Law Times

March 28, 2011

The premier weekly newspaper for the legal profession in Ontario

Issue link: https://digital.lawtimesnews.com/i/50229

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 19 of 19

PAGE 20 The Inside Story NEW ONT. COURT JUDGE APPOINTED Sandra Marina Bacchus has been appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice to preside in Toronto. She was called to the bar in 1993 and became an assistant Crown attorney in Scarbor- ough, Ont., prosecuting sexual assault, domestic assault, child abuse, and other criminal cases in both the provincial and Su- perior courts. Between 1998 and 2000, she was senior Crown counsel at the Supreme Court of Bermuda. More recently, she was deputy Crown attorney in the Scar- borough Crown's offi ce. Since February 2010, she has been working with the Ministry of the Attorney General's criminal law division advising on projects such as Justice on Target. PARTIES AWAITING NEXT REVIEW OF GTAA MATTER A $500,000 arbitration award that sent shock waves through the labour relations community will go back for reassessment after a Divisional Court ruling partly upheld an application for judicial review. C.B., a 47-year-old employ- ee of the Greater Toronto Air- ports Authority, was awarded the damages after arbitrator Owen Shime found the GTAA had acted in bad faith when it dismissed her following an in- jury sustained at work. Th e award included $50,000 in damages for pain, suff ering, and mental distress and a further $50,000 in punitive damages. It's those two awards that are before Shime once again. In a recent ruling, the Di- visional Court found Shime was entitled to award damages for mental distress but said the award for pain and suff ering related to the employee's knee wasn't supported by the evidence and required the $50,000 for both to be broken down. It also ordered Shime to re- consider his punitive damages award because of defi ciencies in his reasons for it. Th e GTAA had asked for the matter to go before a diff er- ent arbitrator, but the Divisional Court decided it was impractical for anyone other than Shime to handle it because the drawn-out process would have to start all over again. Th e fi rst arbitration hearing took place more than fi ve years ago in August 2005. In 2003, C.B. injured her knee at work and was eventually referred for surgery in February 2004. Her surgeon provided a note saying she would need four weeks to recover. Th e GTAA, faced with a costly absenteeism problem, conducted surveillance of some employees suspected of fraudu- lently claiming sick leave. It didn't initially suspect C.B., but because her partner was under surveillance, the GTAA decided to follow her, too. In his original decision, Shime condemned the GTAA for rely- ing on the video evidence, failing to seek medical corroboration for its opinions, and neglecting to consider C.B.'s exemplary dis- ciplinary record. YWCA HONOURS LAW FOUNDATION HEAD Law Foundation of Ontario CEO Elizabeth Goldberg has been named a YWCA 2011 Woman of Distinction in law and justice. Th e organization recognized Goldberg for her eff orts to help women advance in the legal profession and public service. While working for the Min- istry of the Attorney Gener- al's constitutional law branch, she challenged the ministry's restriction of women to non- litigation positions. She also persuaded the ministry to top up maternity leave benefi ts available through employment insurance. She will pick up her award at a YWCA gala on May 18 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. FASKENS GOES GREEN Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP has gone green in South Africa by moving its Johannes- burg offi ce to an eco-friendly location in the city. Th e fi rm has relocated to Green Park Sandton, Johannes- burg's fi rst urban environmental lifestyle development. "We are still off ering the same fi rst-grade expertise, the same high standards of service, and the advice of the same qualifi ed people. But we will now be doing it in a greener location, one that fi ts our cor- porate social responsibility philosophy," said Al Gourley, Faskens' managing partner for South Africa. For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. "A spot of bother from the Ontario Securities Commission, chaps! Apparently, we can't merge with the London Stock Exchange unless we get better corgis." WIFE DIVORCES TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT GUATEMALA CITY, Gua- temala — It's a novel reason for seeking a divorce, but that's what happens when countries have laws prevent- ing presidents' relatives from seeking to succeed them. According to Th e Associ- ated Press, Guatemala's fi rst lady is ending her eight-year marriage to President Alvaro Colom so she can run for his job. Colom can't seek re-elec- tion, and the country's con- stitution forbids his extended family from trying to succeed him. His wife, Sandra Torres de Colom, announced on March 8 that she'll be the presidential candidate for the incumbent National Unity for Hope party in elections this fall. If both parties agree, the divorce could be fi nal in about a month, Th e Associ- ated Press reported. NUDISTS FEAR STRIP CLUB LAW PORTLAND, Ore. — It's a law targeting strip clubs, but Oregon's nudists fear its provisions might hinder their lifestyle. According to Th e Associ- ated Press, voters in Oregon will be considering a change to free-speech protections in the state constitution in a bid to allow communities to restrict the location of strip clubs. If successful, the March 28, 2011 • Law TiMes According to Th e American Bizarre Briefs By Viola James measure would let cities use zoning laws to regulate where a "business or organization may off er live entertainment or other services performed by a person in a state of nu- dity." Nudists, however, are con- cerned the provisions could let towns and cities restrict their activities as well. As Th e Associated Press pointed out, they worry, for example, that nude karaoke could count as live entertainment. As a result, nudists ap- peared at the state legislature last week to voice their oppo- sition to the bill that would change Oregon's far-reaching free-speech provisions. So far, they're leading the charge in the absence of the strip clubs targeted by the proposal, ad- vocates say. "Th ey're letting us carry the rope for them," said Mike Parker. Oregon has traditionally taken a liberal approach to nudity. But those who sup- port the proposal say they merely want cities to have power over the location of strip clubs, Th e Associated Press reported. $75-TRILLION DAMAGE CLAIM REJECTED New York, N.Y. — Th e re- cording industry is known for its fi erce opposition to fi le- sharing, but it went too far in seeking a whopping $75 trillion in damages against LimeWire, a judge has ruled. Lawyer, the record companies had argued that s. 504(c)(1) of the Copyright Act allows for damages for each instance of infringement where two or more parties were liable. In the case of LimeWire, which had millions of down- loads, that would result in a massive award, Manhattan federal district court judge Kimba Wood said in a 14- page opinion. "If plaintiff s were able to pursue a statutory dam- age theory predicated on the number of direct infringers per work, defendants' dam- ages would reach into the trillions," she wrote. "As de- fendants note, plaintiff s are suggesting an award that is 'more money than the entire music recording industry has made since Edison's in- vention of the phonograph in 1877.'" As Th e American Law- yer noted, Wood concluded there should be a limit of one damage award per work. Th e defendants, of course, were happy with the ruling. "We were pleased that the judge followed both the law and the logic in reaching the conclusion that she did," said Joseph Baio, an attorney for LimeWire. "As the judge said in her opinion, when the copyright law was initiated, legislatures couldn't possibly conceive of what the world would become with the In- ternet." Th e damages trial in the case is to begin May 2, Th e American Lawyer reported. LT Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@ gmail.com. www.lawtimesnews.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Law Times - March 28, 2011