Law Times

Page 20 November 12, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "Do you know that, according to a specific section of the Environmental Protection Act, you might be responsible for delineating and possibly remediating historic pollution spreading beyond your property boundaries that you neither caused or permitted?" BE PREPARED . . . TO GO TO COURT NEW YORK — The Girl Scouts are suing the Boy Scouts, saying the organization's inclusive rebranding effort has caused consumer con- fusion from mistaken enrollment in the Boy Scouts to misinformation about a merger of the two groups, according to MarketWatch. The Nov. 6 trademark infringement lawsuit is an attempt to clear up the uncertainty, said the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. The Manhattan federal case noted the two separate youth organizations have long coex- isted. But problems arose when "core gender distinction" was altered by the Boy Scouts of America, which announced that it would open its doors to girls beginning in 2019. Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts unveiled a new marketing campaign to back the effort. "Scout Me In" the tagline proclaimed. The Girl Scouts' lawsuit said the Boy Scouts of America had no right under New York State and federal law to use words such as "scouts" or "scouting" by themselves "in connection with services offered to girls, or to rebrand itself as 'the Scouts.'" That sent the false message that the Boy Scouts of America were now the exclusive or- ganization providing leadership development services to girls, the lawsuit contends. In court papers, the Girl Scouts said the Boy Scouts' rebranding announcement has created all kinds of brand confusion across the country. The lawsuit's claims include trademark infringe- ment and alleged interference with economic prospects. NIGERIAN 'MONA LISA' RESURFACES LAGOS, Nigeria — The Nigerian "Mona Lisa" — a painting lost for more than 40 years and found in a London apartment in February — is being exhibited in Nigeria for the first time since it dis- appeared, reports Reuters. The artwork — "Tutu" — by Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, was painted in 1974. It appeared at an art show in Lagos the following year, but its whereabouts after that were unknown until it re-surfaced in north London. The anonymous owners had called in Giles Peppiatt, director of contemporary African art at the London auction house Bonhams, to iden- tify their painting. How it got there remains a bit of a mystery, Peppiatt said. "All the family that owned it know is that it was owned by their father, who had business interests in Nigeria. He travelled and picked it up in the late or mid-70s." The family put the portrait up for sale, and it was auctioned for 1.2 million pounds ($2.06 million) in February to an anonymous buyer. "Tutu is referred to as the African Mona Lisa by virtue of this disappearance and re-emergence . . . ," said Tokini Peterside, founder of the Art X Lagos fair, where the painting was shown. The original Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vin- ci was stolen from the Louvre in 1911. The thief eventually took it to Italy, where it was recovered and in 1914 returned to the Louvre. DEAD BROTHEL OWNER WINS ELECTION A brothel-owning, evangelical Christian-backed Republican candidate who died last month won his race for the Nevada state legislature, accord- ing to state election officials, reports Reuters. Dennis Hof, 72, defeated Democratic candi- date and educator Lesia Romanov in the race for Nevada's 36th Assembly District, earning about 68 per cent of the vote. County officials said they would appoint a replacement candidate from the same party for his seat. Hof, a strip club owner who ran multiple brothels, had nicknamed himself the "Trump from Pahrump," after the town where he lived in Nevada. He was found dead last month at one of his properties in Crystal, Nevada. It was not im- mediately clear what caused his death. LT RULING EXPANDS FUNDING OPTIONS FOR CLASS ACTIONS Australia-based company IMF Bentham Ltd. will not be re- quired to post security for costs as part of a litigation funding agreement. The case involved allegations that several bakeries and grocery stores, including Loblaw Com- panies Ltd. and Wal-Mart Canada Corp., conspired to de- fraud Canadian consumers with respect to the price of packaged bread. Since Australia has a simi- lar legal system to Ontario, "there should be no problem seeking enforcement of an Ontario court order in the Australian courts," Jus- tice Edward Morgan wrote in the decision, David v. Loblaw, 2018 ONSC 6469, released on Oct. 29. Jay Strosberg, a partner at Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP, who represented one of the plaintiffs, says the decision could mean that other private funders will feel more comfortable funding cases. "Particularly in antitrust class actions, they are capital intensive from the plaintiff 's perspective," says Strosberg. JUSTICE MINISTRY ANNOUNCES JUDICIAL CHANGES Minister of Justice and Attor- ney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould named four new judges in Brampton, Ont. in an announcement on Nov. 2. James Stribopoulos, a judge at the Ontario Court of Justice and former associ- ate dean at Osgoode Hall Law School, was elevated to a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the announcement said. Michael Doi, a legal direc- tor at the Ministry of the Attor- ney General of Ontario, will be a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Doi is a former military law- yer and has served as president of the Federation of Asian Ca- nadian Lawyers. The announce- ment also said sole practitioner Erika Chozik, who previously practised as a Crown counsel and a defence lawyer, will be a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Ministry of Justice also announced a new judicial ap- pointment in Toronto. Susanne Boucher, who was appointed a judge of the On- tario Superior Court of Justice. Boucher, a chief federal prosecu- tor from 2016 to 2018, was previ- ously a council member for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. LGBTQ EVENT Wildfire LGBT, which focuses on LGBTQ members of the Ca- nadian legal community, will host a fundraiser on Nov. 29 for Rainbow Railroad, a non- profit organization. The event will be at Toronto bar and restau- rant Pollyanna, located at 1054 Gerrard Street East, from six to 11 p.m. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased online. More in- formation is available by email- ing wildfirelgbt@gmail.com. 14 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 86 % LAW TIMES POLL An open letter, signed by a group of alumni and students, calls on the University of Toronto to cap law school tuition at $40,000 per year, saying high fees are hurting students. Law Times asked readers if they agreed with the protest over fees. The majority, 86 per cent, said they agreed with the protest, responding that high tuition fees are inhibiting the long-term de- velopment of students. Fourteen per cent said, however, that they disagreed with the protest. LT Visit www.store.thomsonreuters.ca or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK 2019 Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario with more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references. More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario: • Over 26,600 lawyers listed • Over 8,700 law firms and corporate offices listed • Telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, office locations and postal codes Perfectbound Published December each year On subscription $87.50* One time purchase $91* Order No. L7798-8405 ISBN 978-0-7798-8405-6 Multiple copy discounts available Plus applicable taxes and shipping & handling. (prices subject to change without notice) CONNECT INSTANTLY TO ONTARIO'S LEGAL COMMUNITY Untitled-3 1 2018-11-06 2:59 PM Jay Strosberg says a recent decision could mean that other private funders will feel more comfortable funding class action cases.

• Cover