The Secure Commerce Commission (SCC) is a CONCORD body mandated by the four empires to regulate interstellar trade and commerce. As one would expect, neutrality is a fundamental requirement of their mission. However, a recent court filing calls that impartiality into question. In a class action suit on behalf of all participating HMA members, attorneys for the HMA attest that the presence of Secure Cargo Containers labeled HMA – Gank its own fleets! in the Hek system have caused irreparable harm to their reputation causing direct and indirect losses totaling several billion ISK.
When asked for a comment, an SCC spokesperson had this to say.
“One of the tasks mandated to the SCC is to manage the liquidation and disbursement of corporate assets in the event of their dissolution. While assets held within corporate hangars can be easily handled remotely, assets in space can take time for SCC agents to locate, unanchor, and transport to a local station for processing. We cannot be held responsible for every piece of space trash capsuleers leave lying around. We don’t even know who HMA is much less have some kind of vendetta against them. To be frank, what happens in a backwater system like Hek isn’t of much interest to the SCC.”
When advised that Hek was considered a regional market hub, they responded with.
“Are you shitting me!?”
When asked to comment, attorneys for the HMA had this to say.
“The HMA has always had its critics and respects everyone’s right to express their opinions in a public forum. Had this been some random accusation from some random corporation we wouldn’t be moving forward with this litigation. However, the SCC is not some random corporation. They are a trans-governmental agency responsible for managing commerce. Their words have the weight of law and authority behind them. So, when a strategically located can owned by them declares that the HMA ganks its own fleets it is a direct attack against the integrity of the HMA organization. Failing to remove or relabel this can despite multiple efforts on the part of the HMA to notify them of the problem is nothing short of wanton negligence; negligence that has resulted in significant harm both in terms of monetary damages but also damage to their reputation and standing within the Hek community. The HMA just wants to be made whole.”
An initial ruling by a Metropolis circuit judge will determine if this suit can move forward.
