Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Page 16 January 28, 2008 / Law Times BENTLEY NAMES FOUR NEW JUDGES Attorney General Chris Bentley has announced the appointment of four judges to the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Marc Bode, Justice Carole Curtis, Justice Peter Caldwell West, and Justice Jen- nifer Ruth Hoshizaki will offi- cially assume their posts Jan. 30. Bode, who was called to the bar in 1980, has practised criminal, family, labour, and employment law. He served as Legal Aid On- tario's area director for the district of Thunder Bay and as president of the Legal Aid Ontario Area Directors Association. Chief Justice Annemarie Bonkalo has assigned Bode to preside in Thun- der Bay. Curtis was called to the bar in 1978 and has been the sole pro- prietor of the firm Carole Cur- tis Barristers & Solicitors since 1979, focusing on family law. She has worked extensively in the area of child protection, including act- ing for children as a lawyer on the panel of the Office of the Chil- dren's Lawyer. She will preside in Toronto. West, who has written numer- ous articles on criminal law theory and practice since being called to the bar in 1982, practised crimi- nal law at a Toronto firm for 25 years and served as a part-time Crown attorney. He has spoken at many legal educational events and taught part-time at Osgoode Hall Law School. West will pre- side in Newmarket. Hoshizaki has practised family law, criminal law, and civil litiga- tion since being called to the bar in 1993, representing the Family Responsibility Office and Ke- nora-Patricia Child and Family Services along the way. She has been a criminal defence lawyer and a Crown prosecutor. She will preside in Kenora. MCCARTHY LAWYERS BECOME EQUITY PARTNERS Eight McCarthy Tétrault lawyers have been named equity partners in moves the firm says recognizes the lawyers' "contributions to the firm and commitment to client service excellence." The new partners are Sarit Batner (litigation, Toronto), Sean Collins (bankruptcy and restruc- turing, Calgary), Bram Green (real property and planning, Toronto), Patrick McCay (tax, Toronto), Charles Morgan (technology, Montreal), Richard O'Doherty (business law, Montreal), Cath- erine Samuel (business law, Cal- gary), and Christopher Wayland (litigation, Toronto). "We are very pleased to have these talented individuals join our partnership," says firm chair and CEO W. Iain Scott in a release. "Our firm strives to build the best teams for our clients. Our new partners will play a vital role in continuing to achieve our goals and to maintain our firm's posi- tion of leadership in the legal market." SUPREME COURT DENIES VETERANS Lawyers for mentally disabled war veterans, whose damage claim was denied by the Supreme Court, say they hope a lobbying effort will help fix a wrong that Canada's legal system failed to make right. "I don't know whether [a compensation package] is like- ly or not, that depends on the political will, that depends on the politicians, who have been noticeably cowardly in stepping forward," says one of the veter- an's lawyers, Ray Colautti. On Jan. 17 the court released a decision without comment, denying the class action, which was certified in 1999. The case was first pursued by the fam- ily of war veteran Pte. Joseph Authorson, who died in 2002 after spending much of his time after the Second World War in- stitutionalized for psychological problems. He was one of many dis- abled veterans whose pension benefits were supposed to be handled by the government, but Ottawa didn't invest the money and only began paying interest on it in 1990. A law was passed at that time refusing retroactive claims. The Ontario Court of Ap- peal last year overturned a 2005 Superior Court judgment award- ing the veterans $4.6 billion in damages. The Inside Story Confidential SMOKING IS PRODUC- TIVE AT IT FIRM BERLIN — Smoking is a-OK at Buesum, a German IT com- pany. Agitating for a smoke-free workplace is not quite as OK. Three of Buesum's 10 em- ployers were recently shown the door after their employer said their protests against other em- ployees being allowed to smoke in their offices was disruptive. Germany has banned smok- ing in pubs and restaurants, but people are still legally allowed to light up in small offices. "Smokers have always been our best employees. Non-smok- ers interfere with corporate peace," employer Thomas Jens- en told MSNBC. "Our non- smoking employees were actu- ally convinced that they had the right to smoke-free zones. They just complained all the time about smoking, and I don't like grumbles." "Everyone picks on smokers these days," he said. "It's time for revenge. I'm only going to hire smokers from now on." The three employees are, not surprisingly, going to file a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Jensen. WHERE'D THAT BRIDGE GO? MOSCOW — It's hard to be- lieve that a bunch of thieves could just up and away with a 200-tonne metal bridge, but an enterprising gang of scrap metal scavengers did just that one Russian night. Police are now hunting for the gang who literally stole the bridge into the night. The bridge in Khabarovsk in east- ern Russia was part of the only road leading to a local heating plant. The theft was discov- ered by plant workers trying to make their way in to work in the morning. Replacing the small bridge will cost about $40,000 and the company vows it'll be made of concrete, not metal, this time. GYM'S BALLS VERY DELICATE JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 200-pound man is suing his gym after he claims a blow-up exercise ball burst under him while he was lifting a 75-pound pair of dumbbells. Pete Royal, 61, claims that he needed five surgeries and couldn't use his arms for six months after the 2005 incident. The 61-year Jacksonville man's lawsuit says the YMCA failed to maintain safe condi- tions in the gym. It also claims the manufacturers mislabeled the rubber ball as an "anti- burst" ball. Despite his accident, Royal still goes to the same Y to work out. BROWNED-OFF TEEN TOASTER ATTACK BRISBANE, Australia — Bash, bash, bash. That's all young men do these days. A 21-year-old tow truck driver was attacked and beaten by three men armed with a metal pole after he was called to a suburban house to tow a car. He managed to escape and call the cops. Police rushed over to the house where the beating took place. Upon the police's arrival, a 17-year-old rushed at the of- ficer with a toaster. He was not seriously injured, but the teen was charged with "assault occa- sioning bodily harm, assaulting police," and a drug-related of- fence. Another 17-year-old and a 20-year-old were also charged with "assault occasioning bodi- ly harm while armed and in company." The tow-truck driver was treated at a Brisbane hospital for head injuries but should recover. FLAT PHONE GETS WOMAN LOCKED UP CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A woman walked into a small town police station asking for the cops to help with charging her cell phone. But a cop is a cop, and if you're want- ed, don't stop into the local constabulary to ask for help. The 27-year-old woman walked into the Timaru Police Station, about 165 km south of Christchurch, with a story about having to urgently text her boyfriend and asked the po- lice to help because her phone's battery was dead. The police, even in such an apparently innocuous circumstance, checked up on the woman. She'd had a search warrant out on her for three months. Instead of a text message to her beau, she ended up spending the night in the cells until Christchurch police arrived to take care of her. Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@gmail. com Bizarre Briefs By Viola James Enabling Lawyers through Technology Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 www doprocess com For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com Corporate Supplies C anada's largest selection of legal products including minute books, corporate seals, share certificates, by-laws, resolutions and incorporation. In the Dye & Durham tradition of quality workmanship, we use premium materials. Our grey Mark Maker ® seal is a modern design that's compact and lightweight. 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