{"id":300,"date":"2014-09-25T20:55:36","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T20:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shillersllp.brandandmortar.com\/?p=300"},"modified":"2020-12-01T17:25:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T22:25:46","slug":"everybody-is-suing-everybody-a-guide-to-whom-is-threatening-whom-with-legal-action-in-torontos-political-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shillers.com\/index.php\/2014\/09\/25\/everybody-is-suing-everybody-a-guide-to-whom-is-threatening-whom-with-legal-action-in-torontos-political-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Everybody is suing everybody: A guide to whom is threatening whom with legal action in Toronto’s political scene"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]\n

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford walks in late as the other GTA mayors and municipal affairs ministers address the media about the recent ice storm in Mississauga, Ont., last January. Ford was the target of a lawsuit from the Toronto Star. Meanwhile, Susan Fennell, in the crowd to the right, is currently suing Star for its reporting on her expenses.<\/strong><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”12″][vc_column_text]View Article <\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”12″][vc_column_text]\n

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Toronto\u2019s influence class seems to be spending an inordinate amount of time suing each other lately. The city\u2019s political scene has always been peppered by plenty of snipes, attacks and saucy language. But while politicians used to fend off verbal attacks with an indignant rebuttal or two, the last 12 months have seen an unusual amount of attempts to stifle such statements with the threat of a lawsuit. The <\/em>National Post<\/em>\u2019s Tristin Hopper provides this look at the Toronto Litigation Renaissance thus far.<\/p>\n

Brampton mayor Susan Fennell vs. the Toronto Star<\/em><\/strong>
\nIn August, the Toronto Star<\/em> reported on an audit showing that Brampton mayor Susan Fennell had repeatedly breached municipal spending rules with unauthorized purchases of first class airfare, cell phone IQ tests and jewelry, among others. The audit was sufficient to draw the attention of the OPP, but last week, Mayor Fennell nevertheless filed a libel notice against the newspaper and four of its reporters, claiming that they revealed details of her spending with \u201ctotal disregard for the truth.\u201d For good measure, Mayor Fennell also vowed similar suits against auditor Deloitte Canada, Brampton\u2019s integrity commissioner and a few Brampton councilors. So far, the Toronto Star<\/em> has resisted Ms. Fennell\u2019s demand that they publish an apology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Toronto Star<\/em>\u2019s Daniel Dale vs. Toronto mayor Rob Ford<\/strong>
\nOn May 2, 2012, an angry Toronto Mayor Rob Ford confronted Daniel Dale near the backyard of his Etobicoke home, causing the journalist to drop his equipment and flee in terror. In a later interview with Conrad Black, the mayor would claim we was merely protecting his home from a suspected pedophile. Mr. Dale, fearing that he had inalterably been branded a pervert, demanded not one\u2014but two\u2014apologies from Mr. Ford under threat of a defamation lawsuit. \u201cThere was no basis for me to say that Mr. Dale was ever in my backyard or on my property and I should not have said that,\u201d said Mayor Ford in the exhaustive two-page apology that Mr. Dale finally accepted.<\/p>\n

Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne vs. Opposition leader Tim Hudak<\/strong>
\nOntario MPPs can\u2019t sue each other over statements made within the Legislative Assembly. Unfortunately for Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, he wasn\u2019t within the Legislative Assembly when he alleged that Premier Wynne had \u201cpossibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents\u201d related to the 2012 gas plants scandal. On the eve of the general election, the Premier threatened to sue her political rival for $2 million, unless he publicly admitted that the statement was \u201cfalse and utterly unsupported.\u201d Instead, the opposition accused the premier of employing \u201clibel chill,\u201d and filed a defense last May.<\/p>\n

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Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair vs. Toronto City Councilor Doug Ford<\/strong>
\nDoug Ford has made no secret of his theory that the Toronto Police\u2019s investigation of his brother was the result of a personal vendetta by the city\u2019s top cop. \u201cDoug Ford is lying and I am prepared to take legal action,\u201d Chief Blair was reported as saying last month. As with the Ford-Dale suit, Chief Blair rejected Coun. Ford\u2019s first apology, \u201cif he feels I impugned his reputation, I apologize.\u201d It took a written apology\u2014and a $1000 donation to a homeless youth shelter where Chief Blair is a board member\u2014before the chief agreed to drop the suit.<\/p>\n

Olivia Chow campaigner vs. John Tory campaigner<\/strong>
\nToronto columnist Warren Kinsella\u2019s brief volunteer gig with the Olivia Chow campaign came to an end after he accused John Tory\u2019s mayoral campaign of being \u201csegregationist\u201d for failing to effectively build rail transit into Toronto\u2019s ethnic neighbourhoods. After Tory advisor Nick Kouvalis took to Twitter to say that the Chow campaign \u201cmade a very smart move dumping Kinsella et al today\u201d Mr. Kinsella had his lawyers send a Notice of Libel. As the document states, Mr. Kinsella took umbrage to the notion that \u201che was making a negative contribution to the Olivia Chow mayoral campaign,\u201d or that \u201cthe Olivia Chow mayoral campaign is better off without Mr. Kinsella.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Post<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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