|
|
 |
|
|
Harper moves to dismiss 'frivolous' lawsuit by guergis by wwy yrj
|
|
|
Harper moves to dismiss 'frivolous' lawsuit by guergis by WWY YRJ
|
|
| Article Posted: 11/09/2012 |
| Article Views: 42 |
| Articles Written: 1412 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
| Word Count: 793 |
| Article Votes: 0 |
|
Harper moves to dismiss 'frivolous' lawsuit by guergis |
|
|
|
|
|
Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
|
|
Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a motion in court Friday to getHelena Guergis's "frivolous" lawsuit against him dismissed. "The action is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process andaccordingly should be stayed or dismissed," the court documentobtained by CBC News says. The document notes that Guergis filed a complaint against the primeminister with the Canada Human Rights Commission in May 2011, ayear after she resigned from cabinet due to the controversy thatemerged in April 2010. She lost the complaint and Harper's courtmotion says she then set out to launch the lawsuit.
Harper's motion to strike out the lawsuit comes two days after asimilar one filed by his former chief of staff, Guy Giorno, who isalso being sued by Guergis. The motion is also on behalf of LabourMinister Lisa Raitt, Conservative MP Shelly Glover and Ray Novak,Harper s principal secretary, who are all named in Guergis'slawsuit. Guergis's lawsuit, launched in December, makes claims ofconspiracy, defamation, misfeasance in public office, negligenceand infliction of mental suffering. She is also suing ArthurHamilton, the Conservative party's lawyer, the Conservative Partyof Canada, Hamilton s law firm Cassels Brock and Blackwell, andDerrick Snowdy, the private investigator who helped kick off thecontroversy surrounding Guergis and her husband, Rahim Jaffer inApril 2010. Harper's motion to have the court dismiss the lawsuit saysGuergis's claims are not subject to the judicial process butrather, relate to the exercise of Crown prerogative, andParliamentary privilege.
The court document seeks to debunk Guergis's claims and allegationsand says "it is plain and obvious" that her lawsuit "discloses noreasonable cause of action" against the defendants. She claims she resigned as the minister of state for the status ofwomen under pressure from Harper and that she shouldn't have beenkicked out of the Conservative caucus or prevented from running asa Conservative candidate. Harper argues that decisions aboutcabinet, caucus and candidates are not legal matters. When Guergis left cabinet she sat as an Independent MP, she ran asan independent candidate in the May 2011 election and lost.
Guergis alleges that Harper, Novak and Giorno defamed her in aletter they were involved in sending to the RCMP regardingallegations they were made aware of through Snowdy. Harper says inthe motion that the statements were made "by a high officer of thestate to another officer of the state," they relate to statematters and are therefore protected by the doctrine of absoluteprivilege. RCMP letter is protected by privilege The letter, sent to former RCMP Commissioner William Elliott onApril 9, 2010 by Novak and on behalf of Harper, is included in thecourt documents. It says Harper's office was made aware ofallegations the night before by Snowdy concerning conduct byGuergis and Jaffer.
"The allegations are numerous and include fraud, extortion,obtaining benefits by false pretences and involvement inprostitution. The extent of the allegations makes it impossible forme to summarise them completely in this brief letter," it states. "Our office has no first-hand knowledge of these allegations andour office has not communicated directly with Mr. Snowdy," it goeson to say.
In her statement of claim, Guergis denies all of the allegations. Novak says he had been informed that Snowdy has evidence tocorroborate his allegations and that the information had alreadybeen shared with the RCMP and OPP, "but I want to ensure that youare aware of it." The RCMP later cleared Guergis of any wrongdoing. Guergis lost human rights complaint In general, the motion to toss out the lawsuit says Guergis hasn'tshown the facts to sustain the allegations made in her lawsuit. For example, she claims Harper and the others intentionallyinflicted mental suffereing but hasn't provided particularsrelating to "any alleged visible and provable illness," the motionsays. Guergis is suing for general damages of $800,000 plus punitivedamages of $250,000 and aggravated damages of $250,000.
Harper's motion says Guergis is trying to relitigate several issuesthat were already decided by the Canada Human Rights Commission inMay 2011. The complaint was dismissed in November 2011 and it determined that"the decision to remove [Guergis] from cabinet was not justiciableas it was made pursuant to a Crown prerogative," according toHarper's court document, and that the decision to remove her fromcaucus is also not subject to the courts and is protected byParliamentary privilege. Harper says the lawsuit was only launched after Guergis lost hercase against him at the human rights commission and that it is "anabuse of process" to have the case in the courts. The hearing to argue the motions filed by Harper and Giorno isscheduled for September.
Guergis's lawyer says he will vigorouslydefend against the motions. I am an expert from Health & Medical, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as quercetin side effects , walking cane chair.
Related Articles -
quercetin side effects, walking cane chair,
|
Rate This Article  |
|
|
|
|
|
Do you Agree or Disagree? Have a Comment? POST IT!
| Reader Opinions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author Login |
|
|
 |
Advertiser Login
ADVERTISE HERE NOW!
Limited Time $60 Offer!
90 Days-1.5 Million Views
|
|
TIM FAY
After 60-plus years of living, I am just trying to pass down some of the information that I have lea...more
|
|
|
|
|
LAURA JEEVES
At LeadGenerators, we specialise in content-led Online Marketing Strategies for our clients in the t...more
|
|
|
|
|
ALEX BELSEY
I am the editor of QUAY Magazine, a B2B publication based in the South West of the UK. I am also the...more
|
|
|
|
|
GENE MYERS
Author of four books and two screenplays; frequent magazine contributor. I have four other books "in...more
|
|
|
|
|
SUSAN FRIESEN
Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, ...more
|
|
|
|
|
STEPHEN BYE
Steve Bye is currently a fiction writer, who published his first novel, ‘Looking Forward Through the...more
|
|
|
|
|
SHALINI MITTAL
A postgraduate in Fashion Technology. Shalini is a writer at heart! Writing for her is an expression...more
|
|
|
|
|
ADRIAN JOELE
I have been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 12 years and I like to share my kn...more
|
|
|
|
|
JAMES KENNY
James is a Research Enthusiast that focuses on the understanding of how things work and can be impro...more
|
|
|
|
