been upheld. It would be a crime against this document, from which the Judiciary garners its powers, to continue the case."

Samburg explained that with the exception of one member who had no responded, all agreed for different reasons that Schwartz's motion was not valid.

One argument made by a judge was that "there was the opportunity to resolve a conflict and it shouldn't be abridged on a technicality," Samburg said.

-Daniel Snyder contributed report ing